A little sneak...

Happy Friday ! 

I've been a busy bee this morning, I have a big To Do list and my goal is to I MUST check off every single thing listed.


Lists are my favorite. Ask my Mr. I write about 12 everyday, some for what I have to do for the day, some for what I need, and some for projects I must complete. The worse part about my list obsession is that I am horrible at remembering I actually made them. I'd say 9 out of 10 times, I forget them at home. Useless right ? I should really stop writing them but they seem to be my comfort, when I know I have a "list for the day" I seem to be less stressed. There, now you know my secret. Don't tell.

Moving on, today I'll give you a sneak peak at a dresser I re-did for C.A.P's room. I swear the room is almost complete. I just need to build two more shelves and it will be done ! Phew !

Alright so Older DM, found this dresser on our local "thrift website" for 20 dollars ! Solid wood dresser for 20 bones ! That calls for a happy dance, even if the thing looked like it fell off a roof - the drawers worked perfectly, and did I mention it was 20 dollars ?!?

Here is a very sad before picture. I had a better front on one, but for some reason when phone's battery died the thing disappeared ! So, you can't see much of it in this before picture, but you get the point. Dents, lots of them. Oh and those where the old knobs.

First step was of course to sand it all down !

Then I primed it, looks better already.

C.A.P's room colours are blue and grey with red accents. I was going for bold - don't worry.

So since his room is pretty bright, I wanted the dresser to match his new home.

There it is ! Dent free and freshly painted ! 

But wait, it needs more "Umph".

Stripes. Perfect. 

You'll see why when I show you his room.

 1, 2, 3, GO.

Here it is - C.A.P's upcycled dresser !

The knobs are from Home Depot - a pack of 10 for 19.99$

The paint I already had.

Total cost for the dresser was 40 dollars ! 

Not too shabby right ?

C.A.P loves it - Bonus.

TIP : When painting stripes on furniture or walls, make sure you take the painters tape off as soon as you paint your stripes, this will prevent the paint from bleeding under the tape !

 Thanks for stopping in today !

Have a great weekend

Bye.Cya

Mini Project Love.

Last weekend was all about project, big & small. Some were a tad more exciting than others.

 Some things just needed to be done around the house and I just kept putting them off. I like love doing things around the house, but some chores are really just for the birds.

Doing laundry.

Folding laundry.

Putting laundry away.

Have I ever told you how I fell about laundry ?

Can you guess ?

It ain't pretty.

Anyway, my craft room as not even been started yet. The room is currently being occupied by basement things. (Yeah, the basement flood, remember ? We are waiting until the frost is completely gone before we fix the problem. I'm sweating and my left eye is twitching just thinking about it.)

Yeah, so, the craft room, back to that.

 Along with basement items, there are also lots of bags full of things purchases sitting up there. 

You see, as I mentioned before, I have an addiction with thrift store and flea markets and buying random things at those places. 

(PS - I dislike the "flea" part in the name, they don't sell fleas, well, that I know of. Still, why ? It sounds so dirty - I swear the place isn't !) 

My flea market purchases are now renting my craft room space until their landlord decides to paint/re-do/hang them.

Gosh, are you still reading this ? Sorry - I'm blabbing.

Moving on.

I made this Button Holder jar, because I am "prepping" my things to put in my craft room. 

Yes, let's call it that.

This took me a whole 2.35 seconds to make. Which is almost the best part of this mini project !

Enjoy - it's actually pretty cute !

There really isn't need for too many instructions for this one, I'm over 100 percent sure it's pretty self explanatory.

I found this candle holder at a thrift store for a buck. I knew it would come in handy someday.

The jar is from our Dollar store so that was a buck as well ! Yahoo !

Total 2 bucks ! 

Paint the candle holder a pretty colour. 

Or just black in my case. 

Hot glue jar to candle holder and BOOM.

You've got yourself an up cycled jar !

Cute right ?

Short but Sweet ! 

Post ya Friday - Thanks for stopping in !

Bye.Cya

Who loves chocolate ?

For all you chocolate lovers out there, keep reading & you're welcome !

This is a fair warning - these little gems are addictive, delicious and may cause your pants to fit a little tighter.

How can you say no to something like that, right ?

If you are on a diet or training for anything - look away, or store this info in your head for a cheat treat !

These cookies are quick to make and yummy to eat.

Here is what you'll need :

Devil's Food cake mix 

2 eggs

1/3 oil

4 packs of Rolos

PS - This makes about 40 cookies. 

I know sorry about that part - giving some away is probably going to be your best bet !

Mix your cake mixture, oil and eggs together.

Get those delicious treats lined up and ready to be stuffed into more chocolate goodness.

 Stuff your cookies !

I found the best way to do this was to flatten your batter in your hand, place a Rolo on top and wrap it into your batter, forming a small ball. Make sure you use just enough batter to cover the Rolo, this way the chocolate and caramel will melt through the whole cookies.

Too much cake mix = Rolo only melting in the middle of cookie.

Cook on a greased pan at 350 for 8 minutes.

Top with Icing sugar if desired.

Enjoy !

Thanks to the girls over at Six Sisters' Stuff for sharing this recipe.

Thanks for stopping in today - I've been in project mode all weekend and can't wait to share what I've made.

Stay tuned !

Bye.Cya

An easy way out.

This week the Mr.'s choice is....

For all you lasagna lovers out there, this recipe is a must to try. It's a bit different that an original lasagna recipe, as you cook the whole thing on top of your stove instead of inside. 

Here we go - this is what you will need :

Family pack of Hamburger meat

1 Green Pepper

1 Onion

Pack of Mushrooms

Parmesan cheese

Grated cheese ( I used Mozzarella)

Basil

Oregano

2 1/2 cups of Tomato Sauce (I used Classico)

Oven Ready Lasagna noodles (should only need about 5 or 6 noodles)

Crushed garlic 

What you do :

In your skillet add Hamburger meat, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and a teaspoon of garlic.

Once meat is browned and veggies are tender, drain fat.

Add the 2 1/2 cups of tomato sauce and a few sprinkles of Oregano.

Cook on medium for 20 minutes or so.

Scoop out 4 cups of sauce into a separate bowl and set aside.

Spread the remaining sauce evenly on the bottom of skillet.

Break your Lasagna noodles into smaller pieces and spread them on your sauce, like picture below.

Add some grated cheese, Parmesan cheese and a few sprinkles of basil on top of your noodles.

 Add 2 cups of the sauce you have set aside and repeat the noodle, cheese and basil steps.

 Add the remaining 2 cups of sauce and top with both cheeses.

Cook on medium-low for 25 minutes or until noodles are tender and cooked.

When cooked, let sit for 10 minutes, then slice as you would a normal oven lasagna.

Enjoy !

Post ya tomorrow.

Bye. Cya

No sew curtains

Fact : I don't sew.
I took sewing class in Grade 7, made a piggy pillow and that was the end of that.
 I don't own a sewing machine right now, but it is on my current wish want list. But until I make the decision to buy it, I make due without it.

This brings me to today's post - No Sew Curtains.

 Perfect for the "I don't own a sewing machine" type. 

Enjoy !

I've been looking for curtains for my entryway ever since we moved in. I knew I wanted the material to be light in colour as my entryway's colours are white, beige and blues. I looked everywhere for white curtains.


Two problems with this :  1) They were all pretty plain fabric and 2) they are so overpriced.
 I mean, how can I justify paying 45 dollars A PANEL for curtains, when I don't really even need/close/use them anyway ! Decoration. 45 dollars time 2. Nope, no thank you. 

So buying curtains were out of the question, making them was the next best idea, and I didn't let the "no sewing machine" fact stop me. So, I went to Walmart and purchased this...

Fabric glue tape. 

You know that stuff you can use as a quick fix to hem your pants ?

Yep - that wonderful stuff.

 Now, the only thing missing was the fabric.

Problem number 3 with this project. Every fabric I picked out was over priced. 

Ding.Ding. Ding.
(If you missed that, it was my idea light bulb going off)

A tablecloth. Yes. A 16 dollar Homesense tablecloth.

A perfectly crisp winter white tablecloth.
Boom.
Isn't she pretty ?

This project is so simple. 

Like seriously, don't even blink because you'll miss the instructions on how to do it.

Ready? 

Set.
Go.

1) Cut your table cloth into two even pieces.

2) Add your fabric tape to each side of your materials and fold over.

PS- Try not to be "too" jealous of my duck ironing board cover. 

It needs a makeover....like 5 years ago.

3) Apply heat over the fabric glue - hold for 5 seconds.

 4) Add the drapery clip rings 

You're done - Told you it was simple !

Thanks for stopping in !
Come back Sunday for a yummy diner idea.

Bye.Cya.

No slip girlie hair clips

Girlie project ?  Sign me up ! 

I don't often get a chance to make little girl crafts, so when C.A.P received an invite to Miss E's birthday party I was beyond excited to make something pink.

These no slip hair clips are so fun and easy to make. I love that they can be made as a set or all individual designs. Check out the four I made to go with Miss E's birthday gift. 

Miss E just turned one, and of course she still has that fine baby hair...wait, who am I kidding, I still have that hair. 

Dear hair gods - Why ?

Anyway, I knew the clips would look so cute in her hair, but I needed them to stay put for them to look cute in the first place.

Here is what I used :

Silver clips (found at any craft store)

Ribbon

Felt sheets

Feathers

Buttons

Pink paint

I also decided to make one of these cute frame clip holders. My idea for this was of course inspired by Pinterest -but I thought it would add a little extra touch to her gift.
Here is what I used for the clip frame holder:

Ribbon

Non slip drawer liner (Found at the dollar store)

A tiny wooden painted Caterpillar

Here is what I did:

Hot glued the ribbon to the clip - don't worry if the ribbon doesn't cover the whole clip - the top part of the clip design will take care of that part.

Now, take a small piece of felt and a small piece of the non slip drawer liners.

Hot glue then together and cut excess felt.

Hot glue the  "no slip" piece to the top (inside) of your clip. Trim with scissors to fit your exact clip shape.

NOTE : the clips I used were the alligator type, with the teeth on the bottom part of the clip so the "no slip" piece just gives the clip a little extra hold for the kiddies fine hair.

No slip part is now complete !

 I then made the designs  for the top of the clips using buttons, feathers and ribbon.

The feather clip is my favorite.

 Think I'm too old to rock it ?

Wait, don't answer that one.

Now for the frame

I first painted it pink.

Using the glue gun, I added two pieces of bright pink ribbon. This will be what holds the clips to the frame.

Last step - Add a little extra to the frame.

Clips added - Complete ! 

The clips looked so cute in Miss E's hair, and they stayed in place perfectly !

Hope you enjoyed this little DIY.

Thanks for stopping in !

Bye.Cya.

Potty for C.A.P, life lesson for Mama.

Oh well, well, it's that time.
I knew it had to come, I just thought putting it off was always best.
There's always "tomorrow".
Well soon "tomorrow" will be C.A.P's third birthday.
And since my goal was to have this done before he was two, I should probably at least try to do it before he turns three !

Let me just go back in time for a second.
Back to when I was pregnant with C.A.P.
Boy oh boy, I thought I was going to have this all under control.
Easy Peasy right ?
"Potty training - oh yeah, that doesn't worry me, it's going to be so simple. I'll have him trained before he is two, no problem, I could probably even wing it in a day."

Now, let's just all have a very loud chuckle....at me and my thoughts.

Alright, back to reality.
He is almost three and he is NOT potty trained.
So my thoughts have changed since then I guess.
Diapers are just so easy.
He just does his business and I change him.
No C.A.P asking to use the potty.
No mommy asking C.A.P if he needs to use the potty.
No running to the bathroom to use the potty.
No sitting next to the potty waiting for something to happen.
Easy.

Well, things changed today.
I woke up and decided that today was the day C.A.P will be potty trained (1 day - yes, I'm apparently back to my pregnant crazy thoughts. You're still laughing right?)
OK, let me fill you in.
On Friday I found this article called "Potty training in one day"
Too good to be true? For me, probably.
Can this lady please move into our house? I swear, I'll pay her to live here.

This is what my morning looked like :

This is where C.A.P and I sat from 9:30 until 11:30. He sat on the potty (yes, for two hours) and I sat on the floor.

We read books.

We sang.

We talked about using the potty.

We watched the doll use her potty (PS- The "1 day training" lady "told" me to do this.)

Finally after two long hours, a juice box, a full sippy cup, and some cereal - it happened.
Hallelujah.
We jumped.
We cheered.
We called 4 people.
Then, C.A.P put his big boy undies on and he went off to play trains while I cleaned the potty.


"It was exactly what I wanted - he is learning ! Yes ! "

I was all smiles and happy thoughts until...

11:42 - C.A.P had an accident.

That's OK, they happen right ?

11:51 - C.A.P had an even bigger accident - if you know what I mean.

11:55 - Another...

Noon - "It's  5 o'clock somewhere right ? Maybe I should not have given him that full glass of water?"

Phew, this stuff is hard work !

Like everything, I'm sure it will get better with time. 

So, with that being said, can we fast forward a couple of weeks ?

I'll keep you updated - but for now, I'm back to my potty station.

Thanks for stopping in !

Post ya Wednesday 

Bye.Cya

Take the challenge

So this post will be different than the usual Sunday's "Mr's favorite meal of the week" post for two reasons.
1) I'm not posting it on Sunday. It's Monday today.
2) This is not a meal we have eaten ourselves. It's for someone else.

With that being said, here we go :
I'm challenging you again ! 
Just like I did a few months ago with THIS post, except this time it's a bit different.

This time, the challenge is :

 Bake and or cook for someone else.

 For free. 

Out of the kindness of your own heart.

Someone you love dearly.

Someone who needs a helping hand this week.

Someone who deserves a little something special.

The person(s) could be anyone.

This week, I cooked a meal for a family I don't quite know very well.
A family who needs a little prayer from everyone this week.
A family who has had one of their loving members touched with an awful disease.

The Mr. and I were told earlier this week, that one of his co worker's mother's was diagnosed with cancer.
A woman, who works with the Mr., came up with a great idea of preparing some meals for the family, just so they had one less thing to think about this week.
A lot of the workers bought and or cooked a meal and on Wednesday the Mr. delivered the goods to the family.

I made 7 individual sized Sheppard's pie.

We are sending lots of love and prayers to the family. Thinking of you all.

Since everyone on the planet knows how to make Sheppard's pie, I'll spare you the "boring" details of the steps on how to make it ! But I'll just add a little bitty tip that I was taught a couple of years ago, from one of my cousins, who happens to have the best curly hair I've ever seen. So here is to you "R.A"- thanks :)

TIP: Add gravy to it. Yes, gravy. The not so healthy choice, I know, but boy, does it ROCKS.
Right after you place your meat at the bottom of your pan, pour your gravy over the meat then add your corn and whipped potatoes.
Yum, and I wouldn't lie to you.

Another personal tip : Add some Mrs. Dash and onions to your meat as it's cooking.

Final tip : I've also used creme of mushroom soup instead of gravy. That was a hit as well.

***********

So, will you take the challenge ?

I'd love to hear about it !

Bye.Cya

A treat.

 I've been lacking in the "kiddie project and activity posts" on my blog lately, I've just been so caught up in posting about DIYs (they are completely taking over my life and I like love it).

So, with that being said, today's post is a great "kiddie activity" well, it's a treat recipe, BUT it's a great one to make with the kids. Now WAIT ! Adults and non mamas - Do not skip over this post - I promise these are yummy, quick and easy for you too !

Here is what you use :

2 bananas

1 1/2 cups of Milk

Chocolate pudding pack

Peanuts

Spoons (should actually be Popsicle sticks, working with what I had !)

Mini Dixie cups (You could also use regular plastic cups, but since C.A.P usually doesn't finish a regular sized Popsicle, I have my doubts that he would ever finish a plastic cup sized treat. Can you say waste?)

1) Crush your peanuts.

 2) Find a mini helper

3) Mix your pudding powder with your milk

4) Mash your bananas - then mix into your pudding

5) Place a small amount of crushed peanuts on the bottom of your Dixie cups (PS - this makes about 9 or so)

 6) With a spoon, fill cups with pudding mixture, then stick your spoon (Popsicle stick) into the chocolate/banana mixture

7) Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer until frozen

8) Enjoy your yummy treat

The Dixie cups peel right off the treat - it's perfect !

 If you are using plastic cups I would suggest running them under warm water - this should make them slip right out !

They are real tasty and a hit with C.A.P 

Thanks for stopping in - Have a great weekend - Post ya Sunday !

Bye.Cya