Making the old things new

I haven't had much luck lately at the thrift stores. In fact, my most recent thrift store tripIs have been a giant bust. I did have some luck in a really unlikely place this weekend- my mama's garage.

This is unlikely because my mom and dad have a garage that is fairly neat and organized- it's way more organized than mine, for sure! It's just not likely that my mom would have things in her garage that she doesn't use.

A friend of ours had recently given her a really cool lantern, but she really didn't know yet where she wanted it.

I took one look at it and thought about how it had a neat shape about it, but that the floral swag attached to it really didn't match anything I had. I took a closer look and realized that the floral pieces were attached with zip ties. 

Needless to say, I brought it home and took some scissors to those zip ties. It only took me about two minutes to chop those guys off and then I was left with this:

I really like the shape of this candleholder. I am thinking of putting something at the top- something simple, like a burlap bow. I have this sitting by our TV cabinet at the moment, but that is not its permanent spot. It would look great on a fireplace hearth (which we don't have) (#firstworldproblems) or maybe even paired with other lanterns. 

The possibilities are kind of endless. Can't wait to show you what I do with it! 

Thrift store finds...or not.

This past weekend, we had so many fun things planned. We intended to go to the park with a friend and her daughter, we intended to go to the pumpkin patch, and we intended to go to the fall festival. None of these things happened, as we all woke up feeling bad on Saturday. Determined to salvage even a small grain of the weekend, I decided to enjoy one of my favorite past times- going to the local thrift stores. I love this- it's like a treasure hunt; you never know what you might find.

It is easy to go into a thrift store, though, and end up coming back out with a lot of things you really didn't need. To curb this problem, I have begun going into the thrift stores in search of certain things only. Right now I'm in the market for the following items: a chandelier that can be painted and used with shades, interesting pictures or art work, plates or dishes, and place mats that can be made into pillows.

I wanted six red or white plates to hang on either side of my china hutch. In the end, I found zero red plates, and the only nice white ones I found were Christmas-y. Bummer. Do you ever go to the thrift store and come up empty handed? It doesn't happen to me often, but it surely did this time :(

I try to avoid "local big box store  that seems to be in every town and starts with a W" for obvious reasons- I overspend when I go there, the quality of their merchandise isn't always what I want, and I can never seem to get in and out of their quickly. I decided yesterday that I would just cruise through their kitchen section and leave.

Have you guys SEEN the new Pioneer Woman line? Holy. Cow.

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Do you see those plates? They want to come live with me at my house. 

I have briefly perused her website and a couple of press releases, and even own one of the coffee cups, but those plates? Just what I was looking for.

I know what you're thinking, And no, I didn't break my "W-store rules." I only bought six of these pretty little plates...and some plate hangers so I could hang them in my dining room. I haven't got them on my wall yet, but I will soon. In the meantime, take a look at some of my "Pin-spiration" from Pinterest.

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I really can't wait for you to see what I do next :)

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Tuesday: Decorating on a dime

We've been working on our dining room since we moved in. It's a nice size, it has some large windows that let in lots of great natural light, and the wall mouldings make it look really nice. Plus, the hardwood floor is really pretty.

What isn't pretty is the builder grade light fixture and the lack of decorating.

We recently purchased a new (to us) dining room set that has helped the room tremendously. This didn't solve the lack of decor problems, but it gave us a roomier table for meals and did make it look like a dining room for "grown ups."

This weekend, I purchased a painter's drop cloth for the sole purpose of creating these knock-off curtains in my dining room. I am still searching for a long enough curtain rod that isn't too expensive.

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I also have some additional wall decor in the works- something that will only cost me the price of the frames. I am excited about how this room is finally taking shape! 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Saving money: Cooking at home

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We usually have a garden each year, but we don't have one this summer, as my husband would have to care for the garden by himself. I'm pregnant and I've passed the point where I can bend down easily. I surely miss our garden though. Thankfully, there is still the farmer's market and some of our family members with gardens have generously passed some goodies our way. We eat a lot of fresh produce for dinner all summer long.

Last night, our dinner table looked like this:

That would be fresh corn on the cob, cucumbers, tomatoes and peaches from my father-in-law, fried squash from my parents' neighbors, and watermelon and cantaloupe from the farmer's market. The entire meal cost right around $5 and it was delicious. 

If you have the room for a garden, this can save tremendously on your grocery bill. Plus, the taste of the food is amazing. 

Come back tomorrow for a tasty zucchini recipe.

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Saving money: saving on grocery bills.

We only go grocery shopping twice a month in this house. As I type that, i realize how crazy it sounds. We are trying to save money, due to the upcoming birth of our second child. Food prices only seem to get more expensive by the day, and even though I've tried couponing, I've never really been able to make it work. Still, there are a few other ways we've managed to save a few bucks at the grocery store. Here are a few tips we have learned along the way.

Recipes: easy baked ziti

We love Italian food at our house. My husband and I have two restaurants we frequent, and both have amazing food. One of them has a baked ziti my husband always orders. It's delicious, and I've been trying to find a similar recipe for a long time. I wouldn't dare say my ziti is anywhere close to the restaurant's, but it is pretty darn good. I made it for my husband recently and he definitely gave his approval.

It's fairly easy and cheap to make. All you need are cooked ziti noodles, shredded mozzerella, Ricotta cheese, and some alfredo sauce (store bought is fine- I used Classico).

Forgive me, but I only took one picture...and not a very appetizing one. Trust me when I say this is VERY good.



As always, here is the recipe card. Right click on it and hit "save" to save it on your desktop. To print it on a 5X7 recipe card, change your printer paper size to 5X7.

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Organized and Simplified: Simplify your utility bills.

We are always looking for ways to save money around here. When we surveyed our expenses at the end of 2014, we realized we spend a lot of money on food and utilities. We decided trying to cut costs any way we can.

One idea the husband came up with was to replace all of our light bulbs and light fixtures with energy-efficient LED bulbs. We have changed out the light bulbs in our bathrooms and in most of the lamps so far. The ceiling fan requires a light bulb with a candelabra base, and those are kind of hard to find. Other light fixtures in the house aren't rated for LED bulbs and will have to be switched out. The good news is we have wanted to change out several light fixtures anyway. We've already changed our kitchen florescent fixture over to an LED fixture, and next we're going to replace the lights in our entry way and hallway. Not to far behind those lights will be the office light and the playroom light.

We have been planning meals two weeks at a time and scheduling big grocery shopping trips to coincide with my husband's pay days (I only get paid once a month). We do still sometimes have to make small trips to pick up things we have run out of, or forgotten. To curb this problem, I made a "grocery inventory," which I laminated, attached magnets to, and stuck on the side of the fridge. A magnetic writing pad and a pen are here too for easy shopping list creation.

We are trying to make it an entire month without eating dinner out, except on Sundays. I am also attempting to eat breakfast at home. I was spending about $4 a day at McDonald's eating things that probably were not the best choices. Now I'm eating healthier and cheaper. I'm also eating a lunch from home instead of spending $20 a week on cafeteria food.

Another idea we are trying is one that I learned from a fellow blogger. Every other month, declare it a "spend free" month. Don't buy anything for the house, don't buy anything unnecessary for yourself, and in fact, don't buy anything that isn't essential to your everyday life. Oh, you can still do house projects, you will just have to use free materials or materials you already have on hand.

So far, we are noticing a little difference in our bank account. We will need to observe it after a longer period of time to see a huge difference, but as we know, every little bit helps.