Anyway, I’m healthy and well now. I love english muffins, but I hate preservatives. So I started making my own english muffin bread. And then last night I made grilled cheese with it and it was amazing. Don’t be jealous of the dinner plate below, I do often eat like a child. If I had tomato and avocado I would have definitely added that to make it even more delicious.

Here’s the recipe I use for english muffin bread. It’s really, so easy to make. It makes two loaves, which usually lasts us about 2-3 weeks, and it can be frozen or refrigerated. It’s great with butter or jam, as french toast, grilled cheese and as a pb and j.

On a different note, are any of you giving anything up for Lent? I’m going to try my hand at giving up artificial dyes. Meaning, cutting out any and all foods and drinks that have dyes in them. I don’t think it’ll be too hard for me, but I’m hoping it makes me more aware of artificial ingredients.

What about you guys? Giving anything up? ERL..you? (ERL is my dear friend who’s Jewish but always gives something up for Lent because she loves the challenge. My kinda gal.)…  have a good weekend!

Each passing year is another adventure together with ups and downs, laughs, cries, smiles, frowns, hugs and kisses. Most of all though, it’s another year of each other side by side making our way in this big world on this wild ride called marriage.  My heart grows bigger with each passing day.

I love you to the moon and back Alton…xo

Do something fun, eat some chocolate, and squeeze your loved ones! xoxo

p.s. that’s a photo of a perfectly shaped heart leaf that was on the ground when we vacationed in VA!

In the meantime though, thought I’d share what I’m working on. First, my favorite is this $6 lamp I picked up at the thrift store.

I’ve been hunting for a lamp for my desk for a while now and this one was perfect. I loved the detail and the curves of the base. Though, I think it was most definitely straight out of an 8-year-old boys room and it had a baseball themed lampshade or something. So I’ll be making that over with a nice coat of paint. It came shadeless so I set out to find one. I eye spied this one in Target and it was on clearance for just $5.08. (Forgot to take the plastic off the shade. It won’t normally reflect/shine like that!)

I think it was on clearance because the base was missing from it. It was the exact shape and size I was looking for. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to keep it navy blue or jazz it up.

I’ve also been back working on this chair. We went back and forth on fabric and colors for the longest time and finally found something that works great with the rest of the living room. Here’s a sneak peek of what we chose…

Not my typical choice of fabric but I’m loving how it’s looking on the chair.

And in other fun find news, we scored this amazing antique side table at Goodwill for $6.99!

Al spotted it and it was perfect for right next to our new couch…!

We decided to sell the other couch we had (for more money than we bought it for!) because it just fell too large in the room. We picked this one up at the Jordan’s Clearance center. It’s so much more comfortable, fits better in the space and allows room for a side table, which we couldn’t fit with the other couch.

So, that’s my weekend update. Hopefully I can get some painting in soon!

Selling

1. Price to sell – think about what you’re selling and where you’re selling. Craigslist buyers are looking to pay as little as possible. I always search similar items, to what I’m selling, to see the going price. From there I price competitively. I’m also always willing to negotiate price if it’ll move something faster from my home that’s taking up space. I’ll often write “willing to negotiate” or “looking for a quick sale.”

2. Include specific details – always include measurements (if applicable), colors, condition and any other important details you think a buyer would like or need to know. Buyers are just going to ask those details in an email or call to you, so simply include them in the first place.

3. Honesty – don’t say your couch is in perfect condition when in reality your cat has clawed up one whole side of it. Always specify if you have pets of smokers in your home. Buyers want to know this information for allergies and other reasons.

4. Excellent photos – photos are key to selling. In the past I’ve received no responses to a photo-less post. Minutes after uploading a photo to the same posting I had numerous responses. Buyers like a visual. Make sure the photos are decent too. Not blurry, not too many shadows or highlights. You don’t need a fancy camera, I often use my cell phone camera.

5. Communicate appropriately – I never give out unnecessary information too soon. I actually pick and choose who I respond too and I always check the email address coming in. There’s a lot of spam out there and I’m not willing to risk it. If I think it’s shady or spam like then I don’t respond.

6. Be smart and safe – I always make sure Al is home with me when someone is coming to pick up. In college I used to make sure I had a friend or roommate with me. Always safer to have another person than to be alone. Craigslist is not supposed to frighten people, but you still have to be smart and safe.

Buying:

1. Peruse the site – search around for what you’re looking for, and do it often. Search a few different phrases and even misspell the item you’re looking for. You’d be surprised at how many postings are misspelled…but it could be just that thing you were looking for!

2. Reach out – when you find what you’re looking for, email (or call if a phone number is provided) the seller. In your email be sure to include the URL to the post. Often sellers post numerous items at the same time, so be sure to specify. Tell them you’re interested and could come by/take a look. Ask lots of questions if you have them.

3. Be responsive – if the seller gets back to you, respond quickly, if you’re really that interested. Sellers often have a few buyers lined up, so you wouldn’t want to lose your chance.

4. Don’t get discouraged – Craigslist finds will come and go, but keep searching. You may find that perfect item and by the time you reach out it’s gone. Keep looking, chances are something similar is going to turn up again.

5. Be smart and safe – Don’t meet someone in a secluded place and always go with another person. If it makes you more comfortable talk to the person on the phone before hand. Always bring cash and bring the exact amount. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made MORE money on selling something because I didn’t have change for the buyer and they didn’t have the exact amount. My gain, their loss, but I’d hate to have it happen to you! Don’t ever mail money to anyone, cash a check for anyone, agree to have something shipped to you..these are all scams.

Hopefully this was helpful. I love Craigslist and I love finding unique things. Selling is so easy too, I’ve sold everything from business suits to rice cookers to sofas. I always throw things on Craigslist, that I was otherwise going to donate. Why not try to get a couple bucks for something?! Feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I have a whole lot more Craigslist knowledge that I didn’t share!

Fun CL fact: When we moved from our last apartment we sold enough things on CL (that weren’t going to make the move with us anyway) to cover the cost of our movers. Not bad!

I started thinking about my options and I really didn’t want to go out and buy one of those rubbery rug pads when I only needed a very small amount of it. So instead I turned to my hot glue gun. That’s right, I threw a little glue on it. Not as in I glued it to the floor, but more like I glued the rug, let it dry and flipped it over.

I flipped the rug over, where you’ll be misled by a rubbery backing.

I then glued lines on it. First I went vertically and then horizontally to make a grid like design.

I let it dry for a while, longer than needed, probably about 20 minutes.

After it dried, I flipped it over and put it back in place in front of the washer.

Voila! It doesn’t slide around at all anymore. Super easy, inexpensive, quick fix. I used two and a half glue sticks on it so I’d say it was probably my cheapest option! This worked well for this scatter rug, but it’s incredibly light. It might not work as well on a heavier, thicker scatter rug. But, for this purpose, it worked perfectly!

It only seemed appropriate for February’s Pinterest project to be Valentine’s Day related. We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s day because our wedding anniversary is a week later, so we’ve given February over to our anniversary. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t still love the cuteness of it, especially with kids.

Al and I have one niece; his brothers daughter. She’s six years old and we love her to pieces. But, she lives in the cheese state, so we only get to see her a few times a year. I haven’t seen her in almost a year, which pains my heart. Al got to see her in September. We do our best to talk often, share videos and photos and send mail. Who doesn’t love getting snail mail?

Instead of sending her our usual Valentine card I wanted to send her something to open. I stumbled upon this craft/gift on Pinterest and got to work immediately after, I knew it was perfect.

It’s a little cookie making kit. I gathered my supplies, which using coupons and sales, only came to about $6 total. I found the tubes for the sprinkles at a craft store. They’re in the bead section.

I had the other supplies I used; construction paper, card stock, ribbon, scissors, glue and markers. I started by wrapping the box of cookie mix. To simplify, I didn’t wrap all sides, just the front and back.

I then cut a strip of paper, the long way, from a sheet of construction paper. I laid the four tubes of sprinkles on the box and folded the strip of paper to make slots for the tubes to sit in. I glued it down using a glue stick. I realized that you’re most likely thinking they’re still going to fall out. They won’t.

I took a different color paper and made a little seat for the tubes. I folded it two times…

..and glued it down underneath the tubes.

When the box is standing the tubes rest right into the little cubby I made them and they don’t slide around because of the red strip I slid them into.

I then, using other papers I had, cut out a few hearts and did some doodling. On the large heart I wrote, “you’re sweet as a cookie.” The smaller one says, ” love, uncle al and aunt linds.”

I used some scraps, from the pink paper and pink ribbon I had, to wrap the can of frosting. I stuck another heart on there too.

I wrapped a ribbon around the bottom of the box and brought it up to the top to tie in bow. I tied the cookie cutters together in a ribbon too. Here’s the final product:

To make it more exciting to open when she gets it I wrapped it in clear wrap and tied it with another bow. This weekend I’ll package it up and send it out to her.

I hope she’ll love it as much I loved putting it together. I may not have done the best job explaining the project, but hopefully the photos help! It only took me about 30 minutes to complete the whole thing. Have you guys been working on any fun Valentine’s day projects?!

Side note: you might notice the photos look different. Did you know that Picnik, the photo editing site is closing down? Because of that it’s free to use for the next few months so I’ve been having some fun with it!

After many Google searches I found that what seemed to work best was either using dishwasher detergent, not dish washing detergent, but the stuff you put in the dishwasher or baking soda and water.

I tested out both on my cooking spray stuck on baking sheet. I dabbed a little bit of the detergent on the tray and used a dry cloth to scrub it around.

With the baking soda I sprinkled it all over the cookie sheet. Then I dabbed a dry cloth in a small amount of water. And I scrubbed. And scrubbed and scrubbed. The amount of elbow grease in this project was intense. To the point that I had to call in Al to take a turn.

The dishwasher detergent produced very little results…maybe it would work better on a glass dish? The baking soda though, after crazy amounts of elbow grease, the stains started to disappear.

So, I guess if I had to choose I’d go the baking soda route. It might also be much easier to remove the stains from glass dishes, but I didn’t have any that were terribly stained to use. Just a last before and after…I still have a lot more to scrub off but I wanted to show you guys the initial results.

Hope it helps!

I gathered my supplies:

Lace, two spray paint colors, spray adhesive and a glass plate…

And set up on an empty milk carton, on a tree stump. Professional, I know. I turned my plate over so that the bottom of it was facing up. Sprayed a light coat of adhesive and stuck the lace to it.

I let that set for about five minutes. Then, I took my gold spray paint and lightly sprayed a coat to cover the whole plate. Let that dry about 10 minutes.

I peeled off the lace and then sprayed a coat of black spray paint right onto the glass.

As you can see in the photo something funky happened with my black spray paint. It almost looked as if the plate was wet or something, though it wasn’t. I let it dry for about 10 minutes and then did another coat. But, the same thing happened. So, I just let the whole thing dry for about 40 minutes and called it a day.

When I flipped it over it wasn’t nearly as pretty as it was in my head. I realized that I should have sprayed the black first and then the gold. So I did that backwards. I also realized that my lace might have been too dainty. It needed to have more of a design in it. And I didn’t do a good job of getting close to the edges.

So, needless to say this plate was a bust. But, no worries, I have seven more to try it out on. I think they would be great to toss jewelry on to, or keys near an entry way. I just have to figure out how to get it right. I had all the supplies except the lace, which I got on clearance for $2 at Joann Fabrics and the plates I got at the thrift store, a set of eight for $2.99.

So I guess if I get one right out of eight it still wouldn’t have been a bank breaker…!

- 1 teaspoon chocolate chips (either milk or dark chocolate)

- 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Add the chocolate chips to a small bowl.

Scoop the peanut butter into the bowl on top of the chocolate.

Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If chocolate is still not melted microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring after each one.

Stir it until both chocolate and peanut butter are mixed well.

Add a few chocolate chips on top and enjoy!

It’s basically like eating a warm Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. Add more chocolate or peanut butter depending on your liking of them. With dark chocolate it’s a nice healthy treat. Even with milk chocolate it’s not bad. Dark chocolate gives me the worst heartburn…and makes me sneeze, is that weird? So I use milk chocolate.