Thrifted Finds

On the way home from work a couple weeks ago I stopped by a yard sale (the signs promised it was *HUGE*) and while there wasn't much that attracted me I did manage to come home with a couple of gems.

The young girl who had her own tarp set out with all her own stuff to sell had plenty of horse themed items.  I managed to spy a book by Margerite Henry, the Milwaukee native who wrote Misty of Chincoteague among many other horse books.  She worked quite frequently with illustrator Wesley Denis whose work I absolutely adore, so I picked up the well worn copy with binding falling off so I could pull out the illustrations inside.

And the simple loveliness of a couple of old milk bottles which I couldn't pass up.  I don't know what it is about the milk bottles that keeps attracting me every where I go, but at a quarter a piece for these two I didn't question it.  If nothing else they'll make adorable vases.

But now I must stop my blogging break to go unpack some more boxes!

DIY Apple Chips

Last week I whipped up some spoon butter which has done wonders for the wooden tools and table in our kitchen but this week I went with something actually edible - apple chips.

 

As soon as I got out the peeler Wicket positioned herself underneath it waiting for some scraps to fall.

The peeler made quick work as it cored and sliced the apple all in one step.  Then into the dehydrator they went for a few hours.

I made the first batch on Tuesday, and when Tia came over today we made a second batch, this time with sugar and cinnamon, so we have plenty to share.

DIY Spoon Butter

There's a wonderful wooden bowl in our kitchen that we received as a wedding gift from one of my cousins that I absolutely love to pieces.  Usually I care for it by rubbing it down with mineral or olive oil every so often but lately I noticed that my habits weren't really cutting it any more.  Of course I found the answer on Pinterest - Spoon Butter.

I picked up a pound of natural beeswax last week at Michaels Crafts, and picked up a new bottle of mineral oil from the supermarket while grocery shopping the other day, so on Tuesday in between loads of laundry and unpacking I whipped it up in the kitchen.  And then Wicket and I took a walk over to my in-law's to borrow a ring and lid because I still haven't unpacked most of our canning supplies and really I'm not quite sure where they are.

I cut off roughly a quarter of the block of beeswax but used my postal scale to be a tiny bit more accurate in my measuring.  I've already rubbed it onto my prized wooden bowl and I'm trying it on a corner of the kitchen butcher block table before I coat the whole thing.

Cost Breakdown
- One pound natural beeswax (from Michael's Crafts in the candle making section with 40% coupon) - $10
- Mineral oil (Pick N'Save) - $2.50
- Quart canning jar - on hand
Total: $12.50
Per Jar: $5

I only used a quarter pound of beeswax so it even though I spent about $12.50 to make it this first time it really costs just over $5 per jar, and it looks like it should last a while.  I'm contemplating throwing together three more jars from the left over beeswax to give as gifts this Christmas.

Happy, Happy Halloween!

We had our trick-or-treating last night, but I want to wish all the ghouls and goblins venturing out tonight a festive and safe Halloweeen!

I love my old McDonald Halloween buckets, and I'm really hoping to find a few more so I can make a lighted tower display to put out next year.  I made the pumpkin that the skeleton on the door is holding this year with a foam "Funkin" from JoAnn's that I cut in half and decorated using mod podge and some glitter.  

And of course the duckies like to get festive as well!

Our House and the New Granite Countertops

Richard and Matthias dismantling the old kitchen cabinets.  We had planned to hang the old cabinets on the back wall of the garage for storage, but in truth they were too far gone so Richard has been cutting them up to dispose of them slowly.  And if you look real close you can see the peeling paint that was the bane of my existence for far too long.

Here's the kitchen after we'd installed all of the new cabinets the night before the granite guys came to install the countertop.

Now with brand new granite couptertops!  Not exactly Martha Stewart's kitchen, and not quite as organized as I'd like yet but it's a wonderful and welcome change from before.

Wicket approves.

A close-up of the countertop - the color is called "Mountain green" and is a really light mix of white, gray, and black with just a tinge of green.

Weekend scores

We wandered out yesterday afternoon in between the Packers and Brewers games to run some errands and see if we couldn't find some fun Halloween decorations for our new house.  While we struck out on the Halloween decoration front except for some cute jack-o-lantern dish towels we managed to have great luck in other endeavors.

We found one of the pet gates that has a door in it on a clearance end cap at Target.  It's original price tag was $50 but was marked As-Is for just $3.  So we took that $3 gamble, and boy did it sure pay off!  Turns out the only thing that was damaged was the box, so now the stairs to the basement are secure and we don't have to worry about Wicket wandering down and getting into trouble.

We also found a much needed rug for the office on sale.  Now all we need for the office is a second chair for Richard's desk, since his last one went kaput prior to the move.

By the looks of it every photo I take around the house now has to include Wicket whether I like it or not.  Thankfully, I'm more than happy about it!

Lazy Sunday

It's sure has been a busy, busy week and I'm glad it's Sunday.  We're taking a while to relax (and for Richard to watch football) before we head out to get some new decorations to get in the spirit for Halloween.

Last night we hosted the first party in our new house.  We invited Richard's colleagues from school and had a grand ol' time.  Lots of food, drink, and good conversation.  Bechu came over early to help make the food, of which we made too much, but at least I don't have to worry about making dinner for the next week.

At the end of the night we were exhausted... but no one quite as much as Wicket who spent most of the evening playing with Figment and Buddy, the four-legged party goers.  She didn't even wait for us to take her leash off after we came in from the fire in the back yard - just curled right up ready for a nap.  So with that I'll return to our lazy Sunday and put off future party planning for another day.

Rivers + Wicket

My sister Rivers is coming into town this weekend for a brief break from college, and we're planning to have a movie and sleepover night.  Richard is being banished to a friend's house so it's just us girls.  I guess the only thing left to do is pick out a movie and remember to buy some popcorn.

Here's Rivers the last time she was here helping Wicket try on Daisy's old winter coat.  The coat was a bit big, so we may have to find a new one just for Wicket.

On the Town in Milwaukee

The other weekend we had the chance to spend time with our friends Michael, Mari, and their daughter Alex.  We went to Discovery World downtown, which has an aquarium in their new location on the waterfront.

We had quite the time at the touch pool.  And a fun quick ride through the big tank on the glass sided elevator!

October and Kitchen Updates

This next month is just packed.

With all luck the kitchen should be in the finishing stages by the end of the day tomorrow.  Here's what the kitchen looks like this evening, just ignore the plywood countertops and small hole in the wall.  The countertops are being installed in the morning, and I'll spend the day working on fixing up the pantry.  I can't wait for the real counter to be in and have the available real estate to unpack the rest of the kitchen boxes, AND have a working kitchen!

We want to have our families over on the weekend of October 8 for a housewarming party, and then a little shindig the next weekend with our friends.  And I'll be hosting the next crafternoon the following Sunday.  Quite a lot of hosting will be going on over here, and I can't wait for some of our friends and family to finally see the house for the first time!

And I certainly can't wait to have more boxes unpacked, and a bit more living and working area, instead of just working our way around the stacks of boxes.  And with October my projects will resume!  How exciting!

speaking of christmas...

It is usually around this time of year when the stores seem to skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving to put up Christmas trees and stock.  Which is to say that this is when I'm generally rolling my eyes a lot.  But this year?  It's somehow different.  I'm trying to get a head start on Christmas presents this year because I'm afraid with everything else going on this year I won't be able to finish everything otherwise.

The checkout ladies at JoAnn Fabrics look at me like I'm crazy when I hand them a coupon for my single $1 item, but every little bit of savings means I can stretch our Christmas budget even further.  So I'm going to take full advantage of their coupon commotion promotion this week to get the last (hopefully) of the supplies for all our presents this year.

A few weekends ago Beth, Sara and I talked about reinstating Crafternoon where we get together at each other's homes and spend the afternoon making things and chatting.  Beth has already scheduled the first one for next Sunday at her place and I can't wait!  I only hope I have a portable project ready to take with me, and that Richard won't mind me leaving him behind at home.

thoughts on coupons

I promise that I'm not as intense as the couponers featured on TLC's Extreme Couponing, but clipping coupons has become a way of life to stretch our limited budget.

It may sound farfetched, but couponing contributed directly to buying our house.  We never would have been able to save the money for our downpayment without coupons to stretch our budget.  And now that we're fixing up the house coupons and rebates are helping to pay for supplies we need to work.

I suppose all this musing was prompted by something Anna said yesterday.  We were chatting when she mentioned finding this amazing website called fiverr.com where you can post something that you will do or make or send for $5 and people can buy your offer.  She made a comment that if I could just figure out something to post and sell I could stop clipping coupons.  Maybe I'll do it, perhaps I'll come up with something to clever to post and I can start raking in the extra cash, but truth be told.... I won't be able to stop couponing.

Call me crazy, but paying full price for anything is something I can no longer bring myself to do.  Just yesterday my $100+ grocery shopping bill went down to just $57.51 and I managed to stock up on a few staples that will see us through the next couple weeks instead of just one.  This post may very well lead to more musing on the things I do for extra cash, get products for free and to bolster our savings.