Amazing Deal!

Posted By: Kristi

I remember years ago when I tried cleaning with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for the first time. It was the easiest cleaning I had ever done. In less than five minutes my entire bathtub was sparkly clean. I only wished that I had heard of this Magic Eraser sooner. I have been using this product ever since, paying around $7.00 for a box of two.

Fast forward to this last week. Pinterest taught me something amazing, again. The Magic Eraser is made of melamine foam which is used to insulate pipes, duct work and is a soundproofing material. Who knew? I also learned that melamine foam cleaner sponges (who cares about the Mr. Clean brand name, right?) can be purchased on Ebay. THESE are the ones that were recommended by a few different bloggers found via Pinterest. That's right, a pack of 30 for only $8.49! WOOHOO!

They came in TWO days! Way faster than expected. They work just as good, I am a happy girl! These are definitely something I will be hoarding. = )

If you have a favorite cleaning tool please tell me about it. I love myself a good cleaner!

Toddler Tuesday - Build a Fort

Posted By:  Stephanie

Good morning!  I normally would have already posted by now but I couldn't sign on last night and then today we have been loosing our electricity on and off all morning which has made it very hard to get on the Internet.  Oh well, HERE I AM!

Today is Toddler Tuesday and I have an activity that is fun for both kids and adults, or at least Will and I think it is fun.  Some of you have mentioned that you live in nice sunny states where you don't have rain often (not the case here) but when you do get rain you aren't sure what activities to do with your kids.  Here is a great idea for you...make a fort!

I was selling my fabric gift bags at a bazaar this last weekend and when I came home I found that Will and Little Lou had made this fort.  I know, you can hardly see it with the camo blanket on top. ; )

They made this one with a bunch of chairs and then they put pillows inside so they could get comfy and read books in the fort.  As you can see it was hard to take pictures of Lou, she was all over the place LOVING IT!

Will wanted me to make sure I mentioned that if you make a fort under a table you should put chairs together in front of it to make a hallway kind of thing with a blanket over it as an entry to the fort.  He says that is was his favorite when he was little because he would pretend he was in an igloo.  I just love that guy.

Kristi and I used to make forts too, there's just something fun about getting into your own little space you built.

Did you make forts when you were little?  What was your favorite kind?  Under a table, chairs, something else?  Please share your ideas and the memories you have from when you were little, or what you've done with your kids.

PS Yes, we have already decorated for Christmas, I'll be sharing about that another day.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

Posted By: Kristi

I am realizing that many of my posts are about things I want. As a reader it has to seem a bit selfish when we are at the time of the year where we celebrate giving. Please understand that I LOVE to give; there isn't much that makes me happier. I enjoy making others feel special and seeing their faces light up when you give them something they have been wanting. Spoiling others is so much more fun than buying things for myself. Unfortunately I can't tell you about the things that I have been buying for those I love because it would ruin the surprise. I wanted to make sure to clear that up, I was feeling like I was sounding a little selfish.

What it comes down to is that I love to decorate, have a lot of decorating that needs to be done and I crave a good deal. I have enjoyed sharing the progress of our house projects and am thankful for all of your helpful comments and decorating advice, thank you.

Now, time to share another thing that has caught my eye. I was browsing Pinterest and saw this picture, captioned: fiddle leaf fig tree.

Oh my goodness, this tree is amazing! I love the huge leaves and the beautiful green color. I have a basket much like the one this tree is in and would love to fill it with one of these. I had to continue searching for more images.

Aren't they gorgeous? I love bringing the outdoors in but sadly I am much like my mom and can't seem to keep a plant alive. Not even a cactus. Lame I know. I try, I really do. Thankfully Carson was blessed with a green thumb and can make anything grow.

Yes, I want one. Will I get one? We'll see. I am spoiled but I don't get everything I want. = )

What is something that you would love to buy for yourself but feel a little guilty about it and haven't pulled the trigger?

Dressing up a bulletin board

Posted By: Kristi

Hello, 4Eighteen followers! TGIF, right?! = )

Tomorrow we have plans to go to the Oregon State football game and then Sunday it is back to studying. Hopefully you all have TWO days worth of fun and excitement coming up.

This week I have been working on a variety of projects. This is good in some ways, I am getting a lot done but for once it would probably work out better if I finished one room and then moved to the next. I create such a mess for myself (and for my poor boy toy). I already told you that I am working on my living room but I took a break from that while I wait for some more stuff to be delivered and dressed up a bulletin board I had purchased. We have an electrical box on the wall in our laundry room that I have been wanting to hide and finally decided a bulletin board would be the perfect solution. That way we can still get to the box but at the same time I have somewhere to hang all of the awesome laundry secrets I find in magazines and while reading your blogs. So I went to work.

Much better! Once I fold the clean clothes in my laundry room (I have actually been keeping up on my folding..go me!) I will post pictures of my laundry room. = )

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend!

How to Make a Tutu - Tutorial

Posted By:  Stephanie

See this super cute girl?  She belongs to my friend Breanna at Dollar Store Mom.  If you haven't been to her site yet you're missing out.  She has all kinds of tips and tricks on how to be the best mom, on a budget.

When we were invited to her birthday party at the end of September I knew I wanted to find something girly for her, something she could dress up in.  When we went through the girly isles of the store I found this skirt which was $20.  Being that we are on a budget and I also didn't feel that the skirt was as cute as it could be for that money I ventured onto the craft isle to get supplies to make my own.  A friend of ours had gifted a tutu to Little Lou at my baby shower so I went off that one for direction on how to make a tutu for the birthday girl.

I picked out two colors of tulle that I thought would look good together and ribbon to match the lighter color. You can make a tutu with one color or multiple, it's up to you.

I cut two pieces at the same time on top of each other to the size I wanted and then used those as a guide for the rest.  When determining the length you are cutting remember that the length is going to be half of what you cut, it stretches some and think about how tall the person is you're making it for.  When making this one I cut 24 inch pieces knowing that it would be a bit long, I wanted it to fit her longer than a couple months.

To make this process a bit easier I pinned the ribbon on the shelf brackets.  Most people don't have their craft room in a closet but you can find something else to pin it to if you feel the need.  Personally I feel this made the process so much easier.

See below for instructions on how to put the tulle on the ribbon.  I have learned after making this one that you can also use elastic instead of ribbon if you choose.

Once complete you have a cute tutu for an even cuter child.

With Christmas coming up this would be a great gift for the little girls you have planned to purchase gifts for.

Rug Shopping

Posted By: Kristi

I never realized how difficult rug shopping could be. There are so many different sizes, colors, carpet types and lengths.  My living room was feeling cold and uninviting and also looking really dark and...brown.

See what I mean? Brown floors, brown furniture, brown pillows. There is no ceiling light which makes the room even darker. This room has a ton of potential and eventually we will get there. I love the floors but I wanted it to feel cozier, warmer. I wanted a rug that could work with whatever furniture we choose in the future and that was large in size. I wanted something that wouldn't easily ruin by our dog babies nails. That said, I started searching.

I found many great options but wasn't completely satisfied until I found this one on the West Elm site.

It is an indoor/outdoor rug which is perfect with our dogs, nearly indestructible. I ordered it in an 8x10 the perfect size for our living room. HUGE. It is/was on sale for $179.99 regularly $599.99. That is a $420.00 savings and I found a code to get free shipping. SCORE!

I also ordered a rug pad from Amazon. This is the one I ordered; I wanted to be sure to protect our wood floors. I paid $54.99 (regularly $89.99) and I am happy with it.

Here it is in our home.

And here it is with the coffee table I showed you the other day.

Here is what are in the plans next.

• New pillows on the couches (adding more color in the room including black and grey)
• Add some kind of throw on the couch
• New curtains
• Buy and restore an old end table and replace the one we have, preferably pedestal style
• New lamp
• New wall art
• Decorate the coffee table

Another reason I went with a plain colored rug (besides possibly changing the furniture out) is because the living room is connected to the dining room and I bought another rug (with a design) for under the table in there. It hasn't arrived yet but when it does I will share it and give you all the details.

I also came across some amazing deals on Overstock, I definitely recommend checking out what they have.


*Update- The rug I ordered has sold out. Sorry!

Toddler Tuesday - Baking

Posted By:  Stephanie

Baking is a great activity to do with your toddler.  Although you can't see from the picture below she was helping me by holding the mixer, she liked how fast it was moving.  Not only is this a fun activity but your child is learning at the same time.

If you have a toddler/child that likes to get involved even more, you can have them help measure what needs to go into what you are baking and dump all the ingredients into the bowl.

We made both cupcakes and a small cake.  She was offered a try of our finished product but didn't want any.  Works for me, I would rather her not eat sweets but there's no way I would have her help me then not offer at least a bite.

= )

(Maybe some day I'll be good at frosting.

This was my first time so I'm going to let me skills slide a bit.

I hope you will too.)

Now for the recipe tip I found on Babblings and More.

When baking a cake or cupcakes from a box substitute mayonnaise for the oil, add a tsp of baking powder and 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, the more the better!  We made lemon so we used 1 tsp lemon extract and 1 tsp vanilla extract.  Make sure you take it out of the oven when it is still a little spongy.  This makes for some super moist and yummy cupcakes and cakes!

Do you have a trick for making especially good boxed cupcakes/cakes?