The Idea Post

I had one of those lightning, amazing ideas last night, inspired by this blog.

It was about our front room. It's the room that the front door opens into. Here is how it looked after we tore up the carpet prior to moving in.

Currently it is being used as our tool room (for the non-stop projects in this place).  This next pic was taken back in November.  There's more crap building materials and tools in there now. *sigh*

The previous owners used it as a living room. But we turned a a different space into the livingroom, and who needs two of those?

So, originally I had thought to make this the dining room. Big table, nice buffet... Can you see it?

(this is just a tiny bit over the top)

But, we have a table in the kitchen. And we don't really eat formal meals all that often (if ever).

So... why couldn't it be MY ARTSY CRAFT ROOM?!

I could still have a large table and interesting chairs set up (for fancy Christmas dinners or sewing, or scrapbooking, or general craftiness, or entertaining a friend over a glass of Crown Royal herbal tea). I've always wanted a neat table with all different chairs.  Why not now?

all things thrifty dot com

I see lots of cubbies and drawers and shelves full of artsy goodness. Inspiration on the walls, an easel in the corner, a sewing machine with a designated spot instead of being stuffed away when not in use...

http://www.leethal.net/zine/

 Crazy?  Maybe.  This room is the last on the list to refinish, so I have plenty of time to think about it.

better homes & gardens

photo: hgtv

Happy Zombie, HGTV post

It's fun to dream...

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Spring In Minnesota

As we were driving along hwy212 today I noticed that the river looked odd.  Were those plastic bags stuck in the trees?  How could there be so many?  It took a moment for me to realize that they were sheets of ice.

We have had an insane winter and only hints of spring.  It was in the 50's for a few days; we actually had thunderstorms, everything melted and the usual spring flooding starting.  And then the temperature plummeted, we received 6 inches of snow, and have been freezing ever since.

The sheets of ice are from where the river was at it's highest a day or two ago.

Isn't that weird?

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I'm a sucker for anything with a 'history'.

My best pal, Nici, lives a state away and I was able to visit her last month.  She had literally just moved into her brand spankin' new house the day before I arrived.  There were still plenty of items to unpack and things without homes.

One of those items happened to be this oddly quilted square.  It was maybe two feet wide.  I couldn't resist asking about it because, frankly, it's just not her style.  It's actually kind of ugly.  And she definitely does not share my lust for vintage junk!

it's not ALL ugly - I wish I new what this had been before! maybe a fancy dress?

She said that it was pieces of fabrics, buttons and dresses from her great grandma and great aunts.  Another aunt had sewn them together.  Of course, she couldn't throw away something like that, but she wasn't sure what to do with it.

I knew what to do with it.

Throw pillow!

Her family room is full of neutral colors and furniture; an odd throw pillow could only add interest!  She isn't much for sewing though so I took it home with me for the simplest of crafty makeovers.

I gathered my trusty tools and got to work a few nights ago.

Nic, did you know the inside looked like this?  Whoever sewed this originally did so with care.

It took 5 minutes to rip the seam, 30 seconds to stuff in a pillow, and just a few more to sew it back shut.  And now Nici can display her little piece of family history.  *smile*

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The - I Don't Know What To Make For Dinner - Dinner

Ever have those days where you just want to throw something together that requires little thought?

That was me yesterday, and here is what I threw together, with very little thought.

From the canned goods cupboard:
black beans (drained)
corn (drained)
green chilis (2oz)
cream of chicken soup

From the fridge:
mushrooms -sliced
red bell pepper - sliced
tomato - sliced
green onions
taco sauce
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortillas (flour or corn, either would work)

From the spice rack:
chili powder
cilantro
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (because isn't just about everything cooked at 350?)
2. Mix soup, 1/3c sour cream, 1/2c taco sauce, green chilis, 1 tsp chili powder and a sprinkle of cilantro in medium bowl
3. Spray 9x13 pan and arrange one layer of tortillas
4. Spread half of soup mixture, top with half of black beans and corn, then mushrooms, red bell pepper and tomato
5. Repeat layers once more starting with tortillas
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and diced green onions on top
7. Bake approx 35 min, or until bubbly

It's like a Mexican lasagna. Or casserole. Or 'this is what I had on hand' hot dish. It's versatile! Add what you have, subtract what you don't, and play around.

PS, My darling Hubs told me that this was The Best Ever. But I take that compliment with a grain of salt, because he says that about everything I cook :)

Do I have a picture of my creation? Nope. Instead I'll leave you with this totally awesome 1940's kitchen. Mine might turn out like that some day... See my retro curtains? They fit right in!

Submitted to:

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Mornings and My Boy

I love mornings.   I have always loved mornings.  I'm an up before the alarm kind of girl.  The quiet, the sense of serenity, the coffee, the early morning summer sun and the pale dawns of winter; I love them all.

Then I had a kid.  During that first year with Jack there was no time to enjoy mornings.  My little boy often woke me before the sun OR the alarm. Rush, rush, rush; crying baby, traffic, work.  Luckily things have settled down now and most days I have an hour or so of Mama time before my little tornado wakes up.

And if it's even possible, I enjoy mornings more than before .  And it's all because of Jack.  He is so happy to see us when he wakes up.  He walks around in his little boy pajamas, holding onto 'rinkie' (Jackspeak for blanky) and smiling.  Giggling.  Laughing. 

It's just the best thing ever.

(this post was submitted to Simple As That)

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the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Blogging

I've recently discovered the excitement of link parties. It is tons of fun to see your post along side so many other creative ideas; about recipes, remodeling, crafting and just anything. And the traffic! So many new people have stopped by (thank you!) and I've added dozens of new blogs to my reader.

I've basked in the compliments of kind strangers and have been encouraged to keep putting my random thoughts to paper (err... keyboard) whenever someone says they laughed at what I wrote. Some people are fueled by controversy; they blog to foster debates. My fuel comes from hearing that so-and-so tried my recipe, or you-know-who thought a post was funny, or whats-her-name tried a craft after reading one of my poor tutorials. (And really, I never truly write tutorials. Only ideas. You'll have to figure out how to make it work for you.)  And, of course, I am fueled by my own need to say what I want, when I want, on the great internets.

So that was the Good.

What about the Bad? The Bad is my conscience. I feel like it is only polite to return a follow, and it's become a habit to visit a blogger that has visited me. Very time consuming, but interesting.  And when I do visit another blog, and find that I just don't enjoy it enough to actually subscribe, I feel guilty.   Yes.  I feel guilty about offending a total stranger by NOT subscribing or commenting.  Especially the little bloggers, like me.  And they probably don't even notice.  I need to get over that.  I'm working on it.

The Ugly refers to those blogs that drive me bananas.  There is a silver lining to visiting bad blogs; I know what I don't want to do with my own blog.  

 I absolutely abhor blogs that use centered text.

 You know what I'm talking about.  It's those stories that

are several paragraphs long, pages long, and the entire thing is written

like a poem that never ends, centered like this.

I can't stand it and won't even finish reading,
no matter how damn interesting it is.

And MUSIC!  Don't do it people!  Just because you love Kenny G does not mean that I do.  And if you're trying to entice me to stick around long enough to comment or enter a giveaway... it's not going to happen.

Lets talk about fonts.  I LOVE cute and artsy fonts.  For logos and buttons and blog titles.  But not for the body of your text.  My eyes will cross.  Permanently.  Nobody wants that, right?

What about playing 'hide the subscribe button'?  If it's not right in your sidebar, near the top... chances are I will not have the patience to find it.  And what if I really wanted to find it?  I'd be awfully disappointed.

Now, onto commenting.  Disable the CAPTCHA.  Please.  I'm begging.  

Advertisements.  Most of us have tried, are going to try or are currently monetizing our blogs.  The wave of the future?  Not really, it's happening NOW.  But a blog cluttered with ads is such a turn-off.

Sooo.... you're probably wondering how or why I am qualified to make such claims about what is good, bad or ugly in blogland. Truth is, I'm probably not.  I'm sure there are all sorts of official resources citing facts about what 'the people' prefer to read or see.   I only know about THIS person, and how she likes her blogs served (over easy).

OVER AND OUT, INTERNETS!  HAPPY SUNDAY!

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Dirty Secrets: Saving Soap Slivers

You know those slippery last little bits of soap? The ones you fumble with in the shower because they are just too small to use? And most of the time they end up sliding down the drain, probably clogging it momentarily till they melt away? Yah, those.

I've been saving them.

I don't know why.

I have a jar dedicated to soap slivers. It smells really good. There are probably fifty tiny bits of clean in there. And if there is one thing this house can always use extra of, it's little bits of clean.

But what is a girl supposed to actually DO with them? I did a quick google search (I heart google) and decided to melt them down and make them into new bars of soap. Since this was an experiment of sorts, I only took the green and blue shards (probably Irish Spring and Coast, haha). I added just enough water to cover them and set the stove burner to low.

It took HOURS. Hours and hours to melt those little bits of soapy goodness. But it smelled really fresh. And don't forget to stir once in a while!

The next dilemma was what to use as a soap mold.  You can see they ended up in the muffin tin.  A smarter person might have somehow prepped this pan, to facilitate removing the finished product.  Next time, next time.

I left the soap in the mold for about two days.  I tried to submerge the bottom on the pan in hot water to loosen the cakes.  Didn't work.  So then I put the pan in the freezer.  Bingo!  They popped loose.

Well... there you have it.  I obviously have too much time on my hands.  I can cook, clean, care for my husband and child.... and make ugly soap!

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Don't Do It.

If you're thinking about a quick bathroom remodel, Don't Do It.

If you're thinking 'oh, that's EASY', Don't Do It.

If you're thinking that you can have your project wrapped up in a small time frame, Don't Do It.

If you're thinking you can finish your bathroom at or under budget, Don't Do It!!!

(I say it all very tongue-in-cheek; we are avid do-it-yourselfers)

Welcome to our bathroom.  It's been under a state of construction since Thanksgiving.  It's our only bathroom, and when we moved here we didn't have a shower (our house is over 125 yrs old).  Soooo we ripped out the walls surrounding the tub and installed plumbing.  Did we replace the walls?   Er... nope.  Just stapled up plastic to the framing.  It works, honest!  But last week we entered phase two of the bathroom redo.  We ripped out MORE walls.  And the vanity.  And the floor.

We found a bat cave.  Not even kidding.  Four inches of fur and bones resting inside the wall.  It was the grossest thing I have ever seen; thank God my dear husband cleaned it up (I held open the garbage bag).

So...now it's all about putting her back together.  We have most of the materials ready to go; new flooring, new vanity and sink, new light fixtures, sheets of drywall and cement board.  We still need to purchase tile for the shower area.  I just haven't picked it out yet.

I hope to have a Don't Do It Part II post relatively soon, but.. well, define 'soon'.

(this post was submitted to The Nester's Take A Risk day) and

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Mock Green Mill Walleye Sandwich

-Written by Nina Hedin

Nothing fancy for dinner here tonight! This is one of my favorite quick dinners; for those nights that I don't feel like being a *real* cook, or when I wish we were going out to dinner instead of staying home.

The Green Mill is a popular chain restaurant in my area and they have the best walleye sandwiches. It's the sauce that makes them so good. I've come pretty close to replicating their tarter. Try it! I promise you'll like it.

Frozen white fish filets (breaded or not, your choice)
Buns
Butter
Parmesan cheese
1/2c mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4c green olives, minced
1 TBSP lemon juice

1. Mix mayo, garlic, olives and lemon juice. Set aside. The longer the sauce sits, the better it gets.
2. Preheat oven according to directions on fish packaging; and cook as necessary. Remove from oven and let cool slightly
3. Split and butter buns, toast with your broiler.
4. Assemble sandwiches; top fish with generous sprinkling of Parmesan, spread tartar on buns, add tomatoes and lettuce to your liking and EAT!

I usually serve this with steamed broccoli or another green veg. to give the plate some color.

And that's it - Easy and delicious. And cheaper than Green Mill :)

I'm excited to participate in my first blog link up party! Courtesy of My Three Little Birds. Check her out, along with the other bloggers contributing recipes on her site. Click below...

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To Be Pregnant. Or Not.

I want The Captain to have a sibling. I really, really do. Maybe two siblings. Or even three (that was just to give Tom a heart attack).
 

But I hate being pregnant.  And I had an easy pregnancy!  No morning sickness, no out-of-the-ordinary pregnancy pains, no complications.  It's just that it was so... uncomfortable.  I know that some women LOVE being pregnant; and I thought I would have been one of them.  But I wasn't.  I missed my wine and occasional sushi and bleu cheese.  I missed sleeping on my stomach.  I missed the ability to bend over.  I guess I could apply 'no pain, no gain' to this situation.  The outcome is definitely worth all my minor whininess.

So here we are, TTC for the 3rd cycle in a row.  *IF* I got pregnant now, I would have a December baby.  Holiday stress AND a new baby?  Yikes!  On the plus side, baby would be a Sagittarius, and I get along famously with Sagittarians. 

Oh, and here is another reason I am dreading pregnancy.  The fat suit.  I look at this pic and I cannot believe it was me (or believe that I am posting it on the internet).  That was just days before I went into labor.  I gained a little over 60lbs carrying Jack.  And he was born under 8lbs.  So.... that was 52lbs of Dairy Queen Banana Cream Pie Blizzards.   I like to tell myself that I won't gain as much for my next pregnancy.  MAYBE I won't.  But more than likely, I would.  Ugh.

the pink track jacket was just for looks - there was no zipping that baby shut

Dairy Queen, anyone?



PS,if you haven't signed up for KGB deals, do it! All you enter is your email address and then you'll get daily deals mailed to your inbox. You save $$ and I earn .75 cents for referring you. That's like 75 gumballs!

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Experimental Cooking

Ahh, cooking.  I love it.  I just wish it didn't come with the mess.  (Living the non-dishwasher life, after living the dishwasher life, is an adjustment.)

I tried a several new recipes this week and thought they were worth mentioning.  We roasted a 20+lb turkey last week and I had to put on my thinking cap to use up all the meat.

First was Emeril's Turkey Tetrazzini. It was FANTASTIC. Spicy and rich. But if you are counting calories, you may want to skip this one.

Then I made Rachael Ray's Turkey Posole. It calls for a can of hominy. I didn't even know what hominy was, only associated it with southern things like grits. OH WOW did that add a great texture and flavor to the soup! I am on a mission to cook more often with hominy.

AND THEN, I was craving something sweet that I could frost. I had a can of pumpkin. The internets led me to Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes. The recipe made 18, so I froze about half of them. It worked out wonderfully. I think that I am going to make another batch, frosting free, and freeze them all. They are SO handy to just pop in the microwave for a few moments in the morning and enjoy with coffee.

But this was my favorite recipe of the week. It is based loosely, VERY loosely, on Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos from allrecipes.

Here is the Nina Redu:

Preheat your oven to 350.

1. Throw one large sweet potato in the microwave and cook her up
2. In large pan, saute one small onion and four cloves of garlic (minced)in olive oil for about 4 minutes, or till onions are opaque.
3. Add one can of rinsed black beans or kidney beans, and lighly mash
4. Add one teaspoon of cumin, one teaspoon of chili powder, and a sprinkling of chipotle powder (or diced chipotle peppers)
5. Add 1/3c water and mix well. Remove from heat.
6. Scoop sweet potato out of shell and mash with 1/4c sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Assemble burritos. I used med flour tortillas. One scoop of the bean mash, one scoop of the sweet potato, and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. Roll and place on baking sheet. I was able to make 6 small burritos. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with extra sour cream and salsa. REALLY REALLY good. I'll be making this again. And I love that it's meat free. Eating meat everyday just feels so... heavy.

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Blog Overload

My mind is going to explode.

I've been reading and clicking and following and subscribing and joining blogs like a madwoman.  I've read some really interesting things and some so-boring-I want-to-poke-my-eyes-out things.  All in the name of research.

Who knew there were so many religious bloggers out there?  I find them excruciatingly preachy.  At the first hint of scripture or Jesus, I run for the hills.  Unless the blogger is presenting religious content in a historical way.  That I can handle. But if you're telling me how to be good, or avoid Hell, or find salvation, see you laterz.

Who knew that so many women design pink blogs? *blech*  Or that not only do you have to write for your blog, you also have to update several social media sites to find readers.  Blogfrog, Twitter, FB, BlogHer, TopMommyBlog, blah blah blah.  I may have more time to support all these sites, but at what expense?  It's freakin' nice out.  Time to shut the computer off and play outside.

Who knew that there were so many MommyBloggers out there?  Or that they have their own name?  Am I one of them?  Eeek!  They have conventions and summits and conferences.  A few national bloggers make enough from advertising and product reviews that they can support their entire families.  It's awe-inspiring.  With the six cents I have earned from Google Adsense, and $1.50 from an affiliate program, I am obviously well on my way into the ranks of mommyblogging stardom.  Right? Right.


But is that why I am blogging? No.

I want to write about anything and everything in Artsy's brain.  Not pander to my 'community'. My only censors shall be my conscience and knowing that my Mother will read this.  And believe me, the Mother Factor filters out a helluva pile of crud. 


Eh, I don't know where I was going with this.  Maybe just a little self-evaluation of why I've spent so many hours online lately.  Maybe it's time to unplug.  

(only a slight unplugging - I need my precious internets for recipe searching - hehehe)


 

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Friday? Already?

I have things to do. There is a list, written in blue crayon, on the fridge. Things like 'bake bagel chips' or 'call about old 401k' or 'finish taxes'. There is even an item titled 'dishes'. As if I need a reminder to do dishes. But if it's on the list, and I complete it, I can cross it off!


It's the small things, ya know?


Tom doesn't have a list. Or at least not one that is written down. His list hovers in the air; words floating around his head that probably originated from his lovely wife's mouth.


Anywhoo. Today I aim to cross a few more items off my list. The first is
Friday Deals.


Disclaimer: I signed up for a few affiliate programs. If you click through one of my links, I could make a teeny weeny commission. Example: If you give KGB deals your email address, I'll make .75 cents. Yup, I'm going to get rich QUICK! hehehe   Plus I like to help my pals save their hard-earned cashola. We should NEVER pay full price for anything, 'kay?

Save 70% off most Restaurant.com $25 Gift Certificates! Use code SPRING at checkout now through 3/22/11 (that means you pay about $3 bucks)

KGBDeals.com National Deals - Huge Daily Saving of 50-90% on Spas, Restaurants, Events & More! There are usually national and regional specific deals; enter your zipcode.

GROUPON! My fav. Find Today's Daily Deal on the Best in Minneapolis and Saint Paul! Lots over there today - and a subscription discount for the New York Times, if you're swanky like that.

LivingSocial Deals
They have one for Eagle Street Grill in St. Paul. Been there; great food and atmosphere and usually awesome music.

If you're a fabric junkie like me, check out this site. Free shipping over $35. Clearance and Closeout Fabrics

at Barnes & Noble

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, why not? I've earned $15 in Amazon giftcards just for using thier search engine ocassionally over the last 2 months(because it sucks - I still like google more). AND, if you buy your Groupons through the Swagbucks links - you earn swagbucks ridiculously fast (like 300 at a time). Buy Daily Deals from Groupon, Living Social and Tippr and Earn Reward Points good for Free Stuff at Swagbucks.com. Start today!

If you need to buy your significant other (or yourself) something sporty: 10% off - March 2011 Coupon at fansedge.com

Plum District has another referrel thing; if you get three people to sign up, you get a $10 Holiday gas card. So go bug your mother, great aunt and BFF to sign up.

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Porch chairs get an Artsy Update

http://todayscreativeblog.net/I have a chair fetish. I've bought (or saved from the scrap pile) plenty of stick chairs over the years. I like to recover their seats, give them a coat of paint and extend their life a little bit. I even buy pictures of chairs. And paint pictures of chairs. And make miniature chairs from clay. Why chairs? Why not a sofa, or couch, or as grandma used to say... davenport? Chairs hold a special appeal. They are functional, necessary, and don't invoke images of laziness. Sure, you can make a chair plush and comfortable, but when you're sitting in a chair, you're doing something. It probably makes no sense. Let's just leave it at 'Nina Likes Chairs'.

Toni of toni4ball photography donated two chairs to our new house last fall.  I liked how they were similiar but mismatched at the same time.  They have seen several layers of paint and who knows how many years of service.  I knew that I would recover the seats but was unsure of what paint finish I wanted to achieve.  I thought about lightly sanding the edges to reveal the dark wood underneath.  Kind of 'shabby chic'.  But these chairs would be sitting against a house with white siding. I want them to pop, not blend in.  I washed and prepped the chairs, removed the seats and got to work.

I applied an acrylic green wash with a rag.  It looked hideous.  I quickly decided that brown was the way to go; it would match my seat fabric, pop against the house and match whatever color I decide to paint the porch this spring.

Although it was a mere 45 degrees, it was sunny.  I decided to spray paint.  I found a snow free part of the yard and applied one coat to each chair.  I used an entire can. If any spots were missed - too bad.  *chuckle*

Here is the finished product.  I love-LOVE-LoVe the seat fabric.  It's a Michael Miller print called Ginger Blossom.

So here is where they sit. I can imagine a freshly painted porch floor and cute curtains or shades in the window behind them.

Someday.

***update***  3/21 check out other craft links at todayscreativeblog.net !

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