The Freckled Redhead

Where oh Where...

2013-03-28T08:47:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks just due to craziness around here. There has been a lot of work and not a lot of play. We have so many projects we want to start, but then we can't because of the weather or it would just simply be easier to wait until it was nicer.

To be totally honest, I just haven't even felt like posting anything. I haven't worked on any projects and that is truly what I love to write about. Once the weather gets nicer we will hopefully be able to start doing some projects.

I also got a new job and start that next week so I just want to get a feel for how and when I should post based on my new schedule. I also kind of hit a road block when it came to the design and I really want to launch that it's just a work in progress....I promise we are not just disappearing.

This is something I love to do but I also have to make time for it and lately I've just wanted to relax on my one day off a week. I will get back to posting but I just needed some time off.

While we are all resting up around here and waiting for Spring to come so we can do some projects - share with us what you've been working on!

Frankfurter Friday

2013-03-15T09:05:00.002-04:00

The first day of Spring is officially next Wednesday. The only reassuring thing about that is that most of our snow is melted now. We've been getting flurries the past couple of days but it is still March in Central NY and we've been known to have one last storm on Mother's Day - so anything goes.

Last winter was so much different - we were having 60 and 70 degree days January - March and I remember last year St.Patrick's Day weekend was unseasonably warm and gorgeous out. It's going to be nice and cold around here this weekend though.

Have a Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Max is just going to relax all weekend - no big parties planned for him. HA!

Enjoy!

Thursday Round Up!

2013-03-14T08:07:00.001-04:00

The internet is an amazing thing. You can Google anything to find out and facts or a tutorial on how to make it. I love finding jems on the internet - they aren't as good as the jems I find at thrift stores but all the same they're jems!

Here are some of the latest and greatest things I've found while perusing around.

These Going Natural Recipes from The Homestead Survival are right up my alley. I love a green cleaner so I want to try some of these out for sure - and of course I'll let you know they turn out! Note I cropped the picture - there is a lot more recipes so head over to their site to check out the rest!

One of my besties sent me a Christmas Card with a wax seal on it and I died at how awesome it was. I also died when I saw this tutorial from Craft Phesine on how to make your own wax seal! I need to get on that!

I found this on Pinterest and was brought to imgfave - I searched around to try to find original source but no dice - it kept bringing me to other peoples Pinterest boards so if you know the source let me know! I've been wanting to do something like this with wood so this would be a great introductory project!

The Ultimate Social Media Cheat Sheet from Luna Metrics is perfection! You don't need to be a blogger to enjoy this because everyone is on social media! Note I cropped this picture the Ultimate Guide has all the sizing for every social media outlet out there - head over to Luna Metrics to get all the details!

I've seen a lot of different recipes for getting shiny wonderful hair. This recipe from *BellaMumma caught my eye because it doesn't include some special ingredient. I want to give it a try!

There you have it! Another round up of things I found along my internet travels that I love! Have you found any internet jems lately?

Wednesday Wants!

2013-03-13T08:15:00.002-04:00

My absence last week changed up the order of things - so a bunch of the monthly posts all fell into this week because of it. That's okay because sometimes you need a break and time to step off the never ending hamster wheel.

Anywho....it's Wednesday want time - and I've found some really cute things that I'm dying to get my hands on! (Remember...you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the source)

I can't wait to be able to wear cute sandals - and these Gladiator Sandals from Target are soo cute! Target always has cute shoes and especially sandals. These also come in coral but I'm loving the grey/tan color because you could wear them with anything!
I love Sperry's - there I said it. When I saw these Authentic 2 Eye's on Piperlime I died. They are so so cute - they are the classic brown and them bam a cute pop of color on the bottom. Sign me up - I wish my feet were size 5 because they're sold out in every other size - BOO!
I love a bracelet that you can wear everyday. Not one that is necessarily gold or silver - something that I don't really have to worry about getting wet (our water causes weird reactions to gold and silver) and when I found these cute bracelets from Puravida Bracelets I fell in love. There are a bunch of different kinds I love the plum and burgundy mixed together and the gold feather is really cute.

It's no secret that I love Instagram - follow me here. I want to take my pictures and get them printed - and this little book from Better Living Through Design is so so cute. There are so many options for Instragram printing but I like the idea of this book because I could get one printed for each year.

How cute is this canvas tote from Jill Martin! It really is so cute - disguised as a designer bag - I could easily see myself using this for the gym (HAHAH now you know I'm lying) groceries, work....you name it!

I really can't wait to be able to bust out some cute spring clothes - and some of these items definitely need to be on that list! Mr.B always says "Mama needs a new pair of shoes' - and she sure does!

Find anything fabulous lately? Share it with us!

How Pinteresting...

2013-03-12T10:04:00.001-04:00

It's time for another round of How Pinteresting....where I give you the details on things I've tried from Pinterest and how they worked or didn't work!

From the My Kitchen Escapades blog Baked Shrimp Scampi - This was amazing! My sister found this recipe while we were home for my Mom's birthday and we made it together and it was so good. We had to cook ours a little bit longer than the suggested cooking time but it was so good over some pasta. The fresh lemon juice and zest really stood out and made this taste better than a classic scampi!

Score: A++

Tasty Kitchen Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies - I love ricotta so much I will eat it plain out of the container but in a cookie - I was a little skeptical. I originally saw a recipe for orange zest ricotta cookies or something along those lines and then did a search for plain and this is the recipe I found. They were light and fluffy and delicious. I used some semi sweet chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips. You couldn't even taste ricotta - it just made them really light and fluffy.

Score: A++

Ask Anna How to clean between oven glass tutorial - Somehow I got a drip in between my oven glass and I saw a few tutorials floating around on how to take the door apart and I really didn't want to do that. Then I found this from Ask Anna and was thrilled. It was a lot easier - my oven door is drip free! The only downside is it streaks easy and you have to work at it a little. It was much easier than taking the whole door apart though so I'm happy!

Score: A

The Friendly Home Oxidizing Wood Tutorial - I showed you how this whole process went down here and here - and it was exactly how she explained in her step by step process. The only thing I didn't do was her final steps with the different waxes - I was only able to find Minwax Paste Wax but we are still happy with our tables today. The paste wax isn't as durable as a poly would be but it ultimately adds to the rustic feel.

Score: A

Simmer Til Done Pumpkin Dog Treats - my little Max is sensitive to a lot of things so when I found this pumpkin dog treat recipe I couldn't wait to try it. His dog food has pumpkin and chicken flavor so I figured he would love these - and he did! They are really simple to make - the time spent is on rolling and cookie cutting but it's worth it. Pumpkin is so good for dogs especially when they have an upset stomach so it's nice to have these on hand.

Score: A+

So there ya have it another round of things I've tried on Pinterest! This was a very successful round because everything I tried I really enjoyed. I love finding new recipes to try especially baked goods! Max wasn't mad about that homemade dog biscuit recipe one bit.

Any Pinterest success or failures lately - share with us!

Color of the Month!

2013-03-11T08:07:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to start doing a monthly post featuring a color of the month. No time like the present to start right - it's only March!

This year St.Patrick's Day and Easter are both in the month of March, but typically it is the month of St.Patrick's Day and when I think of that wonderful holiday I think of no other color, but green!

I'm Irish and St.Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays so I might be a little bias - but I looked around for some cute green items for you and your home.

1. {Striped Racer Back Dress} 2. {Beehive Party Tub} 3. {Casablanca Lanterns} 4.{Striped Tab Sleeve Top} 5. {Swirl Napkins} 6. {Lightweight Paisley Scarf} 7.{Diamond Ikat Pillow} 8. {Springkorn Rug} 9. {Formosa Tray Table}

It just so happened when I was searching around a lot of the green items I found were mixed with a nice rich blue - and I love the pair together. A nice pop of green is nice in your wardrobe - and how cute is that tee shirt dress from Target - I wouldn't mind adding that to my wardrobe.

Spring is right around the corner so don't hesitate to start putting your deeper colored accessories away and switching them up for the more vibrant and bright colors that are hitting the shelves! A pillow can add a nice pop of color on your couch and those lanterns would be great indoors or outdoors!

If you had to give the month of March a color what would your color choice be?

Truth

2013-03-05T08:08:00.001-05:00

I had another How Pintersting post planned for today....however, my week has already gotten away from me and so it'll have to be later this week.

I decided to just share some quotes that are fitting for me today....I will hopefully be back the rest of the week with the posts I had planned. Things are just a little crazy around here the last couple of weeks.

Note:Click on any of the pictures to be taken to the source.

February Round Up!

2013-03-04T08:02:00.001-05:00

I have been meaning to round up each month's worth of projects and posts and haven't gotten around to it. Some people start their resolutions in January....this one is being started in March.

I had a crazy week last week and an awesome weekend - my Sister and I surprised my Mom for her 50th birthday. It was nice to take a little break last week and even nicer to spend some time at home with my family for the weekend.

I'm back on track this week and so without further ado here is the February Round Up in case you missed anything!

I compiled a list of all my favorite things from the Furbish Shop Online - take a look here.

I finally added some chalk art to my chalkboard - and you can see the process here.

I rounded up my favorite things from around the web - you can see them all here.

Pinterest is the place to find anything and everything - I've tried many things with mixed results and decided to share - check out the first round here.

I showed you my favorite cleaners for around the house last month and this month my personal hygiene products that I love - see them all here.

We finally decided tackle our pantry - here is the process of demo, prepping and painting.

The first Wednesday of everything month I gather all the things I'm wanting - anything from clothes to décor items - see this months list here.

I love to read and so every month I share a list of what I want to read - or in this month's case I went through my other lists and let you know what I thought of the one's I got around to reading - see them all here.

We finished the pantry and gave you all the details on finishing the shelves to installing them - find all those details here.

Who doesn't love a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby? I brought you along to show you what I found - all the pictures and details here.

I compiled a list of my favorite apps that I use daily/weekly - find all the details here.

I love Target and they always have great finds so once a month I share with you what I've seen that I really like - find this month's here!

So there is the monthly round up in case you missed anything. You can also find this months Frankfurter Fridays here, here, here and here.

Enjoy!

Target Tuesday!

2013-02-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

I went to lunch with some of my girlfranz from college on Sunday and it was so nice to catch up with them. After, I stopped into Target to pick up a few things and came out with an extra few things.

It doesn't matter what I go in for I always come out with that plus more or just the more and not what I actually went in there for. I really needed bread, cheese and celery. Of all the vegetables they had scallions, fresh asparagus, onions, potatoes,....they didn't even have celery. I was like really?

I always have to make the loop when I go in - check out the clothes, shoes, housewares, clearance sections, the back area where bulk stuff and seasonal is and then I finally get what I need.

So here's what I found while I was there that caught my eye...

This Threshold shower curtain is the awesome but I would totally use these as regular curtains because they would awesome!

I couldn't find this pillow on their website - but I really liked the colors deep blue, light blue and a nice gray it looked a little wood grainy/brush strokey.

This resin balloon dog was quirky. I couldn't find this on their website either, but it was end cap of random things - the package next to it was ice trays shaped like dentures.

I love putting jewelry and perfumes on trays and this one that is mirrored with the rhinestone edge is really cute. It's a great way to dress up your dresser - HA!

I really liked this decorative frame - it would be a great pop of color on a night stand or bookshelf but I also like that it is fabric and woven makes it more interesting.

I thought this little table was so cute. I think it would be great next to a nice chair or in a sun room. They're calling it yellow - I think its more of a green, but whateves - it's cute.

They have a ton of blown glass vases and jars and I loved these. They have a little bit of an ombre effect going on. I just love old jars and these ones while new have some old charm to them. (Large and Medium small is no longer available on their website)

I really liked this hounds tooth throw - it would be great draped on a chair or sofa. It was really soft but really thin so it would be great for in the summer when you just want a light blanket for the colder nights.

I like a lot of the Modern Cottage collection - and this coral tray especially I like the cutout and the glass it gives it a little more interest then a regular tray. I was also loving that ottoman and table.

I thought this table was pretty cool. It would be a great way to add a nice wood tone into a room. The color wasn't too dark or too light it was a mixture of both and I like how there is a little bit of a lip around the top it gives it character and makes it less 'stumpy'.

How cute is that tea light holder and how awesome are those frames! I love, love, love those frames with the pop of color on the outside and that wood tone is awesome! However, I couldn't find either of them on their website.

I see a pattern here - I'm apparently loving accent tables. This one was really cool because the bottom was interesting with a nice wood top.

I loved these bowls because the outside was a natural matte and the inside were pops of shiny glaze. Couldn't find these on their website either - what the!

These olive and vinegar jars are a cute rendition of the classic ones that everyone has. A little quirky and cute with pops of color!

They had the cutest melamine plates out. The little bowls were awesome - I love ikat and these were all so awesome!

I love notebooks - duh. These ones are so cute!! 3 in a pack with bright colors and gold polka dots! They were $3.99 and they came home with me. They each have a quote on them also: The blue one has a quote from Vincent Van Gogh "Looking at the stars always makes me dream." The red one a William Shakespeare quote "Joy delights in joy." The lime green one has an unknown quote "Happiness is a bright and shining thing." I wasn't able to find this 3 pack - but they had this set on their website.

How cute is this little Vaseline! I had to get it because it's so cute and I love to use Vaseline for chapped lips - win, win! I also found some Kraft paper wrapping paper with a flower design on it in the dollar spot
.

I wasn't able to locate everything on the website but I'm sure if you check your local store you'll be able to find them. I really love a lot of the Threshold stuff it's new and fresh with bold pops of color but still has a rustic aged feel to it. The wood tones are really great.

It's a good thing I don't have any use for a bunch of accent tables or I would have a ton! There were so many cute ones I didn't even realize until I got home that so many had caught my eye.

So have you had any good Target finds lately?

Favorite Apps!

2013-02-25T08:20:00.002-05:00

I have an iPhone and iPad both of which make my days a lot easier. There are apps I use every single day for many different things so I thought I'd share them with you.

I have the Apps Gone Free app so I can see what has become free and have found some cool apps that way. Definitely worth checking out you can find anything from productivity apps to camera apps to games - each day they show you the newest ones.

One. Smart Alarm Clock - I found this app from Apps Gone Free and downloaded it to give it a try. It is actually kind of interesting because through your movements it graphs out how many rem, light and deep sleeps you had through the night - and wakes you up at the optimum time so that you don't wake up feeling tired. I use the alarm that came on my iPhone the most - but this one is kind of interesting.

Two. Flipboard - I use this every single day without a doubt. I have my Google Reader and Instagram linked so that's how I read all the blogs I read as well as check my Intagram feed. You can add your Facebook and Twitter accounts as well....and many other things. A few others I have on mine are RealityTea, USWeekly, Huffington Post....etc. Best app ever!

Three. Wunderlist - This app is great for making lists. There are so many things you can do such as adding people to the list which could be helpful - so you could share a list with your husband so you both knew what needed to be picked up at the store or something like that. I just use it to make a quick grocery list or things I don't want to forget.

Four. Instagram - Obvi! I flood the system with cute pictures of Maximus on the reg. I love all the filters but I use EarlyBird for all of my pictures just to keep in consistent. I love to look at everyone's pictures more than anything and only like to look at them in the Flipboard not the actual app - so I only upload photos in the app.

Five. Vine - this is a newer app that Twitter created to share video. It is pretty cool because you can video different things at different times and it just pieces it all together for you. I've seen some pretty cool videos on here - it might become as big as Twitter and Instagram but we'll see.

Six. Slacker Radio - There are so many different ways to listen to music because there are so many apps but I really like Slacker. There are different 'stations' to choose from and you can favorite songs and then they all go on their own station so you can listen to them.

Seven. Evernote - I absolutely love Evernote! I make so many lists and documents using this app. You can make to-do lists so easily and there's little check boxes you can add so you can check it off as you go. It syncs all devices as well as your computer so wherever I am I can pull up a to do list or something I jotted down really quick.

Those are my favorite apps that I use on a daily/weekly basis. I would definitely recommend trying our Evernote and Flipboard. So what is your favorite app? I love trying new ones!

(Update: I got the Note'd App that was free today and it's awesome! You can create a bunch of different notebooks with different designs and custom titles and add notes to each notebook. You can voice record your note and even attach a location and picture. Only downside is - it's only for iPhone.)

Also, I entered Creating with the Stars - Popularity Voting ends on Friday so if you wouldn't mind head on over and click on my entry #47! There are so many great projects linked up so it's worth a look!

Frankfurter Friday!

2013-02-22T08:24:00.001-05:00

It's been another long week. My to-do list never gets shorter- only seems to get longer. There's always a project or something I want to work on so I know it's my own fault, but I hate to just be sitting around.

Was a rough week for the little guy as I explained on Wednesday. He's back to himself though - in fact - he was a little jumping bean last night. He never used to jump on anything and then now once in a while he'll jump on the couch. Last night he was jumping on the couch, the chair and the guest bed. So it's safe to say he's feeling better.

I instagrammed this picture the other night - the poor little guy was so sore he could hardly lay down.

He's feeling better and my hives are getting worse. I dreaded the day they came back in full effect and it seems like that's what's happening. Not really sure where to go from here - I'm taking 2 Benadryl at a time just so they'll go down.

Hope everyone has a great weekend full of projects and relaxing! Although, that's kind of an oxymoron I guess.

Hobby Lobby Shopping Trip!

2013-02-21T08:14:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't love a good Hobby Lobby Trip? Well, I guess some people wouldn't love it, but I know I do. I get totally overloaded every time I walk in there though because there's so much stuff everywhere!

A couple of weeks ago I went in with Mr.B (yeah, he actually likes it) and found some cute stuff and thought I'd share it with you!

Right when you walk in they always have tons of glassware. I recently decided I wanted to start a collection blue and white porcelain and low and behold they had a bunch! I didn't end up going home with anything though, I still need to decide where I'd put this 'collection'.

When I do decide my collection needs to happen - I'll know right where to go...they had a lot.

This picture is blurry but I couldn't resist. If you don't know who Beyoncé is in relation to chicken statues and not Jay-Z wife - then here ya go you'll thank me later for that knowledge.

I gave my parent's a medium sized Beyoncé for Christmas - and had to send this picture to them- my Dad wants to start a collection.

They also have a little section of bathroom stuff and other little glass trinkets. I loved this mirrored tray with the hand mirrors so cute - reminds me of a set my sister had.

Every time we go in there I look at these glass balls - I just love them for them some reason!

In keeping with the latest family obsession.... in my defense this one is pretty cool because it's a basket! If it had a handle it'd be even cooler because he could take his chicken basket out to gather his chicken eggs - to far? Maybe - HAH!

I love a good shadow box and this one was so cute with the damask fabric in the back. I love a good damask fabric, although, we have been growing apart- I did think this was cute though.

I always check out the sign aisle to see if they have anything good. I liked this one because the message is nice and I haven't really seen it much. Sometimes these sayings feel a little played out to me.

I loved this box that was supposed to be like a milk jug holder I think. I'm contemplating getting it for the pantry because it would be great to hold little snacks and stuff. I also talked to Mr.B about making one like it ourselves...we'll see.

These little wooden boxes were cute and they all had embellishments on the top.

Mr.B liked this metal jug - it has dividers in it so he thought it would be cool to hold a 6-pack in a man cave.

I didn't realize they had a whole section of different wall decals - they had tons of different kinds. These ones I thought were pretty cute - they even had kid themed ones.

Everyone knows about my notebook obsession - this leather one was awesome. I would've gotten it but I have so many that aren't even written in still.

These little baskets were randomly in an aisle - someone must have ditched them - but they were sooo cute. I ended up getting them because they were to cute to pass up.

There was 2 a circle and a square. I didn't really have any place in mind and right now the square one is sitting on my desk with my camera and flip cam and the circle one is still hanging out....I'm sure I'll find a use for her.

They were $3.99 and $4.99 and I have the Hobby Lobby app on my phone so I used the 40% off coupon so it was a pretty good deal!

Just so were clear - I do not work for Hobby Lobby or get paid by them - I just wanted to show you some of the cute things I saw while I was there.

Craziness.

2013-02-20T08:25:00.002-05:00

I've been feeling like a hampster on a wheel lately and just can't seem to get off.

I took the little guy to the vet yesterday which isn't really a big deal when your dog is not sensitive. Max has to be pre-treated with Benadryl before he goes because he's very sensitive to vaccines. I was running around worried about not having a sample to bring them and forgot to give him his Benadryl. The vet luckily had some and were nice enough to give him some. All was good in the world - when I left for work at 1:00 he was moody and not giving Mr.B or I any kisses or even wanting to be by us. When I got home at 5:30 he was in rare form -limping, whimpering and just slumping around. He got 2 shots and they had to draw blood but it took them 2 times so he got pricked in his little foot twice - so I figured he was just sore. I went to the same vet but had a different doctor so it wasn't our usual routine - I remembered last night our regular doctor saying he'd be sore from his one shot .... and then I realized he had a huge lump near the injection site.

He was really uncomfortable and just couldn't get positioned good to be able to sleep and I felt so bad for him. I took him up to bed and tried to get him comfortable - he thankfully fell right asleep and was fine. At this point my hives were starting to hit full effect but I figured I'd just sleep it off.

Needless to say it was a long night - Max kept moving around and I was very uncomfortable because my hives weren't getting any better. When I woke up this morning I was covered from head to toe. Not sure why they're coming back - but they better not be here to stay because they suck!

So today I leave with you with a quote....

Hopefully, the day goes better than last night did. My lil man was up and at 'em this morning so that's good. He's giving lots of kisses and is sitting on my lap as I type this. Nothing like my little man to make the day better!

Pantry the Finale!

2013-02-19T09:06:00.001-05:00

I showed you last week our pantry progress and now it's time to show you the finale and all the steps it took us to get there.

While I let the closet dry I got to work getting the boards that we were going to be using for the shelves ready to go. We got the same kind of board we got for my Mom's nightstand. It was 16" by 96" you can find it here.

The width of the our closet was 25 3/8" so we were able to get 3 shelves out of 96" board. We had 1 x 4 left over so gathered up a bunch of pieces that would work for our braces and had to go out and buy 1 1 x 4 so we'd have enough braces for the back. We also had a 1 x 12 on hand and we were able to get 2 shelves out of that.

I laid everything out and got to work staining. I used Early American by Minwax - which is also what I used on my Mom's nightstand - and I loved it so I wanted to use it again.

I normally use a foam brush but decided to use a bristle brush this time and loved the results. I didn't have to wipe the stain with a rag at all (just the edges a little for drips) I dipped the brush and stayed in the middle of the board until the brush got a little dryer and then I went to the edges so I wouldn't have to worry about drips. It was awesome I don't think I'll ever use a foam brush again.

I stained one side of everything and by time I went through everything I could flip each one over and stain the other side. I let them dry for awhile and then went back down and poly-ed each side and let them dry awhile and went back to do the other side. I did 2 coats on one side of each so that the tops would have extra protection. (Tip: I put little post it tabs on the sides that I poly-ed twice so we'd know which side to face up. )

Mr.B ripped the 1 x 4 in half because he didn't want it to be so big - so this way we didn't have to buy as much material and they'd still be able to hold the shelves just fine.

I wanted to figure out the spacing so that we didn't just throw the shelves up in random spots and them still not function good for us. So I used my architectural ruler so draw the closet to scale and figure out spacing.

The (2) 12" deep shelves were going to be near the top and that was because you have the door and wall there so the deeper shelves would make it harder to get things on and off the shelves. The deeper shelves were in the doorway because it wouldn't be an issue to get things on and off.

So the next step was to mark off where all the shelves would be. Mr.B measured from the top down 16" for the first shelf and then used his t-square to mark it off along the back of the wall.

The app I had on my phone Ultra Utilities came in handy because it has a level (our level is too wide to fit in the pantry) so he leveled the t-square and drew his line.

He measured everything off and drew the lines for all the back supports and then we went back an added all the supports in. You can sort of see the lines for each support in the picture below.

Since we cut the 1 x 4's in half we made sure the cut edge was facing up on each support so that it wouldn't show once the shelf was on top. We had to use my phone again to level all the supports and then Mr.B nailed into the studs. We got really lucky and there was a stud in the middle of the back wall and on each end - so we could nail into 3 studs a couple times for each board.

Here are all our back supports nailed in - all the cut edges facing up so that once all the shelves were on everything would be completely finished.

The next step was to find a stud on the side walls and add in the side supports. There was a stud in the middle of the wall and in the corner so he could shot the nails in at an angle but we didn't feel comfortable with 4" of shelf not being screwed or nailed into anything. The top shelves were fine because those were only 12" deep but for the lower shelves we had to add anchors and screws to the ends of each.

We screwed a hole through the ends of all the boards and made sure we screwed into the right ends so that the cut ends would still be facing up.

Mr.B measured where he needed to put the anchor drilled a pilot hole and screwed the anchor in then he just nailed the board into the stud in the middle and corner and screwed into the anchor at the end.

So we screwed all the side supports in and then nailed all the shelves to the supports for extra security. I got excited and started adding some of my accessories in right away.

We added the holder above awhile ago but purchased the wire racks to go on the doors for added storage. We got those from Lowe's you can find them here. The wire racks that slide onto the shelves were also from Lowe's you can find them here. The 3 tier shelf was from Wal-Mart and you can find that here.

I had everything in storage containers while we worked on the pantry. So I just carried them over and organized everything as I took it out. I moved stuff and played around with where everything should be. I used the wire racks on the door for peanut butter and jelly, snacks and oatmeal. I hate cardboard boxes of snacks so its nice to be able to throw the boxes away and have a place to put stuff.

I also got some apothecary jars from Wal-Mart and in the gallon size I put eggs noodles and ziti noodles in them on the 3rd shelf. I put rice in a quart size one - I could only find the gallon size on their website here. (They're so cheap there - that's where I always get mine!)

Eventually, I'm going to get a basket to put on the floor for chips and stuff like that. Right now they're on the bottom shelf but they just don't stay neat enough so I'd like to put them in a basket.

The bottom shelf has cereal and crackers and snacks. The 2nd shelf has oils, vinegar's sauces, bread crumbs and taco kits. The wire rack on the second shelf has popcorn and granola bars. The upper wire rack has croutons and pizza mixes.

I was just looking at this picture and I'm like how did that get there? Apparently, Mr.B decided to put the blender jar on the top shelf. There is also extra bowls, a box of biscuit mix, and alcohol. The lower shelf has pastas and rice in apothecary jar, stock and some baking stuff. (The rest of my baking stuff is in our lazy susan - Mr.B might be onto something because I could move the rest of the blender in here and have room for that little bit of baking stuff.) The next shelf has the 2 jars filled with pasta and the 3 tier shelf which is great for cans. There is other miscellaneous stuff like sauce, salsa and other condiments.

So let's take a look back - here is what we started with. 3 wire shelves and a cardboard box turned upside down.

I think it's safe to say we upgraded!

We only had to buy the 16" board for the shelves and (1) 1 x 4 - all the rest of the wood we had left over from other projects. We purchased the wire racks and the jars. It is definitely going to change and grow with us that is for sure. Just writing this made me realize a few things I could change around and I'm okay with that.

I'm glad that I have enough room to be able to make some changes now - before the cardboard box was my biggest change to maximize things.

No dogs or iPhones were injured during the making of this organized pantry. Although, they were close by the whole time - for support.

Reading List

2013-02-18T08:11:00.001-05:00

Once a month I share with you what is on my reading list. I decided this time to give you an update on past reading lists and what I've read so far and how I liked them.

You can see my past readings lists here, here, and here. (Click on the pictures below to be taken to the source)

I finally read Andy Cohen's book Most Talkative and I really enjoyed all the 'insider knowledge'. Most of the book is how he got to where he is today with his own show and all the events leading up to it, and there is gossip about the Real Housewives. I'm a huge fan of the Real Housewives franchises -I'm a 'reality TV' junky. Good read.

I really expected more from Joan Rivers book I hate everyone ... starting with me. It felt like a long run on joke. Don't get me wrong I think she's funny but I wasn't expecting it to a stand-up skit in book form. It was decent...kind of slow, but there were parts that were hilarious.

I had never heard of Carole Radziwill until she was on...you guessed it Real Housewives. So it was then that I realized she had book - What Remains - which is about the loss of her husband and best friends. I love reading memoirs so I loved the book especially because I've watched her on TV...so it was interesting to read about her life before the show and of course this tragedy that happened.

If you've ever read Jenny Lawson's blog than you know how funny she is - if you haven't you should start. Let's Pretend This Never Happened - is the same funny stuff she puts on her blog but much more. It's tons of stories that will just make you wonder and of course laugh. My Sister and I both joke that it was written about us - because there are just some funny coincidences - like Jenny falling out of a car - yeah that happened to my sister. Long story -ha!

I've mentioned I really like Jennifer Weiner and this book The Next Best Thing was pretty good. It's about a girl who lives with her Grandma and has a sitcom. It gave a little behind the scenes of what it takes to produce a show so that was kind of interesting. It definitely wasn't my favorite book ever from her but it was good.

I'm reading Gretchen Rubin's Happier at Home - right now. I read her first book The Happiness Project and thought it was good but it felt really slow - like I had to force myself to finish. I didn't have high hopes for this book and I actually really like it. It has really made me think about things and has a lot of good ideas in it. Definitely a good read for anyone that wants to make some changes...and even if you don't I think it would make you think twice.

I was really excited to read Plutocrats but was quickly disappointed. There was a lot of business jargon that was just really hard to push through and that was totally going over my head. I bet this book for someone 'in the know' would be a good read but for me it was like work and I wasn't feeling it so I had to let this one go.

There's a little update on what I've read and what I thought of them. It's nice to see what other people think of books so you don't waste your time waiting for the book from the library or purchasing it yourself to find you don't like it - so hopefully this helps.

I'll be back next month with a 'regular' list of what is on my reading list. I need to add some stuff - so what is everyone reading or what's your favorite book?

Frankfurter Friday!

2013-02-15T08:30:00.001-05:00

Well, this never ending week is finally coming to a close - thank goodness.

My little man has been really mopey this week and I'm not sure why. I think he is officially over winter just like the rest of us. He absolutely loves to be outside and he still goes out and spends a lot of time out there, but it's just not the same for him.

All the sticks are hidden under the snow, there's no pool to swim in...he's just been a little miserable. We also have a hard combination with him and Kota. Kota's reward is his tennis ball when he's at work and after he has done something - so we can't really have toys laying around. Before we got Kota there was a huge basket of toys and Max would have them all - all over the house. So now the only 'toys' are bones and chew type toys which Max does love because he just destroys plush toys anyway, but sometimes I feel bad.

They really are like our kids - so I decided to spend some time every night when I'm home with Max (in my office with the door closed when Kota is home) just playing with one of his toys. He loves you to just throw it back and forth....so whatever it makes him happy I'll do that.

It's been a while - so here is an InstaDump! (You can follow me on Instagram here)He mostly just plays in the snow and then sleeps , while guarding his bone because he wouldn't want to share with Kota, and then sleeps some more.

They get along so well though so we definitely couldn't ask for anything more. It could've went a totally different direction so we know we are lucky. Maybe it's because they are twins and were born on the same day - so they are the exact same age.

Getting love is another one of Kota's rewards - so I can't just be kissing him and petting him at home, but I always feel like when Max is getting a lot of love he's looking over. There's a tricky fine line that you can't cross...but I'm getting it figured out.

We love them both and couldn't ask for better dogs. They both make us laugh at the funny things they do and make us feel loved. So we enjoyed a lovely dinner at home last night and then watched some of our shows that we both like and hung out with our fur babies.

Enjoy your weekend!! I can't wait to show you how the pantry turned out - we got it done Tuesday night and I just keep opening and closing the door in awe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2013-02-14T09:20:00.002-05:00

If I had to give this week a theme song - it would be The Song That Never Ends .... because this week is just going on and on my friends. I had a post planned for today but I really just need a little break to relax and enjoy the one I love.

Mr.B and I are keeping it low key at home with some steak and lobster and a nice bottle of wine tonight.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Wednesday Wants!

2013-02-13T08:10:00.003-05:00

It's time for another edition of Wednesday Wants - so here it is - in yo face! These are the things that I'm currently lusting after...(As always click the picture to be taken to the source)

This tee from The Home.T is awesome. You can get it in any state that you want which is awesome - I chose New York for obvious reasons, but whichever state strikes your fancy.

I love ikat. This tote from C-Wonder is soooo cute. It's coated canvas so it can handle day to day use because you can just wipe it clean.I seriously love this it would help fill the void and need I have for more ikat in my life.

I've never really been a big fan of gold - or maybe it's just I don't like the cheap look of brass. Either way, gold is growing on me and I think I want to add some touches of it around the house. This wishbone from Jayson Home would be a great way to start. I die for this wishbone - it's awesome! I need it and I want it.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram then you know I already got this. It's a five year journal with a question a day (I got mine from Amazon). I love this - the first question was what is your mission? A few others were: what was the weather like today, what time did you wake up, what is your resolution for tomorrow...it's awesome. It has 4 lines for each year...and really that is exactly the right amount to put down what you need. It's really small too so you could easily take it with you - I just have mine by the bed and fill it out every night before I go to bed. I'm so into this kind of stuff so I'm in LOVE.

I saw this ring on Pinterest and loved it -and it took me to Uncovet which I was totally unfamiliar with - why has no one told me about this website! I'm a big fan of evil eye jewelry and all the powers that they possess and I love how simple this ring is - I love simple. I got 2 gold hammered rings on vacation 3 years ago and I've worn them everyday since and this ring would go perfectly. Uncovet has curated collections that have awesome stuff - if ya don't know, now ya know.

These free form mirrors from Vivaterra are awesome. I'm sure you could easily replicate these by cutting a slice off a thick branch, stain them and then add a mirror - I might have to give it a try just to see how they turn out. I have a little bit of an obsession with slices of wood lately - look out Dad I'm coming for your wood pile!

So there you have it - that is what I'm coveting right now. You can check out past lists here, here, and here.

You can also follow my Pinterest Board that is dedicated to Wednesday Wants. So what's on your list of wants?

Pantry Progress!

2013-02-12T08:11:00.000-05:00

I mentioned on Friday that we were going to start tackling our pantry and boy did we! When I say 'we' I really mean I - Mr.B was busy with work this weekend so I tackled most of this on Saturday by myself.

I was so excited that I got almost all the way through emptying it out and realized I didn't take a picture! Just squint and imagine food on the shelves - there ya go - now you see it. The most we've done since we moved in was add the holder to the door - oh yeah over achievers.

In case you missed it - yes that is a cardboard box turned upside down being used as shelf. What can I say I'm a really classy girl - I did class it up there by using the Vera Bradley box to hold snacks. Typically juice, soda and big boxes of cheez-its just sit on the floor. By the way that big box of cheez-its was cheap and it spoke to me at Sam's Club so I took him home.

So you get the point the space wasn't functioning very well. 3 shelves spaced about 2 feet apart and then massive amounts of wasted space above the top shelf. Here's how it looked after I emptied it and exactly how it looked when we moved in 3 years ago.

I took all the shelves out and then got to work unscrewing all the supports. After those were all removed I was left with some pretty awesome holes. Some hand anchors and some didn't....either way it was a mess after this and it's pretty obvious the painting happened after the supports went in.

We are going to save the shelves that were in there and cut them down and use them in a small linen closet that is in our bathroom upstairs. I kept the screws but threw the rest out. You can buy those shelf brackets for really cheap so it was no love lost.

Next step was to patch up those big holes. I used this sheet rock patch compound because it was what we had on hand. You can see they come with a putty knife but I don't like using them because they don't have a nice sharp edge like the metal ones do.

I tried to take some pictures of how I did this but I'll admit it was kind of hard to have the camera in one hand and the putty knife in the other. I mixed the compound because it had sat awhile and was a little separated and then I got some on the knife.

Then you push the compound into the holes as much as you can. The putty knife is kind of flexible so you want to push it almost flat against the wall so that it really fills the hole.

After you've got a good amount of the wall - just lightly drag the putty knife to get the excess so you don't have a ton of sanding and unevenness (that's actually a word - in the dictionary) on your wall.

I let mine dry for several hours - I'm sure the container tells you how long to let it dry though. After everything was dry I used a sanding block to sand everything down so it was nice and smooth. I like using a sanding block for this because it goes up against the wall perfectly flat. You can use sandpaper but you just don't want to stay in one area too long or you'll create high and low spots.

The picture on the left is how it looked before I sanded it - it was a little bumpy. The picture on the right is after I sanded it down - nice and smooth!

After I sanded everything I vacuumed up the little bit of dust that was around and wiped the walls down to get ready to paint. We had paint leftover from the living room which is Pumpkin Bread by Valspar - so we used that. I wanted it to be a nice pop of color in there so it worked out perfectly. We had like 1/4 of a gallon left and it was just enough. I used a roller for most of it and cut in with a brush around all the trim.

It's hard to get good pictures of it because it's so small and you have to stand in the bathroom - but here it was after one coat of paint. I was able to get another light coat in after that.

I was trimming out along the top and decided to just paint the ceiling the same color. The ceiling looked really bad anyways so I figured what the heck might as well and it helps it look a little bigger since it's all one color.

That was a ton of pictures - so next week I'll be back to show you how we finished it up. I got a lot of it done over the weekend (like staining and polying the shelves & supports) and we are hopefully going to get all the shelves in today so I don't have to have all the food in storage containers in the hall anymore.

It's definitely better than having it on the table or the counters but it just drives me crazy when things are not neat and tidy.

Got any tips or tricks for how to utilize the space? I sat down and figured out the spacing that would work best for us and purchased a bunch of stuff to help keep it neat and organized and can't wait to show you!

Let's here it for hygiene!

2013-02-11T08:12:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I showed you what products I use to keep the house clean - here. I decided to now show you what personal hygiene products I use. I feel like I've said it a million times but, I have sensitive skin so I use certain products to help with that.

Someone once said to me that companies test how their products work together - for instance a company will test how a shampoo and conditioner work together. So, companies test how their products work together but what about how your soap reacts with your shampoo and so on.

That actually makes a lot of sense you shampoo your hair and when you rinse it goes over your whole body basically and then you use soap or shower gel and who knows what's in that that might not mesh well with your shampoo but you put them both on.

For me it made me really think about what I was using directly on my skin. I had chronic hives on/off for a long time and saw many doctors and no one could give me an answer. Every now and then they come back (like this week) but I'm very proactive about what I use.

With that being said I try to choose organic or natural options whenever possible - for some I haven't found a good option yet so I use 'normal' stuff.

Hair Care Products:

1. TRESemme Split Remedy Leave-In condition: I literally just got this but I love it. I have curly hair which tends to be on the dry side and I hate getting hair cuts so this thing is a life saver. My hair is a lot curly and bouncier with this!

2. Everyday Shea Coconut Conditioner: I've been using this conditioner (& shampoo) for several weeks and I'm really happy with it. This conditioner is not what you would expect though - once you put it on it's not like your hair gets all silky and you can run your hands through it - just the opposite. I rinse it and then once I get out of the shower I use a wide tooth comb and brush my hair to get the knots out.

3. Everyday Shea Coconut Shampoo: A lot of natural shampoos don't suds up but this one totally does. You really wouldn't know the difference other than the way it makes your hair feel in the shower. The only way I know how to explain it is - just think of putting butter on your hair and then trying to run your hands through it.

Note: I used Nature's Gate Jojoba shampoo/conditioner before I used Everyday Shea. My hair was totally manageable in the shower and the conditioner did leave it silky smooth.

4. TRESsemme Curl Locking Spray: I mentioned I use a wide tooth comb when I get out the shower and then I spray the leave in conditioner in and then I'll go upstairs and get dressed and then I just spray this curl locking spray in my hair. Boom done - I have curly hair I don't like to mess with it or it gets all funky.

5. Pantene Curl Enhancer Spray Gel: I switch back and forth between the other spray and this spray all depends on which one I grab really but basically that's it. My hair doesn't do well with a lot of crap in it so I keep it simple. I have a really weird cowlick in the front so I do a side part and then spray it with one of these and done!

Face:

1. EOS Lip Balms: Love these lip balms. If you've never seen them you just screw off the top and it's a big ol' circle of chap stick and it's wonderful.

2. Clarisonic Mia: My Mom got me this for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's awesome. Her and my Sister use them too and it just makes your skin feel awesome. I use it a lot in the summer - in the winter my skin is so dry so this is a little too harsh sometimes even with the sensitive skin brush head.

3. Philosophy Purity Made Simple: I use this cleaner with the Clarisonic for awesome results. This face wash has literally changed my life - I used to get breakouts - what felt like a lot - and this has totally changed that. It doesn't tingle or make your skin burn so you almost feel like its not doing anything, but it totally is!

4. Philosophy Hope in a Jar: I use this after to moisturize and I love it because it's so light and it doesn't have an overwhelming scent which tends to upset my eyes and my skin.

5. Philosophy Hope in a Jar SPF:This moisturizer is more for day because it has a little bit of SPF in it which is awesome! I definitely don't use this enough and need to start using it a lot more!

6. Philosophy When Hope is not Enough: Firming serum that I use at night after I've washed my face and before I moisturize - just to keep things looking how they should. I don't use this every night just here and there.

Miscellaneous:

1. Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm: I remember the very original Burt's Bees in the little metal tins - this is awesome because it's tinted so you can add a little color while you give your lips some moisture!

2. Yardley Oatmeal & Almond Soap: I mentioned before that I love this soap. It's natural and it doesn't feel like it leaves a film on your body after you use it. I also love to use fancy soaps that are wrapped in paper - you better believe I put my pinkie up the whole time I'm scrubbing! HA.

3. EOS Hand Lotion: This lotion was a set that came with my lip balm and I happen to really like it. The smell is not overwhelming at all just a hint and it does it's job.

4. Crabtree & Evelyn Lemon Citron Hand Lotion: I wish I could buy the scent of this lotion in everything. I don't know why but I am truly obsessed with it. I would also love to buy this by the vat I love it so much. I like to put this on my hands before bed at night.

5. Mitchum Advanced Control Deodorant: I just got this the other day - I used to use this brand awhile back. I've been using Lady Speed Stick and decided to change it up. I've tried the natural/organic versions and haven't found one I like (Tom's Apricot made my arm pits feel like I rubbed an apricot on them they were so sticky feeling -TMI.)

So there you have it - that's what I use on a daily basis. I've tried many things but this is what works for me. I also try to use baby oil right after I turn off the shower while my skin is still totally wet. This is a great way to moisturize your skin and not have lotions with tons of crap on your skin all day.

What products do you use that are natural that you love? I love to hear about any new products that I haven't used - so let me know!

Frankfurter Friday!

2013-02-08T08:19:00.003-05:00

Well, it appears that some of us are going to be getting a lot of snow today. I was really hoping it would come earlier so that I could declare a snow day and not have to drive in it - but we don't even have one measly snow flake yet. Stay safe and warm!!

We're going to be tackling our pantry this weekend and I can't wait! It's one of the most annoying things to come home with a bunch of groceries and know that you can't even organize them - it really flares up my OCD.

Hopefully, I'll be back next week with some progress on that because this weather won't hold me down. I've also got a new cookie recipe I want to try - woohoo! I've been working on getting my blog design figured out so maybe I'll be able to finish that up - when it's your own design your working on no matter what it is, it's hard to stop tweaking and changing and starting over - at least for me anyways.

Check out the little guy- when you have 3" legs - you gotta do what you gotta do - and sometimes that means climbing to the top. He loves to climb in the basket to stare out the windows but a lot of times he just digs around and 'makes a bed'. I know I'm biased but he's so cute.

Safe travels to everyone - and hopefully we (& you) are not stuck inside all weekend. Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

Thursday Round Up!

2013-02-07T08:12:00.003-05:00

It's time for another edition of Thursday Round Up! Here's what I've seen floating around the internet that has intrigued and inspired me and that I love! (Remember just click on the picture to be taken to the source)

What a cute idea for monthly baby pictures from Kara's Party Ideas. The cute rocking chair with the chalkboard above - I just love it. I'm filing this away for someday.....

How awesome is this lace window screen from Radical Possibility? I mean seriously, what a great idea and so classy - I'm pretty sure if that window had fingers it'd be sitting there with its pinkies up, know what I mean! I don't know how long a screen made out of lace would last, but seriously these are awesome.

Mr.B is a big ranch lover he puts it on almost everything. This homemade recipe from The Crafty Blog Stalker is fairly simple and it doesn't include all the additives that the stuff you buy at the store has.... I need to try to make this!

If you haven't guessed from my reading lists here, here and here....I'm a big book reader. So when I saw this list of 40 books I was intrigued. Some of the books on the list I've read others I wouldn't be interested in and some of them I think I need to add to my list!

I'm always on the hunt for a library card catalog at thrift stores and consignment shops. I've found some at antique stores but the prices are usually outrageous. When I saw this tutorial on Not Just a Housewife I fell in love. She gives a great step by step of the whole construction process- I need to get Mr.B on this pronto!

So what have you found while perusing the internet lately? I swear I don't know what I did before the internet and blogs - it's a wealth of knowledge out there! I really want to make the library card catalog though - hmm, weekend project? Maybe!

Chalk it up!

2013-02-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

A while back I had Mr.B put our chalkboard/corkboard that we made in my office underneath the shelves we installed. (You can read all about it here, here and here.)

I've finally decided I can't stand staring at the blank chalkboard any more and while we were at Hobby Lobby a couple weeks ago I was looking for a chalk pen but opted for plain old chalk. The pens only come in packages - so my choices were white, red, blue and some other color or pastel colors. I really only wanted white - so $.88 later I was happy with plain old chalk.

I started by picking a quote that I really liked and would inspire me every day. I ended up picking E.E. Cummings quote "It takes courage to become who you really are."

The next step was to measure the size of my chalkboard - it was roughly 23" x 23" so I created a document in Photoshop that was that size. I made it that big because I wanted to see what it would look like when it was finished and be able to print it out. So it only made sense to make it the exact size.

I started by just planning out how each line would end up. I kept everything in one font for now I just wanted to see how I wanted the wording to layout.

Then I played around with the fonts and adding in some different things to make it more fun. I ended up switching what words were on what line - but I came up with something I really liked. I added in the banner behind courage and some arrows pointing to 'who you'. I ended up using 4 different fonts. It takes and you become are in Wendy Medium, courage is in Willing Race, who you is in Sloppy Hollow, and really are is in Bell MT.

The next step was figuring out the printing. The easiest way for me to wrap my head around it was to break my 23" x 23" into 8 1/2" x 10 sheets because that's the biggest my printer can print. I used the rulers in Photoshop to mark all my lines off. I had 4 full 8 1/2" by 10" pages and 2 pages that were a little shy of that....and then the bottom 3 were really small. I played around with moving stuff around but I really liked this layout and figured I'd be able to work with it just fine.

From there it was just cropping each 'sheet' and then printing it - undoing the crop and re-doing the next crop until everything was printed.

After everything was all printed out I started to match everything up and tape it together - it helped to do the middle section together and then do the top and bottom parts separate.

The printing worked out well because as I mentioned the majority of the wording was on full sheets or almost full sheets. The bottom portion left me with cut off words so in order for the words to line up correctly I just trimmed the top half of the paper off so that it would line up with the words in the picture above.

Here you can see what I mean - I wouldn't have been able to line up the letters without trimming the top. They didn't need to line up perfectly as you can see with the 'U' in you, but the way the bottom pages printed they wouldn't have lined up at all without a little trim from my paper cutter.

I then taped each separate line together - and ended up with a big poster size. I didn't worry about trimming the bottom portion off - I just left it as is.

This is how the chalkboard has looked for well over a year now. We made this chalkboard last winter and it sat in the mudroom untouched and then we moved it into my office and it's sat untouched.

I've always heard you should 'prime' the chalkboard before you use it - so I went to town and chalked up the whole thing and wiped it off.

I then flipped my poster over and chalked up the entire back - you can see there is chalk dust all over it.

Then with Mr.B's assistance I centered it on the chalk board. I also laid a towel down underneath so that I didn't have to clean up chalk dust for a decade.

I then started tracing around the letters. Mr.B was really skeptical so after I did the 'it takes' I lifted up the paper and I became skeptical too. It was so light you could barely see it. I was bummed so I took the poster back down - and with a wet piece of chalk went over the entire 'poster' again.

I also cleaned my chalk board again so it was a little tacky with water and then hung my poster back up and traced around the letters using the end of a sharpie. It came out a lot better. The combination of more chalk and the chalk board being kind of wet was the perfect combination.

Using wet pieces of chalk I started tracing around each letter and filling in where I needed too...

I didn't like how my banner around courage turned out so I just wiped it off with a wet towel and re-did it and then started playing around with different things.

Here's where I ended up. It was still a little wet from where I wiped stuff off in this picture, but I am so happy with it.

The key is wet chalk. For getting good coverage to trace and for when your tracing out each letter. It's darker and will last a lot longer. I've never used the chalk pens but I'd say from the looks of it - the wet chalk comes out just as good.

I'm really happy with my finished project and although I ran into a little problem through trial and error I figured it out and I love it!

How Pinteresting..

2013-02-05T09:13:00.001-05:00

Everyone is in love with Pinterest - you can find great recipes, DIY projects, and solutions for things you would've never thought of yourself. Do you ever wonder though, has someone actually tried this and does it actually work?

I know I have - but I've also seen things and had to try them for myself and I decided it would be nice to share with you the things I've seen on Pinterest and tried.

Here is the first round of items on Pinterest I've found and tried and what my experience was with each. (All pictures can be clicked on to be taken to their source)

1. Homemade Cleaner from Making it feel like home

I mentioned I used a homemade cleaner here. I saw this on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. I didn't use exact measurements but I did heat up the vinegar and squirt in a decent amount of soap and I added some water because it didn't seem to be squirting good without it.

I sprayed it on our shower curtain which was ready to be replaced because it was too far gone. I sprayed the shower curtain and the bottom of the tub and let it sit for awhile then went back and sprayed some more - repeat a few more times. I'd say I let it sit 30-45 minutes. I took the shower head sprayer and rinsed the shower curtain and the soap scum was literally rinsing right off - it was ah-mazing!

Score: A++

2. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt from Ambitious Kitchen

It's kind of like how many chocolate chip cookie recipes do you really need to try, right? Wrong - this cookie is awesome! It's like a high class version of a chewy chips ahoy and that's not even giving them the kind of credit they deserve. They are chewy, very chocolaty and the sprinkle of sea salt on top brings it to a whole other level.

I've made this recipe more than once and each time I've used regular brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. I also found I needed to cook them a little bit longer than the suggested cooking time and you really do need to leave them on the cookie sheet to cool because they will fall apart if you don't.

Score: A+

3. River Rock Boot Trays from Dollar Store Crafts

When I first saw this I feel in love. It is a really simple project to execute - river rocks placed in cookie sheets -done!

I picked up several bags of the river rocks at the Dollar Tree and they also had the cookie sheets there. I got one of the smaller sizes because I decided I wanted to use it for Maximus' dog dishes. Well, it worked for all of five seconds and him and Kota were hauling the rocks all over the house. I decided to trace out circle for where his bowls would sit and then glue all the rocks around it. Yeah, that worked for all of a couple of weeks - any water that spilled definitely drained but then it just sat there and rusted the pan and his dog bowls.

So while I did change the purpose of this I'm not so sure how it would've worked with boots on it instead of the dog dishes - for one the dogs still would've stole the rocks and the water still would've drained but then just sat there....the rocks being there make it take longer for the water to evaporate.

Score: D

4. How to get free music legally from We & Serendipity

When I first saw this I immediately emailed it to my Sister but then quickly tried it out on any random song to see if it was for real - and it totally was!

Now, before you give away your iTunes gift card let me just say that it doesn't work for every single song. I've run into a few issues where if it's a new song or protected a message pops up that says you can't convert and you should sign a petition.

It's not totally fool proof you have to do a little trial and error to see if the song your looking for can be converted - it's a great alternative to other options out there.

Score: A

There ya have it - the good, the bad & the ugly from what I've tried on Pinterest. Stay tuned for another edition of How Pintersting next month where I show you some other things I've tried and how they've turned out.

Have you tried anything recently that was a total win or a total flop - share it with us!

Furbish Finds!

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One of the first blogs I started reading was I Suwannee. I love the variety that it offers: bookcase of the day, closet cravings, pictures from the store, and of course who can forget the donkey of the day. It's just a really fun blog and now there is an online store Furbish for everyone to enjoy.

I perused the online store and found a bunch of stuff I loved and wanted to share them with you.

1. Magenta Links Bracelet - I like this bracelet because it's different with the links and the cording.

2.Rock the Casbah Notebook Trio- I'm obsessed with notebooks (I told you about that here) and I love the patterns on these!

3. Lime Green Moroccan Leather Pouf - I don't think poufs are going anywhere soon and this lime green one would be a great pop of color in a room.

4. Amethyst Soap Rock - how cool is this - it's soap!

5. Irish Paper Lacquer Stationary Box - I didn't know I needed a box for my stationary until I saw this one - it is spectacular.

6. Suzani Pillow Pair VI - you can never have too many pillows and how cute is the pattern on these.

7. The Katniss Cuff - I'm a sucker for jewelry, especially bracelets and this one is really cute - I need to add some gold into my repertoire.

8. Pink Leather Tassel Keychain - I've been wanting one of these - this pink one is so cute and nice pop of color to carry around.

9. Shiny Gold Giraffe - I need this! I don't love gold as a star player but I think accents of it are really in right now and this would be a perfect way to incorporate it into your design.

10. Blue Bowls Set of 4 - I want to start collecting blue and white china and these bowls would be the perfect pieces to start my collection.

11. Vintage Kilim III - I love this vintage rug - it's to die for. If I found one of these in a consignment/thrift shop I'd be poppin' tags fo sho!

12. Green Banded Bracelet - here's another bracelet with some gold accents and one of my favorite colors lime green!

I love so many things in the Furbish store - I literally could go on for days. Jewelry, home décor, accessories, soap....you name it they've got it.

This store is such an inspiration for me because I am constantly thinking of what I want to have in my own store someday. Boy, I can't wait for that day!

Have you checked out the Furbish Shop? What'd you find that you loved?