DIY Farmhouse Table...$130 total!

So I decided that at 30 years old, having 3 children now and buying our first home, that it was time for us to own a “grown up” table. Something that wasn't put together with a tool that is included in the box! I wanted a place that all of us could sit for meals and maybe even some extra room for guests when they visit. While I wasn't extremely picky about the look of the table (although my husband would probably disagree with that statement), I was very picky about how much I wanted to spend. I mean come on…why can’t I have a farmhouse style table that sits 8-10 people for under $300. Is that really asking too much? Apparently it was…so I had to either change my plans or change my budget.

Those who know me, know that I’m not great at compromising when I have a plan set in my mind. So I decided my very talented and handy husband could certainly find a way to get me that beautiful table and save us money. Boy was I right! I showed him the picture of what I wanted. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/28429041368203711/

I found it on Pinterest (where else!). He found the plans online at this wonderful website http://ana-white.com/2009/12/plans-farmhouse-table-knock-off-of.html, went off to Lowes to buy the wood, came home and made me a table right in our dining room in just 4 hrs!

After a good sanding I stained it with a color called gun stock  added polyurethane for protection, and viola…a masterpiece! I now have a beautiful 8 ft long farmhouse table that can fit our whole family plus guests. Our only change from the actual plans were to omit the stretcher (long piece of wood that runs under the table) because I could just picture my children hanging all over it!

Its huge! I'm in love

Bad lighting...sorry

Don't mind the mess

Total cost for the wood, a new toy (Kreg jig) my husband needed…oops I meant tool  ;)  the sanding materials and the stain/polyurethane I picked out came to…$130. I can’t even describe how many times I passed by the dining room just to look at it! 

Black & Blue End Table ~ $11.50

Room, room and more room! I’m not complaining…but when you go from an 1200sqft apartment to a 2200sqft home…you seem to have a lot less furniture. I've never had a living room and separate family room before, so we are lacking in furniture. Our living room consisted only of a couch (my husband got a almost new black leather Lay z boy couch from a client for free) and an area rug that we moved from our dining room when we got our “grown up table” (that post will be coming soon…and it is Amazing!) Needless to say…it was lacking not just in furniture, but in character also. I knew I wanted to get an end table that I could “fix up”. Below is a picture of my "inspiration" from Pinterest. Its completely not the color or design I wanted but I loved that they added their own creativity to it. 

 http://pinterest.com/pin/255508978828951930/

So I went to a few different thrift stores over the next week and finally found my diamond in the ruff. It was an old brown end table that had a faint smell of cigarettes…ugh. After some much needed cleaning and sanding, and airing out, it was ready to paint. I went with black (a reoccurring theme you will see throughout my home) and used some of the leftover paint from our bathroom redo to give it some character. Here is a picture of the wood before we started.

And here is the after shot. I love how it turned out, and in total it only cost me $10 for the table and $1.50 for new knobs…can’t beat $11.50. 

Out with the old...in with the Bathroom redo...$100

Well more than just my blog name has changed in the past 1 & ½ years! I’m now a Stay at home mother of three children…Baby William was born in July of 1012. Then a month later in August we bought our first home. Very exciting times but stressful and chaotic too!

One of the beautiful joys of home ownership and raising three children is no longer having money. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating but I definitely don’t enough money to decorate my home with the pottery barn and Pier one magazines that I’d like to. So that’s where Pinterest comes into play. Thousands of pins filled with inspiration just waiting for me to try!

One of our first big projects was the guest bathroom. Its kind of small and it was overpowered by dark wood, yellow tile, and a red laminate counter top…all original to the house! I loved the look of this bathroom  (picture below) I found while on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/179018153910148751/

I loved how the white stood out and looked so clean next to the cool blue. So we painted the walls with a beautiful blue, put in a smaller white vanity (on sale for $69 at Lowes), and put down laminate peel & stick tiles. In total we spent about $100…and it looks like a whole new space. 

Old Bathroom (the red counter peeking out in the corner)

Fresh and clean!

I Love It! And for just $100...it makes me love it even more. 

$4 Homemade Wall Art

   


     So when you first walk into my house there is a wall straight ahead that has an electrical panel on it. Why they couldn't move it a few feet into the closet...I will never understand. Anyway, I wanted some kind of art to hang there to cover it...without spending a lot of money. The problem was that in order to cover the panel and have the art centered on the space, it would need to be at least 24x36 and fit into our style and color theme!

     I saw a really cute Holiday idea for a mantle that used wooden blocks and thought it would be great if I could alter the idea to make wall art instead of tabletop decor. So I went to the dollar store for inspiration and thats when I found everything I needed.

Paper plates (I used black square plates) - $1
Red decorative filling - $1
Ribbon - $1
Bows (they were actually christmas ornaments) - $1

Total cost = $4

     It turned out really cute and fits the space and our decor perfectly. The best part was the overall price of only $4 and how easy it was to make. The kids loved watching me make it that they wanted to make one of their own. So I went today to pick up different colored plates plates, colored beads and different colored ribbon ofr my daughter and son to make one of their own for each of their bedrooms. I'll update later to let you know how that goes!

Stop and Smell the Roses

     Everyday on our walks we pass this same spot...Anjali always has to stop to pick a flower...this was the first day I stopped and realized that the leaves look like hearts...I think it was Gods way of telling me to slow down and enjoy ♥

Apple picking

As I’ve said many times before fall is my favorite time of year. This is our first fall in North Carolina, and boy are things different down here! First of all the weather is nothing like NJ fall weather. Its been upper 70’s without fail everyday. They have many different pumpkin places and farms with fun family activities but one major thing is missing…Apple picking. I searches all over and found 1 orchard for self picking apples off the tree…it was an hour drive but worth it.

We drove to Millstone Creek Orchard in Ramseur, NC. Of course we got a late start into the season so many of the trees no longer had apples on them but they had a few left for us to pick…and many that had fallen off the tree but were in perfect condition. The kids had fun finding apples and playing on the farm. They had great tire swings set up and sand boxes made out of tractor wheels. My favorite part was the apple cider slushies, and they had great wine cake also. Overall we had a good time and came home with 6lbs of apples.

Then we had to decide what to do with all of those apples! So I created mini apple pies…kind of like the ones at McDonalds…maybe not as pretty…but good!

Pulled pork hotpockets

Pulled Pork Hot pockets

Ingredients:



1 can (16.3 oz) Flaky canned biscuits (1 can makes 8 pockets)

Pulled or roasted pork, chopped

1 Egg white

1 tsp Water

Your favorite BBQ seasoning/rub

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350º.

2. Wisk the egg white and water together in a small bowl and set aside.

3. On a floured work surface, roll each biscuit into a six-inch round.

4. Place a few tablespoons of the pork on one half of each round.

5. Fold the exposed half of each round over the filling and pinch and roll to seal the edge

6. Arrange the pockets on a sheet pan leaving about an inch between each

7. Cut a one-inch slash in the top of each pocket

8. Brush the top and seams of each pocket with the egg wash and sprinkle with a little seasoning/rub. (we use salt for the kids)

9. Bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes)

Morning Glory Muffins...yummy treat with fruits & Veggies!

This is a great muffin recipe that has fruits and vegetables! A great way to start a day or a good snack in the middle of the day. There are many different ways to make this recipe but this is one is the way I love it. Another great way to get your kids to eat fruits and veggies!

Ingredients

1 egg
2 egg whites 
1 ¼ cup cinnamon applesauce **
2 Tbsps vegetable oil 
1 Tbsp vanilla extract 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour 
1 cup white sugar 
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 cups carrots peeled *
1 apple - peeled, cored 
1 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts 


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, applesauce, oil and vanilla. 
3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
4. Put carrots and apple into food processor for a few pulses (I don’t like chunks but its your preference)
5. Stir applesauce mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened.
6. Add carrots, apples, cranberries and walnuts into batter and mix until evenly distributed.   
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. 
8. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed. 


* If you are feeling very brave you can cut the carrots down to 1 cup and add in 1 cup of zucchini or sweet potato J  

** I have also recently discovered Fruitastics Mixed Berry sauce. Each cup contains 1 fruit and vegetable serving with no added sugar. Tastes like regular flavored applesauce.

Baked Chicken Ziti

Dinner last night was a yummy crock pot whole chicken. Of course even with the 4 of us we always seem to have chicken left over. Just enough to not want to throw it away but never enough to make a full meal out of it! So today I decied to make a Baked Chicken Ziti. Simple easy meal that everyone loves, and a good way to use the leftover chicken. I basically just replaced the ground beef in my normal ziti recipe with the left over shredded chicken. Yummy :)

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of leftover chicken (shredded)
1 jar meatless sauce 
½ cupchicken broth 
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta, cooked and drained 
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I use double the amount of cheese)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2 . Stir together spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, oregano, and chicken pieces. Cook until chicken is hot and tender again. Remove from heat and add in grated parmesan cheese.
3. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the cooked ziti noodles. 
4. The layer into 13x9x2 in baking dish as directed:  

½ of the ziti noodles 
½ of the mozzarella cheese
½ of the sauce
Remaining ziti mixture
Remaining sauce. 

7. Cover and bake 20 minutes. 
8. Remove and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. 
9. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Served with a nice fresh salad and some yummy garlic bread, makes a great meal. Enjoy :)

I'm Back....for good :)

I don't even know where to start! My husband and I just relocated 2 weeks ago to Cary NC from New Jersey. What a busy month it has been. I not only packed an entire house by myself (my husband moved down almost 2 weeks before us) but I also drove the 7hrs with 2 kids and a cat at midnight! But we made it in one piece, Thank the Lord. We lived in a guest suite for a week before our place was ready...a horrible feeling...never able t make yourself at home! Now we are finally in our home and it is coming along. I hate boxes and clutter so of course I've already almost finished unpacking and decorating. My son is on his second week of school and Anjali is still home with me...for now. And as if we didn't have enough on our plate we went and got a puppy! She is a 5 month old black lab mix and really a good dog...unless you my cat... then she is devil! At least she sleeps through the night and is 99% house trained....or I may have lost my mind by now...lol!

North Carolina has been great. Our neighborhood has an indoor and outdoor pool, so my children think that this is heaven. We have stores within walking distance and if you do need to venture out in a car then I swear the number of stores here out number the amount of residents! It has been in the upper 80's since we got here, which was nice because we have been able to go swimming out side everyday after school. But I woke up this morning to a very brisk 60 degrees...it finally felt like September. This is truly my favorite time of year...I love the Fall & Holiday season.

So I'm back into my normal school year routine. Back to my blog....maybe not daily but hopefully a few times a week. Thanks for reading