Reclaimed Rocker

This past weekend (during the monsoons of northern Minnesota - okay so it wasn't really monsooning however, it was raining a ton and there is only so much one can do inside before one goes nuts) Marc and I finally reclaimed this old rocker. Several weeks ago (right after Easter) my mom and a dear friend and I were walking through a local thrift store and we found this chair. Both of them instantly knew it would be perfect if we cleaned it up and replaced the cushion/base to it. So we bought it and brought it home.

Marc was skeptical at best at first. After a good polish with Murphy's oil soap the chair portion itself was looking pretty good. We tightened some screws, moved two screws whose holes had become stripped and were no longer serving their purpose and the chair itself was golden. The bottom of it however, had seen better days.

I disassembled the base and realized that even the wood under the chair had been beaten up, so we got some new wood and recut the base. Took off the old foam (which was pretty beaten up and thin) - replaced it, and bought some new fabric. Probably WAYYYYY too many staples later the chair looked good as new.

I am jazzed with how the chair turned out - it is a beautiful piece of furniture that I all too quickly wanted to overlook.

How do you feel about thrift store finds?

Do you like to replace/refinish/fix up old things and make them look new?

Basement Update

You may as well be warned: there will lots of house updates in the next while, our basement is in full get it finished mode. This week we have the crew here taping and texturing our basement. It is impressive how much work they can get done. I am thankful for these guys because I don't even want to guess how many hours/weekends/months it would take Marc and I to do this. And to be REALLY honest, there is NO WAY it would look as nice as what they are doing. Thank God for professionals who work with sheet rock. We currently have our house warmer than I would want and their two massive fans as well as a few of our own fans blowing full power down there in hopes that the walls are dry enough that they can work again today.

It is a hurry up and wait type of process. We REALLY want to get this part done because this weekend we would have time to prime the walls and ceilings if they are ready for us to do it. Fingers crossed we can work our tails off this weekend on this. Yes, I am sure there will be a plethora of pictures to follow after this weekends thrilling (hopeful) paint party. 

Do you like doing projects on your house?
What is your favorite house project you have done on your house?

High Heeled Cupcakes

A few weeks ago a friend called and asked a few of us if we would be willing to help make "high heeled cupcakes" for her daughter's graduation party. I, along with several others, agreed, and the following is the photos from the project - I must admit they turned out WAY better than I anticipated.

The cupcakes before they were decorated

Taking a chunk out of part of the cupcake to fit in the bottom
portion of the shoe

Decorating the bottom portion of the shoe
first the graham cracker had to be cut to the right shape
then the bottom had to be colored
and then the outline color had to be added to the graham cracker

More decorating

Once the bottom of the shoe was added to the cupcake
the whole cupcake was frosted and the bow was added

heelless cupcakes 

finished product
the heel was added as a very last step

Homemade laundry soap

Confession: I. Am. Frugal.
I don't want to spend money on things if I don't have to. Some probably would call me cheap in some senses. I also really care about the environment, I like to run, bike, hike, ski, walk, camp, and be outside, so I personally try as hard as I can (some times it goes better than others) to be as environmentally conscientious as I can.

Today's post is brought to you by my frugality. A couple years ago while living on a graduate student's budget (read that line as "ridiculously small") I needed laundry detergent and as I was in a big box store staring at my options of detergent I became frustrated and decided several things: I don't have a clue what 90% of the ingredients actually were, this was going on my body, and I hated the price of a gallon of detergent. Sooooo I began to do my research and started looking at some make your own options for laundry soap. I soon realized I needed to decide liquid or powder. Previously I had ALWAYS used liquid laundry detergent, why?, because that's what mom used. As I began reading about the make your own liquid detergent I realized I wasn't really interested in having a five gallon bucket of liquid detergent sitting around my dorm room (read ridiculously small space) and began pondering the powdered stuff.

Then it happened, I stumbled upon someone's recipe (I wish I knew who I got this recipe from, but due to it's ridiculous simplicity I have it memorized and no longer have any idea where I got the recipe from).




RECIPE for HOMEMADE DRY LAUNDRY DETERGENT:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar of ridiculously cheap soap - I use dove with no fragrance or lotions in them (the no fragrance or lotions is key)

I think I have calculated it costs me about 3 cents per load.

I use an old plastic container from my kitchen to store my detergent in and make two batches at at time (because that is what my container will hold). I first put in two cups of washing soda, two cups of borax, and then shred up two bars of soap. I use my kitchen cheese grater and wash it well when I am done. I have used it for a couple years and it is fine.

Once I have everything in the container I mix it up well and call it a party.

I use one rounded tablespoon of the detergent per load.
I do pre-treat any major stains just as I would anything else and I use whatever stain treater is on sale when my previous bottle runs dry.



Do you make your own laundry soap?
Do you have any diy recipes you want to share?

Play dough Recipe

I had the world's hardest time finding a great play dough recipe for an upcoming Family Faith Journey project and searched all over the internet to find one, and eventually ended up calling my mom for her recipe for play dough (I seriously remember helping her make this when I was a kid) so thought I would post it just in case any one else is looking for an easy easy easy play dough recipe. (& so next time I need it I can find it)

2.5 cups flour
0.5 cup salt
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 tablespoon powdered alum

• Mix ingredients and pour 1 2/3 to 2 cups of boiling water of it.
• Stir till ingredients stick together.
• Kneed till soft and consistent.
• Divide into as many sections as you want and color as you please (you can use food coloring or paste coloring)
• Store in a plastic bag

It was ridiculously easy to make and I tripled the recipe and it still worked out great!!!


I seriously enjoyed making playdoh, I don't know that last time I got to play with it, I find it a bit theraputic.

Anything from your childhood that you still enjoy playing with from time to time?

Kitchen Remodel - It is finished

It is finished (or nearly - I still want to replace the light fixture, but other than that I may be at the point that the kitchen is finished).

Last week while I was up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) my brother and fiance (still fun to say), finished my kitchen. They worked and worked and worked I imagine while I sat and swam and paddled and relaxed (I sort of feel guilty now but am MASSIVELY appreciative of them) - Cubby and Marc put up the tile in my kitchen! I came home and my kitchen looks like a million bucks! Literally I was floored! It looks awesome and I now have the desire to have lots and lots of people over.

Changes made to the kitchen since buying the house June 21, 2011:

• take down ugly lace-ish curtains
• replace window screens so I can open windows without bugs attacking
• paint all of the walls
• paint the ceiling
• change the light cover thingys (technical term for sure) on the light fixture
• remove gross old tile and put up new tile
• paint baseboards
• paint cupboards
• paint hardware for cupboards
• replace dishwasher
• replace counter tops
• put up new window trim

This is not the most amazing picture becuase it came off my phone while making
breakfast this morning but does give you a glimpse at a lot of what has been done
since moving into the house! YAY for a 99% completed project!