Breakthrough

I bought this house from a couple that had bought an RV and was hitting the road.  Since they obviously couldn't fit a whole house full of stuff into an RV, I inherited everything they couldn't get rid of, including A LOT of furniture.

The house has four bedrooms, and in an effort to make things easier for myself, their master bedroom became my master bedroom, their guest room became my guest room, their office became my office, and their... 

storage room?

became my storage room.

don't judge

But I could never figure out what to put where in any of those rooms.  I've moved dressers and bookcases back & forth (and back & forth, and...) for the past year and a half.

But then this past weekend, I was standing in doorway of "the red room" (partially red, as you can see), and had an idea...

the new master bedroom!

I moved everything out, tore up the carpet (and padding, and tack strips, and staples), and shifted the master bedroom over one.

I'm leaving the paneling (I really don't mind it!), but I will be painting the walls one color.  I'm thinking pink (!), specifically Wild Aster by Benjamin Moore.

Making it Lovely

I also need to:

1. refinish the floors
2. replace the blinds
3. replace the ceiling fan
4. replace the closet doors
5. and so on
6. and so forth...

Someday.

(Baby steps!)

The Frosting on the...

door?

Yes!

For some reason, the door to my basement was glass...

sorry for the reflection

It wouldn't really bother me, but this is the view...

lovely

I thought about replacing the door, but decided, on a whim, to try this first...

It took two cans, but it worked!

I also switched out the old (ugly!) brass doorknob for a new one in brushed nickel (all by myself!  It was surprisingly easy!!).

Very inexpensive, very easy and a huge improvement!

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

Sometimes the timing is just so perfect you have no choice.

This past weekend, I bought an old, greasy (SO greasy!) deep fryer at an auction. 

(I'm becoming addicted to auctions.  I'm going to another one this weekend.)

It was gross.

But, I cleaned it (and cleaned it and cleaned it...), and it looked really good.

Then today I saw a recipe for beignets, which reminded me of New Orleans, which made me wonder when Fat Tuesday is.

Turns out, it's TODAY!

So, I printed the recipe, stopped at the grocery store on my way home and voilà...

I used this recipe from Paula Deen and they were really good!  Not quite Cafe du Monde good, but good.

Birdseed Heart

A long time ago (I just looked and it was exactly 2 years ago tomorrow!), I promised myself I'd do one project every month that I pinned on Pinterest.

I lied.

But I'm making up for it now!

Spring is coming to Iowa.  (Really!)  I know this because I've started to see birds.  And, because it's still zero degrees outside (literally), I started to worry...  

With all this snow on the ground, how will they eat?

Then I saw this cute little Birdseed Biscuit on Pinterest. 

It sounded easy (it was!), and I thought the birds would like it (they don't).

The day after Valentine's Day, I found this heart-shaped cookie cutter at Michael's for 29 cents (timing!),

followed the recipe...

1. Mix together the birdseed, flour, and 2 tablespoons of water.
2. Spray or wipe a cookie cutter with oil and place it on a foil-covered cookie sheet. 
3. Pack the mixture into the cutter, inserting half a straw near the top to create a hole for hanging.
4. Bake the biscuit (with the straw) in a 170º oven until the biscuit is hard, about one hour. 
5. Let it cool.

And now I have this!

So cute!

The birds, however, are not impressed.

All You Need is Love

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!

Last week, about an hour before the store closed on February 13, I stopped into the Goodwill in Maquoketa, hoping to find a heart shaped cookie cutter (for an upcoming project), and found a set of Pottery Barn Kids Valentine's Day placemats (still in the package!) instead.

Now, I don't have kids (or a Valentine), so why do I need kids Valentine's Day place mats?

Because they are SO cute!!!

Source

And they were only $2!

I also found these salt & pepper shakers, also by Pottery Barn, also still in the box, for $3 (original price $24).

Source

They have nothing to do with Valentine's Day (or love) whatsoever, but they're so cute!

Also this weekend, I tried a recipe that I've been seeing on Pinterest a lot lately (with good reason - it's SO good and SO easy!)

Crockpot Italian Chicken 

4 chicken breasts

1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. 

Serve over pasta. 

Source

"Wowzers" indeed!

I may have to send these place mats to my friend Winavie at Lemons & Chambray (who actually does have kids and a Valentine!).  In the meantime, check out what Goodwill Hunting deals she found!

Next Month - It Ain't Easy Being Green!

Another Reason to Save Money

Because you just never know.

It currently looks like this outside...

And I don't make much money, so I keep it pretty cool in here.

Not usually THIS cool though...

Is my thermometer broken?

No.

So...

$460 (ouch!), but totally worth it.

So I'm back to not spending any money for a while.

Luckily, cleaning is free.  And this house desperately needs it...

before (gross)

after

Other than that, I've (sorry, we've) just been watching the Olympics.

Opening Ceremony

The Grand Total

$43.64

Not bad.

The breakdown...

• $7 - lunch.  I had to.  (Really!  It was for work.)
• $4 - beer.  Again, I had to!  My boss bought me one, so I felt obligated to buy her one.  I didn't buy one for myself though! (I didn't NEED it.)
• $32.64 - dry cleaning.  Really, this money was spent when I dropped my clothes off back in November (yes, November!).  This did make me think, though...  I don't have to dress up for work.  I can (and usually do!) wear jeans to work.  So the "dry clean only" clothes are going into storage.  Since I've been wearing "business casual" for (many, many!) years, I'm probably going to have to replace some of that clothing.  But I've been scouring sites like The Sartorialist for ideas, and I'm making a list of pieces that I need and I'm going to start searching for good deals (or, Goodwill!).  I'm thinking (hoping) it'll be cheaper in the long run.

The best part of this experiment?  It worked!

I went to the grocery store today, with a list of ingredients for several recipes.  One of the recipes (Moroccan Couscous) calls for a lot of ingredients (a lot!), most of which I won't use for anything else (Raisins?  Yuck.).  So, I skipped everything I needed to make that (despite the fact that I've been CRAVING it), and got the few remaining ingredients I needed to make Four Cheese Lasagna. 

Here's the recipe I use (with a few of my own modifications)...

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces lasagna noodles (I use the kind you don't have to cook)
• 1 (26 ounce) can spaghetti sauce
• 1 pound cottage cheese (I use ricotta)
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.  (or don't!)
• In a blender or with an electric mixer, blend tomato sauce and cottage cheese together until smooth. (I just stir it up with a wooden spoon.)
• Spoon a little of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Place a layer of cooked noodles over the sauce, and sprinkle a portion of the mozzarella, the cheddar and the parmesan over the noodles. 
• Repeat layering of sauce, noodles and cheese; finish with a cheese layer.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.

I think I made the right choice - this is really good, and I have enough for lunch all week!