Planning the Menu for Labor Day Weekend!

Thank You Pinterest!!  

Low Calorie Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Spiced Doughnuts...YUM!!

People on Pinterest tonight may be wondering if I have an issue with food because I have been a pinning machine all night with all the yummy looking pictures.  I am putting together a menu for Labor Day weekend and here are some great ideas I may be trying:

Mozzarella, tomato, pesto grilled cheese with avocados...Lunch one day.

Oh boy, now things are starting to get a little crazy...white pizza dip...as our son would say, "Let's Get Nuts"!

A wise woman told me one time, "Don't let cooking  interfere with your drinking"!
I like to listen really well to wise people.

Margarita Chicken....Another, Oh Boy!
Seriously will be trying this recipe, looks way to easy.

Can't forget the the dessert!!  Doesn't this look like shut the front door good?!

Our daughter and I have been trying recipes from Pinterest all summer and found some real keepers.  The best part of Pinterest...I actually look forward to cooking and baking again!  

If you think you might want to try these ideas also, go to my Pinterest Board "Deeeelicious" and you will find the recipes.

I will let you know if I actually make these recipes and how they turn out, then I will proceed to tell you about the new fitness program that I need to sign up for...yeah right!  Hey, forget about calories...IT'S A HOLIDAY!  My number one rule:  As long as you don't make a steady diet of some of these things, I say go for it.

Thanks for reading!

Beth

I've Been Told....

Our son came to hang out with us the other night before heading up to the cottage for "Fencl's Beach 2012".  This is where he and his buddies (since T-Ball age) will go up to the cottage, hang out, have a campfire and talk smart into the wee morning hours.  Yes, there will be some adult beverages consumed I am sure.  Rule number one:  I don't care how old you are, this protective mama doesn't want you 25 year olds boys (that I have watched grow up) driving or going anywhere near the water.  

Campfire at the cottage one night this summer...Had to get the sunset!

Getting back to what started me typing this, my sweet son told me I have to stop changing the look of my blog because no one will follow me!  Here is the scoop...I am a NEW blogger as of this summer and seriously don't know how to set this thing up and get the look and feel for how I want my template and layout to look.  When I posted a while back that less is more...I guess I lied.  This menopausal brain wants cute, eye catching and well, I guess, more fun.

Sooooo, again, if things change with the look of my template (which I think will probably happen) please be patient don't give up on me - at some point I will figure this all out!  Hey, look at it this way, you might get to see some different looks and I could say I am really trying to keep your interest with the always changing things up....right....

Great weekend everyone!

Beth

Painting a Chair and Adding a Cushion...So Easy!

This chair has been sitting in our shed for over a year.  I bought it at an auction years ago, because, well, hmmmm, I like chairs.  I always think I can paint them up and give them new life.  Well this poor sucker has been waiting for years to get a face lift.

I always thought the color of this thing was awful!  Downright nasty!  Yikes...started painting it this awesome red and almost forgot to take my before picture.  As you can see, I was impatient and did not prime the wood.  When painting wood, you want to rough it up first, prime it and then paint.  Yes, I was lazy and will probably kick myself later...won't be the first time. 

I had this fabric and picked up the foam and Joanne Fabrics.  I rounded the foam on the corners to fit the seat.  Once I lined up the foam on the chair, I set the foam aside and started stapling the fabric at the back of the chair first.  Then sliding the foam into the pocket, I kept stapling and pulling the fabric to get a tight fit.  When the cushion was completely stapled down, I cut the excess fabric.

As I stapled, I did have a hammer to help hammer in some of the staples into the wood.  To hide the staples, I cut a strip of fabric and twisted, bunched and turned while hot glueing in place.

This old chair had so many possibilities and truthfully I couldn't decide what I was going to do with it.  Red being my favorite color, I figured why not have a little fun with it.  Now my honey can go out into the shed and not complain about tripping over this cute little thing.  

This cute little chair now resides in our home office that I revamped.  I am just not quite done with it.  This going back to work during the school year after being off all summer really cuts into my play time.

Have a great weekend!

Beth

Crackling a Frame.

I will admit it, I get bored easily.  Sweetie is up at the cottage, I came back to town (this girl has to work tomorrow) and I have been playing on the computer since I got home.  Yesterday I posted about relaxing and smelling the fresh air....yeah right!  I'm bored!  Who the heck am I kidding... I can only relax and sit for so long (maybe 1.5 hours at the most to snuggle with grandbaby) and then I start to get twitchie.  So I guess when I posted my last post, I was totally relaxing up at the lake and now that I am home, I am back to business.

On another note, I am a Pinterest addict!!! When I do finally sit down at night I love playing on this site.  A lot of my ideas for around the house lately have been coming from Pinterest.  If you are wondering what to do with your bathroom, kitchen, garden, outhouse, you name it, you will find great ideas on how to do just about anything.  Mr. Wonderful will either love me for putting you onto this sight because you will be trying new recipes or he will hate me because you may start tearing the house apart and trying to enlist his help.  To keep peace, as in my last post I said to try to do the projects yourself and he should be okay and possibly impressed with your ambition.  Truthfully, the majority of my projects are done when hubby isn't around to give me his two cents and just plain get in my way, and believe me, I get a ton done when my darling is gone.   So if your honey is planning a trip with the guys, maybe that will be a good time for you to spread your wings.

Here is a project I did this past spring.  I got the idea off, yes, you guessed it, Pinterest.   Sorry I don't have step by step instructions with pictures,  I did this before starting this blog.

BEFORE PICTURE

If you have a frame or a piece of wood  do a sample first to see if you like the effect.

AFTER PICTURE

What you need is Elmers Glue, an old paint brush and two colors of paint (one dark/black  flat color and a contrasting color for the top coat).  First you paint the wood the dark color.  The frame I had was already pretty dark, so I opted not to do this first step and it still worked.  When it drys,  you paint the Glue onto the wood  (heavier for wide cracks) and as the glue  starts to get tacky,  you paint your contrasting color. Don't wait to long to paint the top coat, if the glue is too dry, you won't get the crackles.   As your top coat of paint starts to dry, you can watch the cracks begin to form.  It's awesome!! 

For the wrought iron, I dry brushed it to give it a worn aged look.

The site I saw this technique was http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/crackle-finish-with-elmers-glue.html  The gal showed several different looks that she was trying to achieve for you to see.

I used to faux finish for people and one of the things that I always did BEFORE the project was a sample board.   You always want to do a sample board before a project to make sure you like the look you want to achieve.  Better to ruin a piece of old wood than the dresser that you wanted to give a shabby chic look to.

Let me know if you try this...it's fun to do and better yet...it's CHEAP!

Good Luck and we will talk soon!

Beth

My New Blog Title!

So here's the deal....I never liked my last title for my blog, Painting and Projects.  Yes, I love to be busy with projects, but there is more to life than projects. 

This past Tuesday for instance...I was cleaning like a maniac and I decided to let my beautiful almost 6 month granddaughter take an hour an a half nap snug in my arms.  Just sitting and rocking with this beautiful little girl got me ta thinkin'....It's not about projects and painting and driving yourself crazy with being busy all the time.  It's about enjoying life...spending time snuggling and playing with our little peanut, sharing laughter with your girlfriends, sitting on the deck up at the lake having coffee with my sweetie,  listening to the loons call to one another, having a glass of wine under the moonlight, looking up at the stars, sitting around a campfire with family eating smore's, playing fetch with my black lab Lucy...it's about SLOWING DOWN!

When I started this blog I wanted to share all my projects (and will continue to do so) so while rocking little girl I started thinking, "Is a blog about bragging about yourself OR are you just sharing ones thoughts and ideas?"  This is what I want my blog to be...

An inspiration to women.   I want women to see that no matter how old you are, you can try new things.  You don't have to be afraid of drilling, sawing, cementing, painting, you know....guy things.  You don't have to wait for your honey to DO it for you.   Educate yourself,  go on You Tube and type in something you want to try and maybe you may find a tutorial.  I used to follow my dad like a puppy when he was working at his work bench and around the house.  I think I was in my thirty's before he actually let me use his electric saws and drills!  I guess you can ask your honey for help once in a while (I don't want to be blamed for a lost finger or an eye being taken out). 

As in my last post, I noted that I was 51 years old and learned how to bow hunt.  It wasn't about the kill, it was about a new experience and saying that I CAN climb 35 feet into a tree, sit for several hours, watch bear under me, watch mama deer and fawns come in (trust me, I will NEVER shoot a mama or fawn) and play.  Just sitting up in the tree and smelling the fresh air of the north woods is peaceful, quiet and RELAXING.

So there you have it.  I hope this all makes sense.  It took me a week to type since I am back to work.  Now I have to figure out why this site won't let me download a picture.

Have a great weekend!!

Talk soon!

Beth

Changes....

It's been a few days since we finished our outdoor shower and I am already looking for something to do.  I guess my blog is my project at this point in the day (8:00 a.m.).

Truthfully, I don't know what the hell I am doing with this and when I initially set it up, I felt like I had to get fancy with my template and have foo foo stuff going on.  The more I am looking at it, I decided less is more.   Keep your eyes open for all my menopausal changes to this blog, when the mood hits me and I feel like playing, my blog is the first thing to take the hit.

Speaking of hits, I have to share this picture with you.  Not sure if you can see it, but I split the arrow dead center with another arrow!!  I hear that it is called a "Robin Hood". 

Practicing  yesterday with my new bow for the first time... I split the darn thing!!

I started bow hunting last year.  Yes, at age 51, I took up a new hobby to share with my hubby.  As we are advancing in our years together and this is a passion of his, I thought I could try it.  In my mind, I was thinking...Shoot, I can sit up in a tree for hours-no big deal, I'll bring a book and nobody will bug me.  I found out there is more to it than that!  


To make this story short (sorry, it's hard to actually make this short) after much practice, I climbed up a tree 35 feet, sat in a stand and shot a 6 point buck (should of been an 8 pointer, but I was happy with 6).  Trust me, I cried like a baby until Steve got to the site, we tracked it, found it and then I couldn't call enough people to brag about my rookie shot!  I was HOOKED!!

So as fall approaches, in addition to my projects, I will be touching on my "Up North Exploits" in the woods.

On that note, I will sign off and try to think of a new title for my blog....perhaps "Robyn Hoodette".  

Thanks for reading - Talk soon - 

Beth

Outdoor Shower Project Continued...

So here's the deal, I started this continuation blog this past Monday and now it's Friday and I am actually getting around to finishing it.  Truthfully, blogging and doing a project comes down to when to work, when to blog and when to relax.

We reached our goal last week and had our outdoor shower up and running by Friday evening!  Skipped dinner a couple of nights, worked until 9:00 another night, fought off mosquito's, swore a lot, sweat even more, but we did it.  I have tell you, when you are having hot flashes, it's warm out and you are dirty,  words tend to fly out of this mouth that make me feel like I need to go to confession!

Our kids came up Friday night and one after another Saturday, marched in and felt the wonderful sensation of taking an outdoor shower. Trust me, if you haven't ever done it, when it's hot out and you take a shower outside it's a refreshing feeling.

Here I am going in for my first shower...a true delight to the senses!

I stained the outside of the shower one day this week and we built the walkway to the left.  At some point, I will have to plant something to hide the hoses.

On Thursday I couldn't resist getting crafty.  My hands were just itching to make something for that blank wall. While Steve wasn't looking, I fired up the table saw, ripped this barn board, painted the sign, drilled a couple of holes, stole some camouflage rope from my darling hubby, took down a sprig of pine from the top of our cabinets and stapled it to the wood.  Baaada Bing Baaada Boom instant Craft!

Needless to say, today is Friday and I am totally enjoying myself not doing a darn thing except sitting here and playing on the computer.  Easily this was a two week project (I don't count weekends) and we are happy with our project.

Well, it's time for me to go snuggle with our adorable grandbaby.

Thanks for reading!

Beth