Get Ready For My first GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited to be able to do a giveaway this week. Stay tuned and I will let you know all about it in the next day or two!

Maura

A sweet little beside table

I have actually had this project done for two weeks and I am just getting around to posting about it.  I found  two dark side tables on craigslist a few months ago. They were pretty solid but also had some damage to the top. This is what they looked like before the new coat of paint. As usual I remembered to photograph them after I had started priming!

Now here it is after first coat of paint. Don't you love the pull out tray?

And finally here it is at home in my bedroom. I got some new hardware at Lowes to spruce it up even more!

Oh I almost forgot to tell you how much I love the vine detail across the top. I am debating about getting a black paint pen to fill it in. What do you guys think? Should I leave it as is or paint it?

Happy Mothers Day to everyone ! Thanks for your input.

Maura

Disney Week at Fingerprints on the Fridge!

Rachelle over at Fingerprints on the fridge is having Disney Week at her blog. Goodness know I LOVE DISNEY.  We went this past january and also two years earlier. I also went around age 10 and after graduating high school.  My husband is job hunting now and we are hoping he finds something soon so we can go again this january.  So today is day 1- packing strategies.  Rachelle already talked about using ziploc bags to pack an ensemble for the day and I have done that for both of my kids trips. It saved so much time in the morning because my fussy daughter had already picked the outfits out at home so there was nothing to complain about!   One of my favorite packing ideas and money saving ideas is to pack an extra suitcase (if flying on southwest). I fill it with bowls, cups, spoons, snacks, cereal, juice boxes, travel coffee mugs,  ground coffee, and #2 filters. and any other breakfast/snackie items I may need.  I don't have to spend a ton on snacks at the park and It saves about 30$ a day on breakfast. My kids always have cereal in the morning anyway. It also save a lot of time as we don't have to do a sit down meal for breakfast either.  Then at the end of the trip I use the empty suitcase to pack up our souvenirs.  I hope this helps anyone going to disney for the first time or anyone just trying to get more organized for their trip.

Have a great day!
Maura

My Colonial Cottage

So Ann Nicole at oursuburbancottage.blogspot.com is having a party today. What is this party about? Its a  How I Met My House Party!  I thought what the heck I just need to finish a painting project, mow the lawn and make dinner...so I think I will join in.

I met my home about 4 year ago. We lived in a cute suburban town in New England and wanted to stay in that town. However we had out grown our 1850 village colonial and decided it was time to look for a new home.  We knew from the start that we wanted to pay no more then we could afford, so we chose our max price and stuck with it.  We put our old house on the market .   We found our present home after looking at many newer homes which were at the top of our budget and I did not feel like we were getting all that we wanted.  Our wish list included: 4 bedrooms, a fireplace, at least 1/4 acre and an area for a playroom for the kids.

After looking at all the newer homes we finally stepped foot into our present home. It is a colonial and  was built in 1973.  It was love at first sight but definitely not love at first scent.  The realtor who showed it to us made a point to tell us that one of the upstairs bedrooms was the cats favorite room. Now the house was empty at the time and when we went upstairs to take a look the smell of cat urine was overwhelming.  I tried my hardest to look beyond the smell and found that I loved the bones of the home. Yes, the carpet was disgusting,

 and yes the wall paper was dated,

 and yes the yard was a little smaller then we would have liked,

  but it was still 1/4 acre so it fit the bill.   So we put in a bid on it and the owners accepted,  but we did put a contingency in the contract that we needed to sell our other home. Time passed and the contract did too.  However  two days after the offer on our new house expired,  we sold our old one. We talked to our realtor and she suggested we make another offer on the new home and after  a little haggling  we had a new offer accepted which was almost 10,000$ less then our first offer. We were thrilled and relieved at the same time.

We lived in a hotel for 10 days while we had hardwood floors installed in our new home and were so excited to return to a fresh and cleaner smelling home. They actually had to remove the subfloor from my sons bedroom because the cat urine was so bad.  Anyhow it has been four years and we are still in love with our house.

The floors look better,

The wallpaper is gone,

The yard is still a work in progress.

  We are still working on the inside too!

 I am from a family of 8 kids and my home is always full of family and friends.  Family members are always calling and asking  if we have any openings in the spare room.   My sister got married two years ago and we actually had 11 people staying with us plus my family of four, thanks to many aero beds, couches, and the double bed in the spare room.  I hope you all enjoyed the story of how I met my house. I can't wait to read about how you all met yours!

MAURA

Free Starbucks

Just got back from starbucks with my husband (work from home day). Today only you can bring in a reusable mug and get a free fill up! I guess it is for earthday/ tax day. If you like starbucks, why not get it free today!
 If you want to learn how to get more items free check out my new blog- gotnotcentsatall.blogspot.com, It is all about saving by using coupons and such!  Let me know what you think!

Could this week get any worse?

Well my son went in for another check of the nose this week and He is in good shape. Still swollen inside the nose but it is healing . So my sister came over last night for dinner (which was awesome- chicken picatta) and while she was here my daughter stubbed her toe on the coffee table. My sister thought this was so funny as I have always stubbed my toes-  I never wore shoes as a kid, if I did not have to, and my toes were always hurt. Anyhow my daughter woke up this morning to find that she can't put any weight on her foot and her toe is red and bruised. So It is back to the Drs again to  have her foot looked at today.  The pediatrition is not going to believe this. UGH! I will let you know what I find out later.

Maura


Follow up: Just got back and the toe is just bruised and sprained but not broken- Thank goodness!

A Trip ...but not the kind everyone likes

Well I hope everyone had a nice Easter! We were having a great time at my mother in laws. The kids were getting a little tired and we decided it was time to go. So my son decided he wanted one more run around the back yard which has a railroad tie retaining wall in it. . I said to him.. you know you are getting tired and it is time to go I don't want you to get hurt. Not one minute later I heard his foot hit wood and turned to watch at he went nose first into the corner of another railroad tie. The blood was a gushing and it took 40 minutes to get it to stop bleeding. We decided it was time to call the doctors.

So I call the doctors line and the answering service said they would put in a call to the doctor on call. Well 15 minutes later we get a call back from the answering service saying that the doctor on call is not on call at this time. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ANYTHING SO DUMB!

Anyhow we did get a triage nurse to call back and she told us it would be a good idea to take him to the er to have the nose looked at. Which we did. The Dr. told us it is a good thing he is only 7 because the nose is all cartilage.  How ever he has a pretty big blood clot in his nose which the dr said will come loose and  he may bleed again. So for now we have moist air in his room, vaseline in the nose to keep it moist and tylenol for pain. He does not look too bad today. Just a little swollen but he said that everytime he smiles or makes his nose big ( I think he means flairs his nostrils) it hurts. I told him not to make his nose big if he can help it!  As for smiling - well that just can't be helped and I am glad to see that even if it hurts a little.

My son loves school and wants to go today so I said he could but no running around at recess and no gym this week. They are playing soccer and I can not imagine the pain if he ever got hit in the nose. Other  then that we will be back to normal in no time.  Hopefully!  Well enough about us. How was your Easter?

Maura

Menu Planning

I started Menu Planning last month and have found it to be not only a great time saver but also a great money saver. I found this monthly menu planning sheet on the organizedhome.com  and printed it off, filled in each day (after looking at our calender to see if we had any plans). In order to fill it in I had my kids, my husband and myself each make a list of our favorite 10 meals (many were dups). I then filled in my menu with those meals, and added a few extras where needed.

 I started stockpiling( buying multiple items I use when I have a coupon and it is at its lowest price) about a month ago and I have a pretty good supply of my staples and I only buy my meats on sale( really good prices).  I divide and cut them up and put them in my freezer. I scallopini some chicken for some of my meals and cut some up for stir fry and fajitas so it is all ready when I take it out of the freezer to defrost. I put freezer bags with ground beef for tacos and american chop suey and make patties for grilling.  This means when I run to the store I only need to get  fresh vegis, milk, and eggs to pull my meals together.

I used to wait till 4 to figure out what I was going to make for dinner at six and was always stressed about meals and I feel much more organized now. I also love it that my kids don't have to say "what's for dinner" anymore as they know a month ahead of time what we will be having.  I hope this idea will help you get more organized with meal planning and if you have any questions let me know!

Maura

The sweet taste of Maine

Yesterday was Maine Maple Sunday!  Never heard of it? Well neither had I until Saturday.We went to visit my brother and his family this weekend.  My brother lives in maine and one of my nieces has a best friend who's parents own a Christmas tree farm. It is called Balsam Ridge.  In the spring though it is all about the maple.  They have small taps going into each maple tree, and from the taps a small tube goes around their property carrying maple sap to bigger tubes and then to a large vat.  From that large vat they have another tube that carries the sap to the "sugar house".  Now to date myself, When I was little we went to a "sugar shack" (another term used in new england) on a school field trip and they would have each tree tapped, and had a bucket hanging under each tap. The had a metal triangle  hanging over the buckets to keep things from falling in. Now everything is so high tech.  We watched as they show how the sap was cleaned and cooked to a beautiful amber colored syrup in the sugar house and even got to try samples of maple cream and maple butter. We also had breakfast out side in the freezing cold. ( i think it was in the 20's) But that is how Maine Maple Sunday is done and when in Maine you do as the Maniacs do!

Oh did I mention on Maine Maple Sunday all the Sugar Houses open up for pancake breakfasts and sell all their Maple products. We came home with a bagful of goodies. Including: Maple syrup, Maple candies, Maple Whoopie Pies, Maple butter and even Maple cotton candy! It really was fun and a great idea if you are visiting maine on the last weekend in March!

Hope everyone had a sweet weekend like I did!

Maura

GRUMPY

Ugh, I am grumpy today and could use a little cheering up. I had a great weekend with temps in the 70s (insert the choirs of angels singing). But the last two days have been rain, rain and more rain. I have a couple projects in my garage that I want to start working on but I refuse to do it inside anymore. I want sun!  I have also had a back ache for 3 days due to my 10 year old mattress - it has seen its day and if we ever get our tax refund (yes you heard right- this is what happens when your husband is unemployed for four months) I will be shopping for a new mattress and maybe a new bed to boot! Boy that would make me happy.  Spring has sprung around here... sadly so has my mattress!

Does the dreary weather get you down? Or am I the only one? Does anyone else have the old mattress blues? Love to hear from you.

Maura