Walk through my home, and you’ll find a bit of unfinished work. In the garage, there are the unfinished stairs the builder put in that could still use a coat or two of stain. Outside, there is the ramp that we had built for our backyard shed that now, two years later, could use some stain. The wooden perimeter (at the bottom of the shed) could also use some stain. Then, there’s the unfinished pine stairs that lead to our unfinished basement. The stairs have never been stained and are now a bit dirty. Because I hope to improve my home's unfinished basement this summer, I Continue reading...
Thrift Store Finds
When I arrived early for a lunch date with a friend the other day, I popped into a consignment store to kill a few minutes before going into the restaurant next door. I didn’t expect to find or purchase anything – I just wanted to have something to do until my friend arrived. The thrift store was filled with children’s clothes and toys, so I was excited when I spotted an old Yamaha PSR-150 electronic keyboard. Both of my children read and play music (one plays the piano and the recorder, the other plays the recorder), and I’ve been looking for an electronic keyboard for them. I’ve been Continue reading...
DIY Jewelry Organizer
I've seen a lot of do-it-yourself picture frame jewelry organizers on Pinterest and on other blogs, and I love them. So, when I was at the dollar store the other day and saw the materials I needed to make one of my own, I snapped them up. First, I picked up a simple $1 black document frame with silver trim. Then, I found some silver thumbtacks, also for $1. I figured that the thumbtacks would add a little bling to my DIY picture frame jewelry hanger. Putting It Together Later that day, while catching some TV with one of my daughters, I decided to get started on my picture frame Continue reading...
Planting a Summer Garden
. The weather was so beautiful here in Central New Jersey last week that I got inspired to work on my home's front garden bed. With the hopes of having a weed-free garden bed this summer, I dug up all the weeds in my planting bed -- the bed was a mess with weeds everywhere! I then put down some landscaping fabric to prevent new weeds from sprouting, and covered the garden bed with several healthy inches of black mulch. My, those bags of mulch were heavy! (And, as usual, the folks at the garden store didn't offer to help me carry those bad boys. I have to find a more helpful garden Continue reading...
A Day at the Zoo
Thanks to a warm winter and several unused snow days, my kids had a few extra days off this Memorial Day weekend. So, my husband and I took advantage of the extra time yesterday and took the kids to the Turtle Back Zoo in Essex County, N.J. We have a lot of great zoos near us, as where we live in Central New Jersey is close enough to both the Philadelphia Zoo and the Bronx Zoo. The lesser known Turtle Back Zoo was a great pick for us. The zoo was easy to get to, parking was free and easy and there were no crowds. Plus, admission for the family only cost us $34! Among the many Continue reading...
A Gift for Tea Lovers
The other day, I did some shopping with my spouse and kids. We stopped at Teavana, a delightful shop filled with teas of all sorts, adorable teapots and handy teapot warmers. I meant only to try the delicious tea samples that the shop had on hand, but before I knew it, my husband was offering to buy me a teapot and teapot warmer, since I am constantly reheating my tea in the microwave daily. Some tea flavors that I love are chai tea, green tea and Oolong tea. Republic Chai® Red Tea Bags The store has a variety of teapots for sale that go with Teavana’s teapot warmers. The Continue reading...
Toy Organization
A big problem most moms face is how to organize kids’ toys. It seems that these days, kids have way more toys than kids did when I was young. Or, maybe, my parents did a better job of organizing my and my sister’s toys when we were kids than I do organizing my kids’ toys. My daughters’ room doesn’t get cleaned as often as it should because it takes me over an hour just to clear all their toys off the floor and their beds before I can change their sheets, make their beds, vacuum, etc. Sometimes, I simply just don’t know where to put it all! Getting Organized So, what to do? I’ve found Continue reading...
Finishing a Basement on a Budget
*This post contains affiliate links. I still haven't gotten around to clearing out my home's basement (or at least, moving all the junk to just one area of the basement), but I am excited about new DIY finishing a basement on a budget ideas that I've found online. At the moment, my basement is mostly used for storage. My husband installed a wall of shelving in our basement for me. The shelves do a great job in containing our stuff! [tweetthis]How to #finish a #basement on a budget! Great budget ideas![/tweetthis] My dream for the basement would be to create a fun game room for my Continue reading...
Party Food!
I am hoping to host a family party in a few weeks, and as I am not the best of cooks, I’ve been on the search for tasty (but easy) recipes that I can serve. I’ve had a lot of luck with Pinterest, and think that through the online site, I’ve found a few recipes that might work for my next shindig. South of the Border Fare I found a great recipe for a cheesy enchilada casserole. The casserole looks easy enough for even me to pull off and it looks like something I could possibly freeze later if there is some casserole left after the guests have moved on from the entrees to the Continue reading...
Organizing With Shoe Bags
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I’ve been pinning a fair amount on Pinterest lately, and I’ve been finding a lot of creative uses for hanging shoe bags – and I mean doing much more than organizing shoes! I’ve seen shoe bags used as office and craft supply organizers and by adding some potting soil, even as hanging planters. I’ve been thinking of maybe trying the hanging planter idea – I’d like to find something to add interest to my yard’s chain link fence. Organizing This and That A hanging shoe organizer can also be a great central organizing area Continue reading...
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