Friday, December 30, 2011

Don't want You to Think...

that I went all the way through the Christmas posts and didn't mention a thing about thrifting or vintage. Cause you know that's not how I roll...

I of course mentioned in this post that I got the box for Greg at our local "junk shop". Well, I should probably state that I live about 10 miles outside of a small village (approx. 1,200 people INSIDE the village limits) & shopping is limited without a lot of travel time. There is a local family run grocery store, a Family Dollar, and a couple other specialty stores. There is one antique store that I mentioned here and next to it is a thrift/resale/junk store. Its a favorite haunt of mine...

It's owned and run by a local man who goes to estate sales on the last day and buys out the remaining items at a great price and then passes the savings on to the locals. It's not a fancy store by any means...you really want to go in there if you like digging through boxes, flipping through piles or snaking through furniture. I have bought quite a few items in my house from him...at a great price! (here, here & here) I love this store!

These are a few of the littles I got when I went there (specifically looking for a metal box and some playing cards) looking for Christmas things!

The 2 Santa mugs made in Japan. I think I paid $.25 each.  The little Angel candle holder made in Norway another $.25. They immediately got displayed on my shadow box with the other Christmassy things!

These 4 vintage ornaments...also 25 cents each. They had some bare spots where the flocking was rubbed off, but only in places that don't show if they are hanging on the tree! They were a perfect addition to the white Christmas tree this year!

I'm already planning another trip in to the junk shop. He had a large end table made specifically to set in a corner.  I'm thinking it will make a perfect entertainment center, until I come across the perfect MCM buffet (which I have yet to find in my budget)...Oh, and he probably has all his Christmas things on "clearance". He has some of the old vintage trees lights, tinsel and bulbs and I'm thinking a nice DIY project like this would be perfect for next year....

More Vintage Ornament Wreaths
source

 I'm looking forward to a lot more fun digging for treasures as the year 2012 comes quickly upon us! How about you? Are you looking forward to doing some fun things in the next year? Share with me....It's not hard, just click the comment button and spill your guts to me!!!

Happy New Year to all my Readers (whether you comment or not)!!  May God richly bless you in all your dreams and endeavors of the new year....  jeanette

Thursday, December 29, 2011

All I got for Christmas...

Was a lot of squeals & smiles from the Girlies!
I wanted to do something special forth specials in my life...the man of the Frumpy House & our Girlies! So where else would I go but Pinterest for great gift ideas...I apologize if you are fully sick of me talking about Pinterest...but not really!!

Anywhooo....to get back to the blog subject....

I made most (read all) of the gifts that I gave this year...it makes me feel good & it's fun!

I found a pin that showed some really cool "pillow/matresses" for kids. I thought about it for a bit, cause I'm not a person who sews (although I want to learn so I can hang with the "cool kids" in blogland). Then I did what any respectable woman would do & talked my mom into helping me!!

I found 4 vintage sheets that would coordinate & make two covers. Took em down to my mom's & showed her the picture on Pinterest. She did the rest.

Here's the results...



Finished project...





















The girls are loving them! I'm glad I went with my gut and had my mom make these....hahaha!


The other gift I made, I made for Greg & the girls..."52 Reasons I Love You". Written out on a deck of cards (thrifted of course) & bound w/ rings...



They spent time reading through them Christmas morning...my plan is to read through them myself, reminding myself why I love 'em...especially on bad days!!

A gift I made for Greg this year actually is an idea I got from my blog/twitter friend Abbey over @ Aesthetic Outburst, she's wonderful! She and her husband just bought and are remodeling an old farmhouse in Owego, NY!! But, I digress...

I bought this metal box @ my local "junk shop"....get this .50!! Yep! I'm giving, but I'm still cheap! I picked up file folders (w/ tabs) & a pack of paper. Cut them down to fit the box...

It's now a journal...separated by months, plus a file for dreams, wants & goals @ the back! He loved it & I see him writing in it in the evenings...makes me happy!

The final 2 gifts were for the girls...they LOVE to draw/write/paint etc. So I thought it would be fun to make them a note book...you can see/read about them here...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family! Wether your gifts were store bought, thrifted or homemade...I hope you gave from your heart & that all was received with joy & happiness!!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Those who know me...

know of my love for Pinterest. To say I'm addicted would be a small understatement.
For those who don't know what Pinterest is, after you crawl out from under that rock, check it out.  For those of you who know what it is, and choose not to browse/drool/dream/pin...well, you are a stronger person than I....

I have two special boards on Pinterest. One I have titled "Re-vamping My Vamp". It's all about making myself over with homemade or all natural items, or things that are low on the $$ scale. I have shared some of them with you in this post.

My other board I want to share with you here is titled "Takin' it to the Bank". It's all about ways to save money in the home...putting that extra $$ saved into our bank account, instead of the store's corporate accounts...

For the New Year I have made up my mind that I am going to do what I can to lower some of our home expenses. Mostly by making and/or eliminating some of the things we use around our home. Let me share a few with you...

#1. Cleaning supplies. Now, I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to scents/chemicals that are used in a lot of cleaners, so it's not too hard for me to want to change some things in the inventory.

I've decided (and believe me, I've been using this for the last 2-3 months so I know it works) to use basic white vinegar and baking soda as the basis for most of my cleaning supplies. I infused the white vinegar with citrus (citrus oils are also a great cleaning agent, and helps make it smell not so vinegary), by letting some orange and lemon peelings marinate in a quart of vinegar for 3 weeks.

That is now my concentrate, I mix it on a 1-4 ratio, in my spray bottle. I clean my sinks, tub, counters, table and inside the fridge with it....and so much more. The quart of concentrate is still not gone, and as I said I've been using it for 2-3 months now!
It's Wonderful!!!

For my tub/shower and toilet I add Baking soda to plain white vinegar and use it to scrub the tub and inside the toilet bowl. About 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1-2 Tablespoons of soda will clean a tub (and it's a dirty one with 2 girls bathing and leaving soap scum behind) and usually the same amount in each toilet bowl then scrub with a toilet brush. Leaves them sparkling and fresh--kid you not!

There are many blogs/websites that share many more recipes for cleaning tricks that use all natural/less expensive alternatives to expensive store bought cleaners...
check a couple out here and here!!

#2 Laundry Supplies  As I've already said, my sniffer is sensitive, so I don't like a lot of perfumes on my laundry (as opposed to the man of the Frumpy House). It gives me headaches and wheezes...so I'm looking forward to using these things in my laundry!

This past week I literally ran out of dryer sheets (I live 10 minutes away from any store, and the closest ones are not cheap big box stores by any means) and didn't want to run out and pick up a box.  Well, I remembered that I had pinned a trick on my Pinterest board about using Aluminum Foil in the dryer instead of dryer sheets. Had some foil in the cupboard so I wadded up a handful and tossed it in with my next load, which happened to be towels and jammies.
Guess what....it worked!! And the person who said that it worked on the blog said it never needs to be replaced!!!
Although, next time I have a large load of sheets and crotched afghans I may toss in another ball, there was some static in those items. I am glad to report that after 2 weeks of use, and approximately 12 loads of laundry later....it still works!! A side note, if you have a small load you will probably hear the ball thunking around in the dryer...

Then this week I ran out of laundry detergent. Not too unusual in the Frumpy House, with 6-8 loads of laundry a week! My mom had texted me wanting to know if I needed anything in the larger town...ie WalMart...since she was heading there. I had the ingredients for this recipe on my pin board, except the Borax so asked her to pick me up a box.  Voila!  Mixed it up in about 6 minutes that day and have been using it for 4 days and about 7 loads of laundry....cleans really well and it seems to brighten really well too. I should note, I didn't use the lavender essential oil that was in the linked recipe, as I don't like the scents!

I used my small food processor for grating up the soap...zip, zip and it was done! Put the ingredients in a cleaned out gallon ice cream bucket, stirred it, put the lid on and shook it around to make sure it was mixed really well.  Found an old tablespoon measure, oh, did I forget to mention you only need a Tablespoon for each load!?!?! Yep! Good to go...for a long time!!

I'm looking forward to making some more things to help out in the laundry. You can check this recipe for homemade Oxyclean out here.

I'll keep you updated and informed on any more of the cleaners/recipes I try off my "Takin' it to the Bank" pinboard on Pinterest. Please, share any great, inexpensive tricks you have for cleaning your home! I've told the husband that I'm going to start making a tally sheet and show him how much money I have been saving the household by doing all this "crazy" stuff as he calls it (although he has been very good about using the laundry detergent without making a fuss).

What are some of your "resolutions" or choices you are making for the new year? Have you decided to change something in your life to benefit you, your family, your wallet, the environment, or life in general? Share some with me...I'm always looking for something new to pin on my Pinterest boards!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Traditions....

they are wonderful, and they come out of the wood work this time of year.
When I was a child, my mom would make cinnamon rolls for our Christmas day breakfast. She didn't just bake cinnamon rolls tho', she would lay 'em out on a cookie sheet in the shape of a Christmas tree...yep, it was fun, and special to us as kids!

So, I've been carrying on the family tradition and baking cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree...until *gasp* this year!

This year, I've been addicted to Pinterest...and those of you who are right there with me, know what I mean...I found a recipe using cinnamon rolls that I thought would be wonderful for Christmas morning! You know what, I was right...

The recipe is from the blog "Oh! My! Sugar High", but I found in on Pinterest.

It's really quite easy, and decadent, and probably a once a year dish! But, oh, so worth it!

I prepped it all the night before, because no matter what day of the year it is...I am NOT a morning person. Never will be...

Here's the recipe:
1/4 c. melted butter, poured into the bottom of your cake pan
2-12.4 oz. can of cinnamon rolls (I used 3, because the bottom of my 9 x 11" cake pan          wasn't even covered with 2)
--Cut the cinnamon rolls up into bite size or smaller pcs.
--I used my kitchen shears & cut those buggers right on top of the butter in the cake dish

In a mixing bowl mix:
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
5 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. maple syrup
--Pour this over the top of your cinnamon rolls

I covered it and set it in the refrigerator. I'm glad to report it wasn't soggy, and it baked up wonderfully fluffy and yummy!

Add ins: You who come here often know I don't make things with out adding extra things to the recipe...here's what I did:

On the adult half only (cause you know who *cough-Lauryn-ahem* would be eating with us) I added a handful of pecan halves and snipped up some dried apples (since I had the shears out anyway)...

In the morning I set it out when I got up (at the ungodly hour of 5:30) and 40 minutes before breakfast time I turned the oven on 350 degrees. Baked that pretty thing for 20-25 minutes (it was nicely browned and bubbly on the edges). Let it sit for 10-15 minutes to get a little solid.  Opened the 3 packages of frosting that came with the cinnamon rolls and drizzled them on the top.



Can I say...DELICIOUS!!!! Add a chopped up banana to your plate & a cup of coffee. This puppy melts in your mouth, kid you not!

So much for carrying on Christmas traditions...oh, well...breaking traditions never tasted so good!!!

How about you? Do you have a traditional breakfast on Christmas day? Have you broken traditions that your family had when you were a child, all in the name of making new family traditions?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Cookies for...

Christmas Eve. Sounds delightful. I'm not a baker tho'. I do not like the mess, the baking, the time...it's all just more than I care to deal with.
Yet, Santa comes each year & expects cookies & milk for a little energy boost...although I do think a sugar high @ each house is going a little overboard...

So, after the girls informed me that we needed cookies for Santa tonight I put my thought process into gear with a cup (or 4) of coffee & got crack-a-lackin on some cookies...



Firstly, decided I was gonna make cake cookies. They are the easiest/least messy cookies I know.

Recipe:
2 lg eggs
2 T water
3 T oil
1 box of cake mix
(I used a Devil's food cake & a Yellow cake)

Drop by teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes @ 350 degrees!

That's it. Easy peasy!! Of course since it's Christmas I wanted to make it a little fancy, so I crushed up some peppermint candy canes & mixed it into the yellow mix.



Then I carried it a little bit further & made frosting for cookie sandwiches...ummm yeah!






Mixed up peanut butter frosting & some dark chocolate frosting. For real, I don't measure when I make frosting I just add a little bit here & there til it's to my taste. If you don't want to buy you some yummy frosting here's a sorta recipe...

Recipe:
PB Frosting
1/2 c of peanut butter
1/2 c of powdered sugar
Milk (start with a tablespoon & add if it's dry)

Recipe:
Chocolate frosting
1 stick butter
1/2 c cocoa (mine was Hershey's Dark)
1/2 c powdered sugar
Milk (same as above)

Ugggg...that's the worst recipe ever written!

I scooped the cookies with a teaspoon cookie scoop, it gives you nice round evenly sized cookies which is pretty nice to have if you are making sandwiches.






They turned out great, they passed the taste testers...& we are packaging some up to give to the girl's Sunday school teachers!!












--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone

Friday, December 23, 2011

Last minute...

Gifts for the girls. Not because I didn't plan ahead, I just didn't execute the plan earlier!

I had been thinking about making a notebook/drawing/art book for the girls for some time. Even had some ideas of what I could use. I decided upon using some colorful cereal boxes. The cereals the girls pick out when they are given choices!

So "Fruity Pebbles" for Liyah & "Cinnamon Toast" for Lauryn....colorful boxes for sure!!

I cut the fronts & backs off the boxes first.
One box measured bigger than the other, but that's ok.


I then measured the paper & cut it to fit inside the covers....

The last two steps may need to be done at your local library or copy center. My dad has a home office with these machines so I'm a lucky duck!!

I laminated the cardboard pieces for the front & back.


Then using his binding machine I punched & bound the paper (I used graph & plain copy paper).


Ta-da!!! Fun, colorful & unique books for the girls to journal, color, draw or write in!!!





--Jeanette using BlogPress on iPhone

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Birthday Day...

Well, as far as birthday's go around the Frumpy House we make sure the girlies get a wonderful birthday experience. When it comes to the man of the Frumpy House & myself, well at our ages sometimes we'd just as soon forget about the date and play on...

Well, that is, we like to forget our birthdays, but we don't necessarily want everyone else in the house to forget it's our special day!

Once again tho', the mother in the Frumpy House (aka ME), forgot something important...yesterday was the man's birthday. Now it wasn't a BIG birthday as far as that goes...not the big 4-0 or anything. But it was his 41st.

Since the girlies and I just pretty much stumbled around with coffee and cartoons (first day of Christmas vacation folks), none of us so much as gave him a "Happy Birthday" or a birthday kiss....le sigh, I am such a bad wifey sometimes.

So, we did what any high tech family would do... we sent him a text message on his way to work with a nice (albeit bedhead & jammie showing) video birthday wish....
Ok, I don't have the backwards phone videography/photography thing down AT ALL...but he understands and that's all that matters.  He appreciates my effort most of the time!

So, the girls and I, spent the rest of the day shopping and making cards and dinner for the special (ok he's the only man) man of the house....

He was surprised and happy that we thought about him, especially on his birthday. The nachos kinda made up for the brain fart in the morning...
The way to my man's heart is still through his stomach!

We had a great evening and enjoyed family time...the girls were tucked in, the man of the Frumpy House had the remote for the evening & I was snuggled in on the couch beside him reading a book...

Then later....well, let's just say "for an old man he still has it"....bow-chicka-wowow!!!

(hehe, he's probably gonna kill me for saying that)

Saturday, December 17, 2011

My Christmas List...

I haven't done one of these before...usually if you ask me what I want for Christmas I would just say, "Oh, whatever...nothing real important. Maybe something useful, or needed!"

But, this year I thought....well, let's put some thought into this.
I don't buy too many things throughout the year that are just for fun, so maybe this year I will ask "Santa" for some fun things!

ELF Eyeshadow Palette - 32 Piecee.l.f. cosmetics...can u believe only $4 for this (on sale @ Target.com)



Genevieve Lace Overlay Steel Boned Corset Doesn't have to be this exact one...but the idea is out there!

Because I have the need to "read" on the go...and play games, & browse the web....






Pinned Image


Pick a Color...any color (well preferably the aqua or the red!)



Pinned Image

A nice stylish winter coat would be good....................seeing we've lived in Michigan for 5 yrs

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Crazy Holiday Things...

Eh, you know, I don't have the time, or the want to, to go out and create an interesting life right now...which leaves me very little to write about. Sorry, to all you readers who hold your breath and/or schedule your lives around the greatness of this blog...I just can't be ....sigh!

But, here are a few things that I thought you might get a kick out of this holiday season....

A funny take on the Christmas season...and most of the time...it is nuts!!

MySpaceGraphicsandAnimations.net
Okay, all you kids reading this won't think this is funny....but I'm sick that way!

I think if I had a kid this bad...for sure there'd be no presents with her name on them!
The folks at Awkward Family Photos never fail....Oh Santa, you naughty man...

 

This is a sweet video...must be the man was looking for something under the tree too! (nice shot of momma's butt...LOL)


Well, I'm sure there are a LOT more crazy things out there this time of the year...let's all just remember this: Smile and give Holiday Greetings...and if you can't be strong enough to fake it, get some of this...
it's all the rage this year!


(ps...I do not endorse, nor will I ever endorse, using pepper spray outside of the act of protecting yourself)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Snoopin' Around...

in the Antique store this past Saturday.

I don't often go to the antique stores in the area, not because I don't covet the beautiful things there....more because I can't afford the things there.
I sooo enjoy the browsing and the looking, but the price tags truly give me hives!

I love me a good book, have since I was pretty young (something to do with the parents getting rid of the tv for about a 5-6 year period). Getting lost in a good book was tantamount to good friends being over to play with!

The prerequisite "Little House" books, Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins and many others. Books by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume & Roald Dahl. These were constant companions....

So while the girls were singing some Christmas Carols the other day in our little town antique store, I took to the shelves. What fun. Yes, they had some great children's books, some that I'd really like to add to my collection. But what really caught my eye?!

These....
This Awesome coloring book only had the first 5-6 pages colored!



Someone had made a really nice Scrapbook with lots of celebs pics! 


This Coloring/Sticker book had a lot of uncolored pages...& unused stickers!

This ol' guy?! He was in this store, when it was the 5 & Dime!
I rode him many times when I was a kid...he's still giving kiddies rides!


And you? Do you ever go shopping at the Antique Stores? or like me are you destined for a life of thrift? Either way...I love to find a good treasure!

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Weekend...

was busy with eating breakfast with Santa Claus! Yeah, we're kinda special that way!

No, really, the local library in our small town is forever doing fun things with the kids in the community. The first weekend of December is the annual "Celebration of the Trees". A 3 day weekend of silent auction, cookie walk and the grand finale of breakfast/pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

We, of course were up bright and early. No matter that momma's been trying to rid herself of a monthlong sinus congestion problem and often wakes up with a horrible headache. Forget being sick, onward we go....went!

Breakfast was spectacular, as always, yummy french toast, fruit, cereal, juice and coffee!
We enjoyed every bite (we stayed so long at the library Liyah even went back for seconds...she always hungry!)
The girls had a wonderful time making crafts, listening to stories and then sitting on Santa and Mrs. Santa's lap....they both asked for Zhu Zhu pets...I don't really know why?! They've never been on the Christmas list at home!? The Friends of the Library were generous enough to buy books to be passed out to all the kids that came and visited with Santa. (This is a free event for the community with the silent auction and cookie walk being fundraisers for the Friends of the Library).
Santa & the Mrs. and the Library staff!
My girls were privileged enough to sing with a group of other kids and adults from our church...they caroled in the entry to the library and then made the rounds through out our little town. I like when they went to the "Peddler's Patch" the little antique store. While they sang their little hearts out I browsed to my hearts delight!
What a fun, family oriented way to start our holiday season! The girls and I had a wonderful time...too bad Greg had to work (that only means extra dinero for the girl's stockings this year!).

What are some holiday activities that your community has? Do you and your family enjoy  them? Do you have activities that your family shares with others? Share with me...I'd love to hear!

Merry Christmas...

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Proverbial...

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" post....

Greg and I got the Christmas decor out of storage yesterday while the girls were in school. Thought we'd get things decorated before they went off to Kids Klub. Not so lucky as that...
The 5 strings of vintage lights...dead! Dead, I say, just dead!
Bummer...

But some things got done...here's a peek!


This guy now sits on a different shelf...
Waiting patiently...more than I can say about myself!

How are things coming along at your house? Decorating done? Just starting? or Haven't even thought about it?