New "Magnolia Home" Paint To Try

Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame has a new line of wall paint and a new line of what she calls "Chalk Style" paint. Here's a picture from her website:

Magnolia Home Chalk Style Paint

According to the online information, the Magnolia paints will be carried at selected Ace Hardware stores and local Target stores, as well as online at the Magnolia website. 

I'm really interested in trying the chalk paint after I watched all the videos on the website. Lots of tips and tricks there to help with your painting! 

Magnolia will also carry a special paint formulated for trim and cabinets. 

I have a lot of trim to paint, as well as a big cabinet and bead board wall, so that's why I'm looking forward to trying Magnolia's trim and cabinet paint.

Cabinet Side of Built-In

Bead Board Side of Built-In 

The other day, after putting it off for so long, I started painting the bead board side of the cabinet/wall built-in. 

Since Fusion Mineral Paint has a slightly hard finish to it, I tried two of their colors on the bead board.

It was kind of a Goldilocks day for me... the Limestone color (three boards kind of in the middle) was too yellowish-cream. The Casement color (the last two boards on the right) seemed too bright white. 

I mixed the two Fusion colors together, half and half, and painted the five boards on the left with that mixture.  

The mixed color was just about the right color I wanted, but the finish seemed like it was going to be too dull.

I stopped for the day to mull it over, and by chance I read about the new Magnolia paints. 

The Trim and Cabinet paint is a semi-gloss, so it will have the finish I want. It only comes in two colors, Shiplap and White, but one of those colors should work. 

Shiplap

White

Our local Target doesn't have Magnolia Home paint in stock yet, so I'm going to a nearby town to try their Ace Hardware store to see if they have it in stock. Fingers crossed! I'd like to get that bead board done finally. 

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Dinner, Thanks To Cheryl's Frugal Corner

Recently we had a fun, high-fiber low-carb dinner thanks to Cheryl over at Cheryl's Frugal Corner.

When I read her recipe for Deconstructed Egg Rolls, I knew this was going to become a favorite for me because it's a lot like the filling for P. F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps. When we have lunch there, I always have their "appetizer" Lettuce Wraps for my meal.

The mixture of Cheryl's Deconstructed Egg Rolls are a lot like the filling for Lettuce Wraps. Cheryl said she has this dish over crispy noodles, but right away I imagined wrapping the mixture up in a lettuce leaf or topping a small amount of rice with a scoop. 

The main ingredients used for this recipe: ground pork, a bag of shredded cabbage mix, sliced water chestnuts, onions, ginger, garlic and other spices. Next time I make it, I'll try ground chicken instead of pork.

We don't use a lot of ginger, but I have read it's good for your health so I did use it
. 

When it comes to cooking, I'm always looking for short cuts.  These squeeze tubes of ginger and garlic are easy to use and stay fresh for quite a while. 

If you're interested in frugal tips, I hope you'll stop by Cheryl's Frugal Corner and say hello. Her Deconstructed Egg Roll recipe is HERE.

If you are fond of PF Chang's hot sauce that goes with their lettuce wraps, you can find a copycat recipe for the sauce HERE.

Thanks for dropping by!

Counter Stools Update

Thanks to a suggestion from The Bee Lady and others on my post about buying counter stools a while back, we purchased three stools for our counter and one for a back up.

The ladies suggested buying extras because if we lose one due to breakage, we might have a hard time finding a replacement. Their suggestions made sense so we bought the extras.

We gave the new stools a good workout recently when the four youngest grandkids were here together during spring break...

If you're a grandparent, I'm sure you've learned that superheroes don't have time to be careful with the furniture.

I would prefer stools with brown legs, but these white cushioned stools are only available with black legs at Pier 1 Imports. 

It would be easy to paint them with chalk paint, but buying a new house is in our future and the black legs might work better there.

To protect the wood floors, we added felt tabs to the bottom of these stools as we did with our other chairs and stools. 

We used the tabs that you pound in with a hammer, but first I had to remove the plastic ones that came on the stools when we purchased them. 

Luckily all it took was a Phillips-Head screwdriver and a little elbow grease.

It was more fun adding these "hammer in" new ones than removing the old ones. 

I don't know about you, but hammering something always makes me feel a lot better when I'm done!

Thanks for dropping by!

Cheap Craigslist Cubby Find

A few mornings after posting about my love for the $1000 green cubicle storage shelves I saw in a store in McKinney, I opened the local Craigslist link and the first item for sale was...

Photo From Craigslist - Cubbie Shelf Listed For $45

Turned out the seller lived nearby (less than a mile) and, according to Google Maps, it would take 3 minutes driving time to pick it up. 

After arrangements were made to go pick it up, we were quickly on our way...one of us was happy and smiling at the thought of having this vintage piece and the other one was not!

Now this little storage shelf is nowhere near as big as that huge green cubby shelf, but it's perfectly cute and I can paint it any color I want...maybe I'll even paint it green like the McKinney one HERE.

Large Green Cubby Shelf For Sale In McKinney Tx

The best part of buying this cubby shelf is that it's clean without any dirt caked on the bottom shelves...the worst part is there's no chipping paint patina. 

As Gilda Radner used to say: 

"It's always something!"

Gilda

Thanks for dropping by!

SaveSave

It's Flag Season...Again.

I'm still standing by what I said in a post last year...

When it comes to decorating, there's only three seasons: Fall, Christmas, and Flag Season.

Basically, I love putting small flags in anything that stands still. As you can see in the picture above, adding dried beans to a canning jar helps to keep the flags standing up. 

I've found the best place to buy these small American flags is Home Depot. I usually find them there for 99 cents each. Lowe's carries the little flags too, but their price is a little higher. Yep, I'm lazy and cheap!

Right now I'm breaking out last year's flags to get started. I have to confess, it takes me a while to get it done when it comes to decorating. So once decor is up, I like to leave it a while. How about you?

Flags In The Pots Last Year

If you're a fellow lazy decorator, flags work - inside and outside -the whole month of May (building up to Memorial Day) then stay around for the 4th of July, and through the summer and on to Labor Day! 

That's why I'm repeating here what I said in this POST last year, except for Christmas and fall, all the rest of the year can be Flag Season.

In The Heat Of Summer When Flowers Die, Flags Can Add Color

Just let your little flags fly and add flowers, chickens, candles... whatever hits your fancy.

Thanks for dropping by!

Sharing Here:
Sundays At Home Link Party

Stuck On Cubical Cabinets

It was love at first sight when I saw this big green cabinet in a shop down in McKinney the other day!

It's tall and wide, but very narrow...

The paint is chipped and stained and, on places like the ends, there's no paint at all...

Then there's the fact that the cubicles in this shelf don't line up like most cubicle shelves do. Most are perfect squares, but not these... 

I won't tell you Wild Bill's first thought, but my first thought was, "This would be perfect for our entryway." 

Our walls are very high so it would fit right in...if only...if only it wasn't priced at $1,000 dirt and all. 

I bought two small samples of their Vintage paint and called it a day. If only...

Thanks for stopping by!

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French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Texas Bloggers And Fusion Paint

Needed some Fusion Mineral Paint the other day to complete a project, so we took a trip to McKinney Texas where my favorite Fusion Mineral Paint supplier is located.

Melanie's shop in The Antiques Company Mall is called Lost and Found, just like her blog Lost And Found Decor.

Melanie And Husband Brad, Lost And Found Shop

Melanie and her husband Brad were restocking her shop and making renovations that day. Of course I had to get some actions shots of the two of them...

I've been following Melanie's blog since she started it years ago. She has great tutorial videos on painting and finishing furniture on her blog, as well as pretty pictures of her painted pieces.

For 2 years I've been buying paint supplies from Melanie, but I had never actually met her in person until the other day when I was there to buy paint.

It was cold, windy and rainy that day, but Melanie's warm smile cheered me right up. 

Melanie was kind enough to answer more than a few questions from me about a couple of projects I'm planning to do. Melanie has used Fusion Paint to make over just about everything, including her cabinets and front door in addition to the usual furniture makeovers. 

Window of The Antiques Company Mall, McKinney TX

If you're in the McKinney area, The Antiques Company Mall is a great place to shop in old downtown McKinney. And if you're interested in learning about Fusion Paint, check out Melanie's blog for her tutorials.

I'm joining the Keep In Touch Party at Let's Add Sprinkles and the Amaze Me Monday party at Dwellings - The Heart Of The Home. I hope you stop by there too.

Thanks for dropping by!

TBT Tip: Baking Soda Cleaning

Here's a Throw Back Thursday tip: Baking soda is so cheap and versatile when it comes to cleaning. I know I've said this before, but it can be used on sinks, silver, refrigerators... and even on your skin mixed with an oil or cleanser.

Here's our tray after sprinkling it with baking soda and then wiping the baking soda with a clean wet cloth to remove the tarnish.

Cleaned With Baking Soda And A Damp Cloth

Here's the before...

The Ugly "Before"

One benefit in using baking soda for cleaning is that it is edible. If you clean your silverware with it you don't have to worry if some is left on your silverware or platters.

I'm joining the Share Your Cup Thursday Party over at Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson. Hope you'll join the party too.

Thanks for dropping by!

Ashes Than Dust...

I like blogs that have questions that make you think. Recently over at Joey's Pad, a question was: What inspirational tattoo do you have or would you have?

Actually, I have tattoos, but none are inspirational. When I turned 50, I had my eye makeup tattooed on...Top and bottom eyeliner and a really light smudge of green-blue shadow above the top liner. Sometimes I even have my eyelashes dyed dark brown and then I'm virtually wash and wear! 

Jack London Photos

My answer to the question about inspirational tattoos was that I would pick Ashes Than Dust which is part of the credo of legendary writer, Jack London... 

I would rather be ashes than dust! 

I would rather that my spark should burn out 

    in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. 

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom 

    of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. 

The function of man is to live, not to exist. 

I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. 

I shall use my time. 

I grew up very close to London's ranch in the hills of Sonoma Valley in California. I spent a lot of time roaming his property, which is an historic park, and touring the house his wife built to house all of their travel mementos. 

I loved soaking up the essence of London's adventures, which pervaded the buildings and property. As a young girl and teenager, I always wanted to be someone London would pal around with even though he died long before I was born.

Jack London Park Museum

I'm going to continue Joey's question here:  How about you? What inspirational tattoo do you have or would you wear?

Thanks for dropping by!