Money Saving and Traveling

I like to find new blogs by bloghopping, therefore, I have no idea how I found these two interesting and informative blogs.

The first has great ideas on how to make and save money. The other is written by a young (almost) mother who gave up most of her personal belongings to travel full time with her husband. They plan to see the U.S. and Canada and have a pretty good start on that.

Hope you'll take a minute to check them out...

http://moneysavingmom.com

http://travelingphoblogwripher.blogspot.com

Island Fever

This isn't a post about a much needed vacation on a luxury island. Turn away now unless you're obsessed with getting rid of kitchen clutter.

My original idea was to put the usual "counter stuff" on an island so the kitchen wouldn't be so messy. Well, the island got too messy.

What to do?

I couldn't put pots and pans on the pot rack portion because it just added to the visual clutter, so I use it for holding cups.

Then the question was, where to put the pots and pans?

They ended up on the shelf below, which was way too much clutter!

So I cleared it off...

And then the journey to find some sturdy, large (perferably cute) baskets began.

Pottery barn, too expensive...
World Market, too expensive...
   
                  Finally - Target - perfect!



I'm proud to say for once, before I went shopping,  I measured the space and determined the number and size baskets I needed: 

• one for small pots and pans
•  one for the blender and food processor 
•  one for bowls and strainers

Perfect...I couldn't be happier about the baskets. Don't they fit perfect? Aren't the little chalkboards darling? ...but... now... I'm thinking the top of the island  is too messy and the kitchen counter-tops are too bare.

I'm sharing at the following blog parties this week:

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com
http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com



Fluffing The Nest

Wild Bill and I went shopping today and I ran across a vintage scale. I've been wanting one for quite some time.

Yeah, it's pretty grody. Looks like someone will be cleaning it up tonight.

I also bought some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint when I saw some furniture painted with one of the newer colors "Cocoa".

I have to admit, I was smitten at first glance. I cracked that can open as soon as we got home! You see, I've had the china cabinet sitting in the middle of the breakfast room while I'm trying to decide which way to go. I painted the top section of the cabinet with a homemade version of chalk paint. I made it using non-sanded grout and a gray paint color by Martha Stewart. I think it was Bedford Gray.

Previously, I had painted the bottom of the china cabinet with my homemade version of "Old White" chalk paint. And then the top and the bottom both sat there since neither of them was what I wanted.  And they sat and sat ... in the middle of the mess ... while I couldn't decide.



Am I the only one who has so much trouble with picking colors? Do you have any suggestions for me? How do you decide?

Hmmmm...I think I got sidetracked! 

Back to Cocoa. I'm already doing the shelves. My plan is to do the top and bottom in Cocoa and then use a dark wax to age it. And maybe trim it a little in old white. I'm on this. Really. I might get something completed soon.



I'm sharing this week at the following blog parties:

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
http://www.primpjunktion.com
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Pottery Barn Duvet

Pottery Barn has a new duvet with red and green on a cream background. Perfect for the Christmas season, so I bought one this week.

We were gone on a long trip when the season changed and I just don't seem to be able to catch the Fall and Halloween decorating spirit this year.

That's why, when I got the duvet home, it seemed like a good idea to just skip Halloween decorations and jump right into Christmas.

We just don't do things as quickly as we used to any more, so I think it's a good plan to get started on Christmas now in the rooms that don't show.

I plopped the red geraniums on the side table to match the red in the duvet. I have almost 2 months to change them out with poinsettias ... I think I'll make it, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Glued To Duck Dynasty

    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                  

Season two is about to start. How have we missed this show for so long???

Wild Bill and I DVR'd a few episodes of Duck Dynasty and watched them all in one night. We never laughed so much over a TV show.

The first episode we watched, the "Duck Men"  went out to their old duck blind to make sure it was still usable. They encountered a multitude of snakes that were living in the blind, so they decided to tear it down. The father, Phil, was upset to lose his favorite blind until someone suggested blowing it up.

To quote the men, "...a redneck would let you blow up his house and be happy about it if the fire was big enough!"

Check it out on A&E, Duck Dynasty.  Believe me, no one paid me to say good things about them, I guess I'm just a natural redneck.

No Escape

Marriage experts will tell you to spend your first year of marriage together without making major decisions or changes...you know, no major stresses like moving, changing jobs, etc.

This morning at breakfast, we fell into a discussion of how long we'd been together and how fast it has flown.

At the time we married, we were both close to 50. We married on a Friday and moved into a new house we bought the following week. Then, 2 months later, we both went back to school by taking an accelerated college program - doing 2 years in 1 year - by attending class 8 hours a day both Saturday and Sunday, every other weekend.

On top of that, Wild Bill did a major job changed that required him to travel every month for training. Somehow we got through that first year, and all the years since, but we both agreed we wouldn't do that first year again like that.

Then this afternoon we saw on Yahoo headlines that, after 40-plus years together, Danny Devito and Rhea Pearlman separated. Wow. They appeared to be the perfect couple.

A little later Wild Bill quietly said, "I hope you don't leave me after 40 years."

"Don't worry"  I said,  "If you haven't escaped by now Bill, you'll never be free."

The Polohouse Blog

I've been traveling, visiting the grand kids and doing good deeds for family members. 

We took the Texas Cadillac (our pickup) so we could pick up a queen bed from one daughter and take it to another daughter in a different state. While traveling down Arizona on a small 2-lane road from Flagstaff to Sedona to Prescott, we got lots of "looks" hauling that bed in the back.  

I haven't been blogging, but still enjoyed reading and keeping up with some of my favorite blogs. One favorite, The Polohouse Blog, has a feature each month called favorites on the first. If you want to post your favorite things, you have from the first to third of each month to link up. Or, if you've been distracted like me, you can just go over and see what everyone is up to.



Photo Source: The Polohouse Blog

This picture is what The Polohouse featured as her favorite this month. The house is lovely and her decorating is always up with the current season (I doubt she waited until St. Patrick's Day to take down her Christmas decorations last year.) Take a peek and I'm sure you'll love her blog too!

http://thepolohouse.blogspot.com