playing house.

it's been my favorite game since I was a young girl.
So I don't know if the decorating posts appeal to anyone (except Mom and Kelli, always...we share the DNA that causes this malady), and I promise this is still the family blog. But I get all tickled about these little updates and changes in our home and need to share...I live with four men, people! I work-work-work and the only real feedback I get is when a girlfriend comes over and kindly squeals with delight for me.
(The comment bar is for squealing-go ahead. Consider it your belated New Years gift)

First of all! I sewed a new mixer cover for the trusty Kitchenaid. I wanted one to match the new curtains, but I didn't want plain black. Nor did I want to pay $29.99. So I cut apart the old cover (which was yellow) and used it as a pattern. I took my 40% off coupon to Joanns Fabric for black quilted cotton, and used a scrap from the curtains to sew that side pocket, which holds the beaters nicely. There was enough left over fabric to make three potholders-all of that came to about $8! Now I need to Scotchguard that puppy because our kitchen counters are a war zone when I am cooking. Spaghetti sauce flying, atomic flour clouds...it's dangerous to cotton.

Here's one of the ideas I gleaned from a decorating blog...I can't remember who exactly, but it may have been the Nester. Anyway I see these cheese servers all the time at the Goodwill. There was a lot of glass enclosed cheddar in the 1980s, apparently. I picked this one up for $1.99-replaced the wooden base with a little scalloped pewter plate, tied on a green ribbon from my scrapbook stash, and added two faux pears. These were at Walmart for like .89 cents and look pretty realistic for that price!
captured cute on my counter, for just a few bucks!
This is the latest addition to the Kitchen area. This solid wood shelf I bought for $5, ages ago-it was Josiah's nightstand until we re-arranged his room. Then it was put into the schoolroom for a few years, but was too small to hold many books. I offered it to a friend but it wasn't the right size for what she needed. I was ready to donate it back to Salvation Army when I realized these two old gym baskets fit perfectly in the shelves! (and I dearly love old metal gym baskets) Now it was too cute, and I decided it would be the corral for chips and pantry overflow. It seems we always need a spot to stash that bag of potatoes, or the extra cat food that was on sale.
Lately we have fallen into a nice Sunday routine. Lee and Claudia come over to our house before early service church, and we all ride in to the service, together. Since it's a 1/2 hour commute this saves gas money but we do it because we get that extra hour of family time together. (After four years apart we are still "catching up" on our missed time!) We get home about 11 AM, we all eat lunch together, at either her house or mine. The grown men settle in to watch football. The half-grown men settle in to conquer new levels on the Wii, and then Claudia and I hop in the car, and grin at each other. We are off on a Junkin' Expedition! The thrift stores in our area are incredible-the benefits of living in a community that stresses the paradox of both consumption and recycling. We hit our favorite Goodwills and spur each other on to purchases with lots of "it's cute-just spray paint it!" and "that would look great in your kitchen" It's hours of fun, for around $20 bucks! We have pretty similar taste but so far we haven't come to blows over who gets the $3.00 Ironstone platter...
and last week, with her encouragement, I picked up these big glass peanut butter jars-those are the lids, above.

I used to have a handy spray gun trigger? I think a small boy may have taken it for his imaginative play...and I need to find another one. This stuff is hard to get off without a Brillo pad.
Worth it though, because aren't these great? Popcorn, Caleb's flour and my homemade granola. Now, each have a home much nicer than the plastic bins they were previously stuck with. For $1.99 each, you can't get better canisters! I might make tags for them later, so far, I like them plain and simple.

Decorating on a budget is one of my favorite things. Challenging myself to re-vamp, re-do, sew, paint and shop for gently used items, in order to get the loudest bang for the lowest buck. It's a game, a treasure hunt, and a joy to me. Plus, it's a way to honor my husband's hard work. I know John doesn't care about what our house looks like, and that it is something inside ME that likes to re-arrange and beautify...his paycheck was earned by time way from his family, and that sacrifice is what makes me respectful of it.