Miracle In A Bottle

Many of my friends have heard me raving about the greatest cleaning product in the world.  I have never been so excited to clean in my entire life.  The way my windows look in these photos you will probably think that I never clean. I do, but I have a messy family. Yes, I found this recipe on Pinterest and I am happy to say I will never buy Windex again.  This spray cleans greasy finger prints and does not leave streaks.

The recipe has three ingredients which you may already have in your home.  Water, white vinegar, and Dawn dish washing liquid.  Take an empty spray bottle and fill it to the top with water.  Add a drop of Dawn and a splash of vinegar. Screw on the top and shake.  Spray on the area you want to clean and wipe dry with paper towels or a cloth.



BEFORE


The glass had a greasy sunscreen cheek print from my daughters.



AFTER



BEFORE

The window above is Labrador height, so it is always full of dog spit. I seriously clean the windows twice a day because of the dog.





AFTER



The Pinterest pin says this spray can also be used to clean counter tops, which I have tried and am pleased with the results.  Yesterday I also sprayed it on my ceramic tile floor to spot clean and it worked great too. The pin also claims the spray leaves a slight residue on counter tops that is not harmful and repels ants.

















Wall of Fame

I love old family photos.  They don't even have to be photos of my family.  Looking at old photos in a museum stirs up stories in my head. I wonder what the person was like and want to know their story.  I have created a Wall of Fame in the foyer of my home.  It helps personalize our home and serves as a visual family tree of sorts. It is definitely a conversation starter. My Wall of Fame is a work in progress, as the family grows so does the wall. This is a portion of the wall. The plaque in the middle says "Home -Where your story begins."

This could be an expensive project, if you purchased the frames at a retail store.  I have collected these frames as gifts, cast offs, and garage sales. My recent garage sale acquisition was five frames for $0.50.  How could I pass them up?

Once again I grabbed my favorite spray paint and went to work. I think the final product will be a nice addition to the wall.

Gift Ideas

Today is my nephew's graduation party.  I hate giving money in a card as a gift, that just isn't creative enough.  I saw this great idea on my favorite site Pinterest and had to try it.



Of course I did not have an empty tissue box.  Last week I had three boxes that went in the trash, but that's another story.  Off to the store I went to buy tissues.  I removed the tissues from the box and saved them to insert in the empty box in the car.


I then taped the dollars together to fold and insert into the box.  My husband thought I was crazy. Sometimes he is right (but not always).

I inserted the money, taped the box and added ribbon and a gift tag that said "Congratulations!  Don't Blow It!"  So much better than a card with money. 

Gift card bouquets are also great gifts.  I recently made one for a sick friend.  Several friends contributed to the gift.  My friend and her family loved it.

The bouquet included her favorite gift cards, mini liquor bottles, candy, and money.  I taped the cards and other items to wooden skewers and inserted them into floral foam.  This should last longer than flowers and is practical if you a practical gift giver.  

Chair Re-do



I am armed with my trusty can of spray paint again to finish the garage sale chairs. Still using Kona Brown Gloss.  The chairs will be used in the girl's rooms with their desks.  



BEFORE





I had to remove the seat and do some sanding. The seats were taken apart and I added new thicker foam, because I anticipate the lots of sitting while doing homework.  New fabric was purchased to coordinate with their bedrooms.



AFTER


I found the foam in the attic (my husband is a pack rat) and purchased a yard of canvass fabric at JoAnn's for $5.40. The total cost for two chairs, paint and fabric was $19.40. Add my labor and they are priceless.



Hooked on Pinterest

I've been MIA searching the Pinterest Boards.  Somehow I have managed collect 281 pins and have decided it might be a good idea to try out some of these Pins. The Pin about cooking hashbrowns in the waffle iron sounded like a great idea, but was not so wonderful in real life.  I have decided to try some Pins and share the results with you. Hope you enjoy the journey. 

I have been inspired by the Pins about breathing new life into old furniture and upcycling.  I purchased a vanity, two chairs and four picture frames while shopping at some garage sales in my neighborhood.  The purchases set me back $10.50.  It will definitely cost more to transform them, but hopefully the result will be fabulous.

BEFORE

I wanted to transform this vanity into a desk for my daughter's room.  Perfect size and not to many drawers to stash her treasures.  It took a little sandpaper and some paint. This paint is great!  It dries quickly, offers great coverage and also adheres to plastic. The color is Kona Brown Gloss.

This is the transformed piece.  I am pleased with results. The paint did set me back $4.00 for this project, but I think it was a great investment.

AFTER

I did manage to bake some zucchini bread during this transformation process.  I will let you know how that turned out tomorrow.

Zucchini Envy

I am enjoying my zucchini harvest and my neighbor's harvest.  My zucchini are small, but my neighbor's zucchini are monsters.  By monsters I mean at least 14 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.  These monsters can yield about 10 cups of shredded zucchini.  This week alone I have made Zucchini Gratin, Garden Vegetable Enchilada's, and Zucchini Bread.  This is the bread I made during my Pinterest transformation I posted yesterday.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 C shredded zucchini (1 medium)
1/2 C oil
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
1t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1 1/2 C flour
1C chopped pecans

Combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in mixing bowl and beat until combined. Add baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and flour. Beat to combine. Scrape bowl as needed.  Stir in nuts and zucchini.  Pour into greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan.  Bake at 350F for 1 1/4 hours or until loaf tests done in middle. Can also make 12 muffins and bake 375F for 20 minutes.




I have included another Pinterest project for you to enjoy.  I used the Pinterest recipe of 2 T fabric softener in a spray bottle of water.  Spray the tangled and matted doll hair with this solution and you are magically able to get a comb through the doll hair. I admit this doll's hair was not that bad, but it was unable to be combed. The  AFTER photo shows a smoother look almost like new.

BEFORE



AFTER

Check in for more Pinterest reviews.

Black Friday Event

My husband Dave received an invitation to a Black Friday event at a Senior Living Community!  The invitation promises a free flat screen TV if you sign a lease on Friday.  This is funny because my husband is 45 years old. He does wear hearing aids, so I'm going to assume his audiologist sold his name to a mailing list. I wonder what would happen if he showed up on Friday with our 10 and 8 year old daughters in tow to collect his TV? 

I'm trying to make a comeback to my blog.  Did anyone miss me?  Probably not.