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Thursday, 12 November 2009

Did you know?
- Did you know that when you break down, cook, and puree two big pumpkins it makes a meeeeess of your kitchen?
- Did you know that you can get 21 cups of pumpkin puree out of $4 worth of fresh pumpkin?
- Did you know that if you decide to save the pumpkin seeds for roasting and dry them out on a paper towel, you will spend for-ev-ah picking paper towel bits off of your dried seeds?
I didn't.
- Did you know that Travis graduates from residency in 225 days?
- Did you know that if I had to pick between being a great dancer and a great singer, I think I'd go with dancer? They have such athletic bodies and graceful movements.
- Did you know that I tear up almost every.single.time I watch The Biggest Loser and someone hits a big weight loss goal?
I bet you didn't.
- Did you know that it's almost impossible to choose just one photo of your child for your Christmas card? And that will a little creative use of photoshop you can use three instead?
- Did you know that if you try and reduce/eliminate processed carbs from your diet you're left with very little to eat? And that if you remove sandwiches from your lunch routine you're not left with many cheap options?
- Did you know that if you try a Honeycrisp apple you'll never go back to any other kind?
- Did you know that I LOVE DVR?
I bet you did.

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

How about some happiness?
Travis and I had our realtor friend (the same realtor who helped us buy this house) over for dinner last weekend to talk about our selling/buying plans. After discussing what we're looking for , she suggested we start looking at homes sooner rather than later. She thinks seeing some homes in person will help us narrow exactly what we're looking for. We spent a large chunk of the past few days poring over listings and compiling Must See and Might See lists from the 70ish homes in our price range and disered size. The Must See list is significantly shorter, but has some really exciting possibilities. We start on Saturday with four homes.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
She also gave us the dose of reality that we'll very likely have to lose some money on this house because of the current market and what houses are selling for in our neighborhood. Thankfully we purchased small and made a decent downpayment, so it won't be as much as it could have been.
I'm so excited to go see homes that it makes my stomach go all fluttery. I love, love, love to look at houses and seeing a few at a time over the next few months will be such a fun, low-stress way to look for our next home. As opposed to the last time when we had two days to find this one. I will admit I'm a little nervous that we'll find what we're looking for right away and then have to wait several months to move on it, risking someone else making an offer. But I'm also confident that God has chosen our home and if it's currently on the market then it will stay there until it's time for us to move.
Let the fun begin!

Friday, 06 November 2009

$5 Magazine Subscriptions

Amazon is having a very short sale on certain magazines. You get a one-year subscription for only $5! (The discount is shown after you add the magazine to your cart, so don't be fooled by the $10 starting price). I ordered a year of House Beautiful for $5, in replacement of my beloved defunct publication, Cottage Living.
These would make a fabulous Christmas gift for someone for such a budget-friendly price!

Thursday, 05 November 2009

Before & After

I've been looking for some time for a jewelry box to hold and display my smaller jewelry on my dresser. I've priced them in stores but wasn't ever willing to pay the $30 - $50 pricetag for something with lots of individual compartments and drawers instead of just a small box with a lid.
Have I mentioned how much I love to garage sale? Because this little beauty was all of $3.

Oh, you don't think she's beautiful with her scratched wood and gold hardware and tan velvet lining?
Yeah, me neither.
But she was cheap and I knew she could be pretty with a little paint and creativity.
See?

I gave the outside three coats of white paint and used black craft paint, a coat of polyurithane for shine, and a teeny brush to update the little brass hardware.
Befores and Afters:

The top lid flips up and to add contrast and pop, I painted the inside of the lid black instead of white.

A little flair comes from black and white patterned velvet wrapping paper, cut to fit and used as liners.
Not bad for $3!

Monday, 02 November 2009

Let's see, let's see....I feel like it's been forever since we did a regular old chatty post. The Small Spaces posts kind of swallowed up xanga for a while. I think we'll start with bullets.
- James had his 18 month checkup. He's still topping the charts for height and scraping the bottom for weight, but he's also still growing so all seems well. He grew 2.25 inches in three months. No wonder I can't keep him in pants.
- Do you guys find yourselves feeding your kids the same lunches all the time? I feel like James just rotates between grilled ham&cheese, tater tots, PB&J, mac&cheese, and scrambled eggs with cheese. Sensing a theme? I haven't found much else that is quick and high calorie for my wee one. And try as I might I cannot convince him to pick up and eat a piece of fruit or vegetable to save my life. Not even bananas.
- What kid doesn't like bananas?
- We've had cable for about a month. Life feels so luxurious.
- Ironically, the TV is off as I typed that.
- I DVR girly movies that Travis wouldn't want to see and watch them when he's gone overnight on call. Gives me something to look forward to when I'm home alone.
- My neighbor is out in her driveway in her bathrobe. At 3:28 in the afternoon. Seriously?
- I think I had less to say than I thought.
- I had to start the 30 Day Shred over again. I got sidetracked for a week(ish) and whaddya know, I'm back to where I started.
- Also, I'm making an effort to reduce the number of processed carbs we eat. I never realized how much of our diet consists of bread and pasta and crackers and cereals. It's just so cheap and easy to have toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch and make a pasta dish three or four nights a week for dinner. And I like cheap and easy (especially when dinner is often cooking for just me or eating with 15 minutes notice that Travis will try to be home for dinner.)
- I have the cutest little project to show you guys this week. It is a garage sale find before & after. I love me some befores and afters.
- How much do you pay for your haircut? Is that too personal? Everytime I need one I war with myself about whether or not I'll keep going to my stylist. She's fabulous and not once in two years have I gotten a bad haircut, but they keep raising her rates. Maybe I'm just too cheap.
- I'm officially rambling.
- Time to switch to pictures of one monkey's Halloween.