What a Little Paint Will Do

   Paint doesn't scare me.  I love making a dramatic change to something that is long over due for an update and paint can do that for hardly any cost.  So, for this project I wasn't nervous.  Painting my cabinets wasn't anything new to me and the bathroom walls have been a couple different colors before so I knew what I was getting myself into.  The outcome is (I think) incredible!  It was all because of paint.  I am a huge fan of Behr paint.  Especially their Ultra paint and primer all in one.



Before

After

     

  I added knobs to the cabinet to give it a little more character and dress it up.  I matched them to my shower curtain rings.  See what just a little paint can do.  Happy painting!

A New Way To Label Your Things

  After cleaning and reorganizing my spice/baking cabinet I re purposed some jars and put my flour and sugar in them.  I didn't want sticker labels on them and I remembered that I saw some dry erase labels.  So, off to Target I went and I got some as well as wet erase markers as well.  Then that way I don't rub the writing off every time I would go to reach for a canister.

  Look for this on the wet erase marker package.  The only brand that I could find was Expo.

  For both the labels and the wet erase markers I didn't even spend $10.  Huge plus is that the labels come in a back of AND  they are removable!  Believe me they are removable and you can put them on something else so they will last forever.  What an exciting purchase.  Another thing that these labels will be good for is canning season.  Happy labeling!

Fitness Friday: Calorie Burning Calculator

   Reorganizing, cleaning, rearranging and gardening...that has seemed to be all I have been doing for the past few weeks.  By the end of the day I don't feel like going and doing a work out.  Honestly I have worked out all day.  I am not just talking about just scrubbing the toilet and wiping down the windows I am talking about pulling everything out of the closet or being in the hot sun and cleaning out a flower bed and doing this for hours at a time.  So, I decided to look it up and see how many calories I burn doing all this stuff.  It's hard work and it's nice to know how rewarding it is.  I found this web site www.healthstatus.com I clicked on Home and then health calculator and it has a very long list of activities.  Just type in your weight and how many minutes you did your activity, select your activity and it will calculate it for you.  Utilize your resources and learn as much as you can about your fitness and your health.  I hope you find this helpful.  Happy fitness!

Revamped Lamp

  Have you ever noticed how expensive lamps are?  Well, I have and I decided to repurpose another lamp so I didn't have to buy one.  So, I grabbed my paint and went to work.

  I used Behr Ultra in Antique White.  After the paint was almost completely dry I sanded around the edges and at random spots.  Happy revamping!

Thrift Store Find: New Kitchen Table

  For a long time my husband and I looked for a new kitchen table but didn't want to spend the money and we couldn't find something that we really liked.  I decided to pop into the thrift store one day and found this vintage table that was perfect; price point, style and size.   So we bought it.  My husband helped me sand it down, paint and stain it.  All we had to do is put some wood glue on thejoints of the legs and use some wood putty in a few cracks and it turned out magnificent.  I can't wait to find another piece of furniture to redo!  This only cost us $100!  If we would have had to buy the paint we used for the legs it would have been $120.  This is including all the supplies as well.  This beats the $400 table that we were eyeing at a store and to be quite honest we were not completely sold on it.

Before

After

   
  The biggest tip I could give you is to stay even with your strokes when using a stain.  Oh, and patience.  Don't rush a project like this.  It will pay off.   Here is a close up.

  We used Poly Shades by Minwax in Espresso and the legs are Behr Ultra in Antique White eggshell finish.  We did get some help from one of our furry residence...

  She was really interested in what was going on.  I hope this inspires you to go out and find your amazing thrift store gem.  Happy thrift shopping!

Meal Planning

  I think it's pretty well known, especially since the big coupon bang, that meal planning makes things much simpler.  Knowing what you are having for dinner to being able to get a grocery list down in six seconds flat really does make it nice.  Today I thought I would share with you how I make my meal plans and grocery list.  Really it's common sense but sometimes it is an overwhelming task so it's nice to share ideas.  Our household consists of two of us but I have to say that meal planning saves us money (even without using coupons).  So this is how I do it.

1.  I take one day of the week to sit down and figure out what we want for dinner.  Obviously I take into consideration if there are any special events, or certain dinner parties planned for the week. Lately I have been getting a lot of good recipes off of Pinterest but usually I sit down with my cookbooks and get ideas from there.
2.  I section my grocery list off into produce, meat, dairy and misc.  As I go through the meals I write down everything I need onto my grocery list.  Simple as that.

   One of the best things about meal planning is that you get familiar with what is in your pantry and what you can stock up on.  Like I said before this has saved us a lot of money because we are not spending $20 to $30 every other day and not really getting anything besides what we need for just that meal or that day.  There you have it.  Happy shopping!

Peace of Mind

  This weeks topic I really wanted to come up with different things about simplifying your life.  To me it's not just about the closets, the cabinets or the drawers looking nice and neat, it's also about ways to make you feel better, ease your mind and find ways to enjoy everything.  One thing that I do, besides clean,  is keep a journal.  Now, to be honest I don't write in it every day.  However, it is something that helps me sort through my mind.  Even if it's not about your every day life you can keep a workout journal or craft journal, anything you want.  There's no rules, no english teacher to grade you and no one to tell you what you're feeling, doing, saying is wrong except you.  So, try it.  You would be surprised how different you will feel after.  Happy writing.