Tutu Wreath, Well, Almost

Hope everyone has had a great weekend.  I had to work on Saturday, but after work I joined the hubs and some friends at the lake.  A friend of ours brought his boat up this weekend, which was awesome.  It's been a while since I've been out on the lake here and I remember why I love living in Hot Springs.  We are a town of nothing but lakes.  Oh, and it made me want a boat, badly.  As for Sunday, well, we slept in since we were up late last night.  Also, some wonderful news, it's raining here!!  Yay!

It's been so dry lately!  Today it was 105!  I'm so thankful for the rain, hopefully it will cool it down a little and not just make it more humid.  Sadly, this is what Lola thinks of the storm:

This morning we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch (yes, I know, eating out = bad!)  and I saw this!

Which means, we're getting closer to the most wonderful time, of the year! {Yes! I sang it to myself as I typed that, but as all hog fans know, it's like Christmas!}

So, in that spirit, I decided to make a tutu wreath to kick off the season this year.  So here's what you need and how to make it!

Supplies:
foam wreath (like $3 at walmart, hobby lobby, michaels)
6in wide tulle in at least two colors
scissors

Cut tulle to be around 18-24 inches long, depending on how fluffy you want it.

Fold it in half.

Loop around the wreath and pull tight.

It will look like this.  Continue to do this until it covers around 5-6 inches

Alternate the colors.

This will be the final product.  Pretty simple.  And only takes about 45 mins to do, cutting and everything.  I will be picking up the pieces to complete it next week, we just got a new Razorback store that I cannot wait to check out, but they were closed today so I could not get the pieces.  I will post an update as soon as I finish it.

So!  We went to Lowe's with a $50 gift card from a neighbor.  They are building a stone wall along the property line.  Well it's kind of a mess and has torn part of our yard up.  They were so sweet and are having the landscaping company resod and clean our siding, also they left us a card and a $50 AmEx giftcard!  That my friends paid for a little surprise:  Thursday's project!

Total project time should be about 3 hours.  So after my job interview on Thursday, {Wish me luck! I really want this!} I will be working on this surprise!  Check back!

The Red Front Door

As little girls, I think we all dream of what our home will be like.  Along with dreaming of the perfect man you'll marry, the children you will {hopefully} be blessed with, the dream wedding, there is the ever so important, dream home.  For most of us, that image in our mind, changed as we got older, and we got a dose of reality. Once you realize that you can't afford an $8million home, you begin to revise that dream. Well, for me, there were always a few things that stayed the same.  One being a red front door.  When my husband and I began looking for houses, he wanted something turn-key/move-in ready...aka no work to be done at all.  Well, as you already know, that is how this blog got started.  So now lets move on to what I did and how I did it so CHEAP!

{You can see the photos of our home pre-move in under the home improvement/ DIY tab at the top of the page.}

I was originally going to wait until around September or October to paint our front door, since it's super hot here during the summer but thanks to a random storm last night, it was only in the high 80's this morning.  Plus, thanks to my sister-in-law, Jodie, I got the paint for free since she already had it.  I also got some great tips on what to do and how to do it from her.  Since I already had the roller and paint brushes, my grand total: $0.  How's that for thrifty?

Step 1: Create a ninja-dog proof wall to keep from having a red maltipoo...she loves to see what is going on, which sadly, means she has to be kept in the back of the house.  She was pissed...but finally went and took a nap.

Step 2:  Clean your door!  I used rubbing alcohol to clean it after I took a hose to the entire thing.  Super simple.  There was no need to sand the door, as it had been painted originally and no longer had the metal finish.  Then it was tape time.

I was going to paint the white trim too, but decided against it since all the trim on the outside of our house is white, I thought it would look nice to keep it white.

Step 3:  Get your paint together, drop cloths, everything.  I prefer to use a 6 inch roller, and I have a handy little paint pan that is hand held.  I really like it since I don't have to worry as much about drips going to and from my paint.

Step 4:  Paint the detailed areas...for me that was the grooves.  This is the ONLY place I used a brush.  If you use a brush on the entire door, you will be stuck with brush marks.

For the rest of the door, I used a textured paint roller.  Why?  Because it covered it really well but left it kind of bumpy.  I'm no painter, nor am I perfect, so this gave me some wiggle room for mistakes.

Step 5:  Paint your door!

{Keep in mind the door is wet in this photo!}

Grab a fan, it makes dry time go way faster!

I did two coats of paint on the door.  It looks pretty good.  I let the tape stay on there for about 2 hours after I was finished painting.  It only takes a little time to dry, so I checked the edges before I shut the door.

Final product:

Still wet in the middle and the detailed areas, but looks pretty good.

Final product from the street:

Please pay no mind to my dead yard, it's super dry here!  I'd say it turned out pretty good.  Now if I can convince the hubs that we need to paint the shutters.  Another day maybe. 

This project was super easy and only took about an hour to do! 

Happy Friday!!

C25K

Okay, so here's the deal.  I hate working out.  HATE it.  In fact, other than the amazing feeling of accomplishment, I hated the last half of walking a 5k{not so much sure if I just suck at this whole getting fit thing, or if the person who decided to put a hill at the end should be shived in the kidney}.  So, after doing some research, I have bookmarked and am planning to start (tomorrow, as it's already dark outside) doing Couch to 5K.  You can find the plan here and I think everyone should check out Mama Laughlin's blog for some inspiration, she has totally taken charge of her body and weightloss plan, her story is pretty awesome.

So, keeping in mind the extreme heat, I think that if I wait until around 6ish, I can deal with the heat.  I would do the whole get up and run before work thing that many people do and enjoy, except, those people do not have to be at work at 5:45 in the A-M.  So I'm all for it on my days off...but there is no way I'm getting up any earlier (I already wake up at 4:30). 

So this is what I have to keep telling myself.  I'm the only one who can change myself.  Time to really start working my ass off {literally}. 


Also, before I get off my work out soap box, I think they should make work out clothing in some extended sizes.  Is that really so much to ask for?  It's like if you are a little more than fluffy you cannot find clothing to work out in, even though everyone says go buy cute workout clothing so that you will want to work out.  It's like they only make workout clothes for the people who don't really need to work out.  Jackasses.  I just want this:

And I want it to fit, like total bra support and all.  I want to be able to run without having to fight with a t-shirt or worry about the fact that my back is killing me from lack of support.  Okay, I'm done bitching it out. 

Enjoy the work week people...I will, uh, try to.

Our home town/Happy Saturday

After dropping the brat off with the sitter  groomer, today, we took my niece and nephew to downtown Hot Springs (or as the slogan says..."America's first resort" blah, blah).  There are actually several things that are very interesting about the history of Hot Springs, but in the summer I usually avoid down town like the plague since it's "tourist season."  For those of you who also live in a tourist town, you know what I'm talking about, for those of you who do not, let me enlighten you.  During the summer, down town Hot Springs becomes a mad house of crappy drivers, followed by people that make you question why it does not require a license and an IQ test to reproduce.  Not to mention the ever so rude northerners who seem to thing that since we talk slow and sound nice even when we're being rude, that we owe them something. 

Today, however, was a pretty great day.  We got up early, picked up the kiddos, and headed to the Pancake Shop, downtown.  It's this tiny hole in the wall place that has some pretty good food.
{Yeah, I know, there goes the whole no eating out for a month.  But, we don't really take the kids out to eat very often so it was kind of a special occasion.}

I {finally} agreed to let the waitress take a picture of all of us...I was not expecting to be in ANY of the photos so excuse the clothing choice.  I'm not usually a shorts person but it was like 103 today and 100% humidity, so really I should get a medal for braving the heat.

Anywho, after breakfast we went up on the mountain and I taught the kids about the volcano that Hot Springs sits in that feeds the natural springs, among other interesting facts about the land and city.  (For those who do not know me, I was a history major when I went to college before deciding I really wanted to be a nurse, so I'm full of otherwise useless information that I find fascinating.)

Once we left the mountain, we went to the Fordyce bath house which has been turned into a museum and did a self tour (with me as the AMAZING tour guide!).  The kiddos learned all about the natural springs and how the baths were believed to heal people.

They had a blast learning about the bath houses and the history of {the appropriate parts anyway!} the city.  Even some of the beautiful stained glass caught my niece's eye.

At the end of the tour, before the education video (I know! I can't be all fun all the time!  They need to learn too!)  My nephew even built his own "bath house" while we were waiting in the play areas!

Maybe, someday, once he is grown, he will be designing buildings of his own!

We finished our day with the kiddos by picking the brat up from the sitter, I mean, groomer, and dropped them all off at Nana's house.  Then we went to our friends to hang out and swim, which is why I'm posting a midnight on a Saturday.  Here's to another wonderful day tomorrow! 

I realize I've been slacking all week on my blog, but I did the whole work every-other-day-and-never-feel-rested for a week thing followed up by working three 10's in a row, so it's been a little crazy, and I've been a {little} cranky.  Here's hoping that next week will be better!

Laundry detergent

Being the frugal person that I am, I cannot stand to pay the crazy high prices for the little things you need on a daily basis, like laundry detergent.  Most of the time when I tell people I make my own they look at me like I'm crazy.  Thanks to sites like pinterest, more people are being bitten by the frugal bug and I thought I'd share my recipe.

It's super simple to make, all you need is:

2 cups borax
2 cups washing powder
1 cup sent crystals (what ever sent you prefer)
1 bar finely grated soap of your choice (that goes with you sent crystals sent, or use an unscented. This is an optional addition as the borax and washing powder will clean your clothing just fine-not pictured)
1 cup Oxy Clean (or an off brand)

These amounts may be cut in half, depending on amount you want to make.  This size batch usually last for about 60 loads and you can make this recipe about 4 times before you have to replace supplies, other than oxy clean, which only runs $3 at walmart.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, the borax will be clumpy, this is normal, just make sure you break the clumps up with your mixing spoon.

Mix well and place in any container with a lid.  I use a kool-aid pitcher for mine, but whatever works best for you.

You only need about 1 1/2 tablespoons per large load.  I just take the measuring scooper from my oxy-clean and use that as my scooper.

Since this detergent is very concentrated, a little bit goes a long way.  The total cost to make your own, about $12-$15.  I only have to buy new supplies every 6 months.  Comparing my 240 loads per supply stock, to the brand detergent:

I'd much rather pay $15 every 6 months than to pay $18 every month!  Hope you love this recipe as much as I do, the only down side is they have yet to make a color booster to add to the mix! Otherwise, best stuff ever and for those with allergies, it's much more gentle on your skin.  I used to have to buy only free and clear but I have yet to have problems with this detergent.

Master Bath Part 3

This has been such a crazy week!  I have worked every other day, which doesn't sound that bad, but it really made me realize how much I'd rather work a few days in a row and then be off for a few days in a row!  Sadly, that has left my projects and blog a little neglected.  So, after I got off work on Saturday, we took a short field trip to Lowe's so that we could pick up the sealer, wood filler, and some vinyl planks to do our floors. 

After church this morning my mom came over and we started laying the floor.  It's really easy to do but one of the things I cannot stress enough is to make sure you sweep and mop your floors before putting the flooring down.  Next you figure out what direction you want to lay the planks and go to town.  The challenging areas are the toilet and the decorative door mouldings. 

{TIP} Turn the water off to your toilet, flush it, then unbolt it.  Lift straight up so that you do not mess up the beeswax seal.  Then you can lay the floor planks without any trouble and minimal cutting.

Here is the before photo when we first bought the house, what the bathroom looked like.

Here is what it looks like now, before the sealer was put on:

This is the type of sealer we used, it was pretty easy to do, just pour it on the floor and take a soft cloth to spread it around and coat the entire floor.

It looks milky but dries clear.

When we do our other bathroom I'll make a tutorial!!  Have an awesome week! I'll try to get a few more updates in this week!

Laundry Room Part 1

Since we decided to wait to do the bathroom floors until next weekend, we started taping off our laundry room.

Well, I guess the hubs was bored because he got everything set up and went ahead and started painting.  I really love bright, loud colors for laundry rooms.  I feel like it opens it up and makes the room happy, even when you're doing something you really don't want to do!

Here's a tip ladies, don't brag to your husband about how good you are at edging.  Otherwise you will have to do all of it.  He doesn't mind getting the big roller brush and painting an entire wall, but the edges are all up to me.

 I did however get him to do the small area by the door frame. 

Painting finished!  Next week I'm picking up the letters for the wall above the shelf, and the baskets that go on the shelf!

More photos to come once I get that stuff done!

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...

So I found this post on pinterest that I LOVED about tiling a bathroom mirror.  It really caught my attention because it's hard to find something that really works with our bathroom countertops.  But to see the original post click here.  So I went to Lowe's and got the tile and the bonding glue stuff. 

I got these tile sheets (you'll need two of them) for $9 each at Lowe's.

You have to cut the tiles apart and trim them so that the white stuff on the back isn't sticking out.

Thankfully, I was watching my niece and nephew today and got some free labor out of the deal :)

Next, take your glue, I got this stuff at Lowe's for around $4 for a double pack, I used one full tube.

Apply to the mirror edges and to the tiles, according to the directions on the package.  This kind has to sit for 5-10 mins before you put them together. 

The website only said you have to tape the top row, well, since my mirror does not rest on the counter, I taped it all, if I hadn't the tiles would have shifted before they could dry completly.  I have to wait 24-48 hours before removing the tape.  More photos to come!!