Happy Birthday Bradley!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

Because we both worked today, I had to cram a lot into the evening.  I came home at lunch to start a crock pot pot roast (See Meredith?  I did it!:).  I also made a new corn recipe since Bradley loves it.  Both dishes were amazing and are going on the 5 Stars recipe board tonight!

I made a coca-cola cake with his favorite icing too, but the cake crumbled right out of the pan, so I won’t be posting that picture.

For gift time, I rounded up a few random items that I thought he would love.  The first was a man-can!  I heard about this teenage boy who makes these candles at home in soup cans (the soup he donates to soup kitchens!) on tv.  The story goes that he thought there weren’t any candles worthy of men, so he has developed scents like Bacon, Fresh Cut Grass, and Campfire.  Secondly, I got him some Whiskey Rocks.  These are stones made of soapstone that are frozen and then used in any drink that you don’t want to get watered down.  Soapstone is non-porous, has ‘superior thermal properties’, doesn’t scratch the glass, and does not impart flavors or odors to your drink.  Lastly, I was able to find the same clock they have in Aretha Frankensteins, which Bradley mentioned really liking the first time we visited.

Here is the clock at Aretha’s:

Oh, the sentiment!  And, here is the card I got him (font humor…perfect for him:)

Halloween Decorations

This week, I changed the autumn decoration over to Halloween fun!  I ended up going with a black and silver theme this year.

I was inspired a couple of years ago by these pumpkins on Horchow (the white ones are from this year):


 I bought a few silver pumpkins at Michaels and stick-on rhinestones at JoAnns.  Then I just eye-balled the pattern as I worked my way around the pumpkin.

I got the idea for the smaller pumpkins under the cloche through Pinterest of course.  It was as simple as pulling black lace/fishnet stockings over them.  Here were my inspirations:

Sources (L-R): BHG, Shelterpop, tesorofino

I used the leftover fishnet material to make cozies for my African violet planters.  I also used the silver mercury glass votive holders that I bought for Christmas last year and put some silver ornaments in the black cups I found at Goodwill last year.

 

In the foyer, I pulled out a black cake stand to display one of my new creations.

After seeing a bird skeleton under a cloche on Pinterest, I decided to use a little skeleton from a Dollar Tree garland under the cloche from an old clock.  (I repurposed another one here)  I mod-podged some scrapbook paper to the bottom and hot-glued the skeleton to the base.

         

The black glass owl came from Home Goods last year and the skull in the frame was just printed from a free archive site.  Cheesecloth gives the table the final spooky touch.

Lastly, in the powder room, I changed out the autumn beads in the hurricane for the tiny plastic skulls that originally came from the Dollar Tree.

*I try to always link the pictures in my posts to the original source.  If you
would like to link to any source, simply click on the picture in my posts.  If
you would like to pin a linked picture, please pin from the original source *

Crock Pot Chili

Go To Crock Pot Chili Recipe

A few months ago I came across a crock pot chili recipe over at The Sweet Survival blog.  (The blog seems to be gone now, so I’ve since added the recipe to this page.)  Bradley loves chili, but we have only tried our hand at a couple of recipes, none too special.  We have been excited to try new recipes for the crock pot ever since I researched this one and my mom gave it to me for Christmas last year.

We decided to make it for Saturday football and it was a big hit for Bradley.  I’m not a chili girl; I didn’t hate or love it.  It was a little spicy for me, but that is to be expected.  This will definitely be our go-to chili recipe from now on.

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 15oz cans of pinto beans
2 11.5oz cans of Ro*tel diced chilies and tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 4oz can of diced green chilies
3/4 cup light beer
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp Ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Salt to taste

Chop onion and mince garlic.  Brown ground beef with onions and garlic until no pink remains. 

Combine cooked ground beef with rest of ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours or 4-6 on high.  Serves 6.  This fills up about half of my 6 quart slow cooker.

I halved the recipe to make sure it didn’t overflow in my 3.5qt slow cooker.

Other Pinterest-Inspired Projects

Yesterday, I shared about making a self-sanitizing toilet brush after finding a DIY tutorial through Pinterest.  I thought I would share some of the other projects I have been inspired to undertake as a result of this wonderful social networking resource.  I linked each picture to the original source.  If you would like to read more about any project, just click on any picture in this post.
1. Slip-proof a rug using latex caulk:

This worked really well!  I was using a slip-resistant rug pad under the rug at the front door, but it raised the rug, making it more difficult to open and close the door.  Also, when I needed to move it to clean, it took forever to get it securely stuck to the floor again.  Now, the door opens smoothly and the rug doesn’t roam anymore.

 

2. Make single-use Anti-biotic ointment packets out of straws:

This was a fun little project that only took a few minutes.  The size is great for carrying in my purse or slipping into a mini first aid kit for my desk drawer.

 

3.  Cleaning the dishwasher filters and grates:

Whoa!  Was this gross!  The bottom of my dishwasher does not look like this and I was too scared to try and take out too many parts, but the filter in the door that allows steam to be released was disgusting!  I never even knew you could/should clean parts in the dishwasher.  At some point I also plan to try another trick for cleaning the dishwasher: Lemonade Kool-Aid!

 

4.  Car Wax as a Stovetop Polish:

I didn’t notice a huge difference in ease of wiping up messes when I tried this.  Maybe I didn’t follow directions well enough.  Or maybe we are just really messy cooks!

 

5.  Scented Oil Plug-in Refills:

We use the Febreeze Noticeables and I hate the refills price, but never knew I could make my own refill.  I ordered Eucalyptus oil to try since it is a favorite in aromatherapy and because evidently cats don’t like citrus smells, which would have been my first choice.  I have the new mixture and have been using it for a while.  The scent is just as strong as the Febreeze refills, although the Eucalyptus oil may be a little more rustic than I intended to go.  I may need to try out another oil in the future.

 

6.  Lint Roller to Clean Lamp Shades:

This tip is actually not new to me.  I have been doing this for years, because the table lamps Bradley brought with him had the worst attraction to dust.  I don’t think I have ever blogged about this wonderful little lampshade saving tip though.

 

7.  Make your own Foaming Hand Soap:

This is another tip that was not new to me, but definitely useful.  I researched this a couple of years ago and now I don’t remember where I first found this simple soap-and-water mix, but it is so easy and so cost effective!  I make sure not to use anti-bacterial soap because I don’t want to kill good bacteria and encourage bad super-bacteria.

 

8. Create a Junk Drawer when you don’t have Drawer Space:

I have seen this idea pinned several times for everything from kids socks/hat storage to on-the-go snacks in the pantry.   I  have been using this system for years now as our ‘junk drawer’.  We only have 4 small drawers in the kitchen so there is no room for a junk drawer.  I found that a clear hanging shoe organizer keeps like items together in an easy-to-see fashion.  We hung ours inside a coat closet just off the kitchen.

I still have plenty of ideas to try out and I will keep posting my results to hopefully help anyone reading.  Happy Pinning!

*I try to always link the pictures in my posts to the original source.  If you
would like to link to any source, simply click on the picture in my posts.  If
you would like to pin a linked picture, please pin from the original source *

Pinterest-inspired Project

I am continually amazed at all the smart and fun DIY ideas through Pinterest.  It is like being able to pick and choose from the best of the blogosphere without having to individually wade through tons of blogs.  I have tried a few of the ideas and recipes that I spotted on Pinterest, some were great, others were worth a try, but turned out to be flops.

This week I have been working on creating a self-sanitizing toilet brush.  Glamorous I know.  Practical though; now Bradley doesn’t have to leave the brush teetering on the toilet rim to dry.  Here is the link to the tutorial:

I spent last week trying to find all the parts I needed.  I got my disinfectant jar from Amazon.  All the brushes I found had flimsy handles that were not solid enough to drill a dowel screw into.  And I couldn’t even find a dowel screw small enough to fit through the hole in the jar’s lid at Home Depot.

Target to the rescue!  They sell a toilet brush that is stored in a plastic jar (like the glass jar) so it already has a lid attached to the brush handle.  As if it was meant to be, the lid perfectly fit on top of my disinfectant jar and the brush hangs a few inches above the bottom just as the tutorial suggests.  So it turned out to be  a non-DIY project really.  Just switching out jars/lids and diluting the barbicide.

*I try to always link the pictures in my posts to the original source.  If you
would like to link to any source, simply click on the picture in my posts.  If
you would like to pin a linked picture, please pin from the original source *