Spring!

Thank you all for your kind comments and emails from my last post.   I am so very proud my son came to me.  I'm glad we have this kind of relationship, I hope that it continues!

Spring is here!  We have baseball, horses, swimming and karate!  All kinds of busy!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.   I have been planting some flowers, even though it's not entirely safe to do this before Memorial Day here in Upstate NY.   I have planted a few planters and thought I would share!  

I also took some pictures of my daughters bedroom I will share tomorrow.  Two posts in the same week?!?!  My goodness! :)

XOXO

Why I am deleting Pinterest......

I know what your thinking.  I go on a six week blog hiatus and come back to boycott something!     And while I do have a million things to tell you, like we went to Washington DC and VA while my kids and husband had the flu and how the new mattress has been.  I'm rearranging stuff lately like nobody's business.  And I'm enjoying this spring weather out in my yard to no end.  We are riding and horse show season is starting.  However, my reasons for deleting Pinterest are far more important.

A few weeks ago my 12 yr old sons asked me if they could join Pinterest.  I thought, sure!  It's a lot of fun to have an "online" pin board.  They could pin fancy cars, horses and all the other things they are interested in.   My boys have safari disabled on their Ipads, but Pinterest DOES allow you to search the web for pins.  We discussed this and they weren't using it.  Although I think one of them had wandered over to You tube with it a few times.    Everything seemed hunky dorey until tonight when one of my sons came in my office with his face beat red and crying.   He was confessing that he had seen "bad" pictures on Pinterest.   My first thought was that he had gone on the web and wasn't telling the truth.  So  I asked him "you saw it on Pinterest? or you searched the web".  It was on Pinterest mom.   Now, I won't paint this picture that he just stumbled upon this without searching.  Apparently he put in "sexy girls" in the search box.  And when I did it, under "pins" there wasn't much there, but boy when I clicked over to "boards" that is when I couldn't believe my eyes.   I'm not talking just naked pictures,  I'm talking hard-core pornography.  It made me so sad that innocence was lost in an instant.  On Pinterest for God's sake.......   And he was crying and completely ashamed of himself.   But still, I am mad.  VERY mad that I let him go on this and this is what happens.

Yes, I understand that I can "report" the pins.  But if you saw how many there are... and how  many members are doing this.   Seems like fighting a losing battle.  And I just googled "porn on pinterest" and see this isn't a new problem.  Oh how I wish I had done this before.  It seemed so G-rated and benign.  Little did I know.   :(   And what I can't stop thinking about is, how can I be a member of Pinteres?  With my son seeing I am on there and  knowing what he saw?   I just can't.  Yes, it's fun, and wonderful place to get recipes and etc.  But I have lived 39 1/2 yrs without it.  And I can certainly live without it now.

Anyway, I posted this tonight to let you know how I was feeling.  And maybe to save someone else's children from seeing this garbage on there. 

   So I guess if you find something I can't live without, email it to  me!  kritt17@aol.com! :)

XOXO

Lamp domino.....

Just wondered if anyone else does this?  Or am I the only one?

yes there are light sabers in my basket.....  no time for cropping when your insane! LOL!

I got a new lamp, which I will post about soon.  But it has been in my house for 2 weeks and I hadn't put it out yet.  So tonight I thought would be a good time to put it in the family room.  I put it on the table and have proceeded to move about 8 other lamps, switched lampshades, finals, you name it!!  Now I have lamps everywhere and I don't like them anywhere else.  Why do I do this to myself?  Tell me I'm not alone!   Hopefully I will have this resolved before bed........ However it's 11:30 pm, so it's not looking good!!  

STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!

XOXO

Move over Sandra Lee

There is something to be said for "semi" homemade.   She definitely coined a market!   Whenever I go somewhere, dinner, visiting a friend and etc.  I like to bring something.  And I was one of those people who HAD to make something, like move heaven and earth to do it.  Aka-stressmyselftothemaxtodoit!    

The thought of bringing a box of store bought brownies made me crazy.  Honestly though, I have come so far as to do JUST that a few times.  I'm getting easier on myself.  Part of my "learning how to say no" phase of life.  I think I could start a whole blog series with that one.  Anyway, a story for another day. ;)


I like to cook, but I also like to not stress myself out.    I was going to my sisters house a few weeks ago and I told her I would bring dessert.    Of course that weekend was full of swimming, karate, horse riding and etc.  You get the idea.  So low and behold it's Saturday night and I hadn't even thought of what I was bringing.     I love trifles.  They are usually pretty to look at.  The dish can be found at Walmart or Target for about $6 - $10.   I think Pampered Chef has a fancy one that has a cover and all.  For much more money of course.    They are usually just layering ingredients and fun to scoop out too!       

I usually make strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits (and every blue moon homemade whipped cream!)  because it's my dad's FAVORITE dessert. :)


It doesn't take anytime at all to throw together.  Sometimes, if the strawberries aren't very sweet, I will cut them up and sprinkle a bit of sugar on them.  Then I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  But I didn't do that this time (they were sweet) and it was still delicious.

Ingredients-

2 -  packages of store baked biscuits 
3-   big packages of strawberries
1-   16 oz container of cool whip  (I kind of ran out of cool whip, I would do another 8 oz or just get 2 - 16 oz for next time!)


layer them all! :)

Voila!  Strawberry Shortcake Trifle! 

XOXO

SPAM war

I am just wondering if I am waging this war alone or is everyone experiencing this?

Do any of you feel like this when you see all the anonymous comments that are SPAM when you open your email?

I'm not talking about this kind of spam either!

I mean THIS kind!!!!!

Then I log into blogger to delete the spam

I "delete all" the comments that are under the SPAM section of the comments.....

And then I realize that there are MORE SPAM comments in the "published" section!

And yes this is what I looked like when I found it there by accident!

I really do not want to put word verification on here.  I usually can't read the words in it. When I am trying to use it on  blogs I visit I can't get my comment on there!  I also really do not want to moderate comments because I will still be dealing with the SPAM (I think?).    

I would LOVE to hear what you are doing about this?  It is actually keeping me from posting because I am deleting 20-30 spam comments a day!  

Help please! :)

I want feel like THIS again when blogging....

XOXO

Recycled finial

I wanted to share this very easy, very quick project with you.   We recently (in the last 2 years) got a Hobby Lobby.  After YEARS of hearing my cousins bargains there.  She lives in the South.    Anyway, it's one of my favorite craft and decor stores.   I don't get there too often, but when I do I'm usually in there a LONG time!  My poor family knows the deal and usually wants me to go there alone. ;)

I bought an adorable wine stopper there that had a crown on it.  Well, I BROKE the cork part off trying to get it out of the wine bottle.    It was too cute to throw away.  So I thought for a minute and came up with this idea.....

 I spray painted one of those plain finials that come on lamps sometimes.  

Then I glued the crown to the finial I spray painted black.

 Voila!  From broken to recycled!  Sometimes the littlest things excite me!!!

I think it makes an ADORABLE finial!  On my thrift store lamp! 

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XOXO

Slipcover secret

Not a great shot but you see it was almost white even though they call it "natural"

I discovered a secret.....   I wasn't sure it would work but I figured it was worth a try.   I have the Pottery barn basic down filled sofa.  It was one of the very few "new" purchases we bought.  Many of you know that I am the second (third, fourth and etc) hand queen.    Although upholstery pieces can be tough to buy second hand because most have to be reupholstered.  A chair is one thing but a sofa is a financial commitment  Anyway, I digress.....   I hemmed and hawwed on buying this sofa, but the size was perfect.  It seems like most sofa's today are G I A N T.  I needed something smaller scale and comfortable.  In other words, it couldn't swallow up the room.    So when I looked and sat on the basic from PB, I knew it would work well. I waited for their winter sale  and bought it.   I have washed the slipcover at least 3 times and it comes out great.  The key is to NOT dry it all the way and put it back on the sofa a TAD damp.    

This fall I wanted something a little darker or more "cozy".   But the prices of the PB slipcovers are downright ridiculous!   I just could not justify the cost of them when I could actually buy a new SOFA for the price on some of the fabrics they had listed.     Then I remembered how similar the IKEA Ektorp sofa was to the basic.    Sadly, we do not have an IKEA nearby.  So of course I jumped on Ebay to find this pretty Idemo Brown slipcover for $79.99.  I figured if it didn't fit, I could consign it or sell it again on Ebay.   I am SO HAPPY to report that it fits!  And at that price point, I could get my sofa it's own wardrobe!

So if you have a PB basic and your wanting a different color, go ahead and get the Ektorp slipcover!  You'll be SO happy  you did! :)

Here it is "undressed" without the pillows.  It fits perfectly!  

Found this cute little pillow at TJ maxx for $10!  

Stay tuned for a mattress update!

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{Primp} Primp your stuff!

XOXO

Let's talk Mattresses...

(image from Pinterest)

Or better yet, let's talk RESTFUL sleep and the fact that I have been getting next to none!     Why does it seem like things made "today" are made on purpose to fail quickly?   Why are appliances, mattresses and etc NOT like they were when are parents were young and lasted 20 years or more?   Case in point:  John and I have been married for less than 14 years and we just purchased our 4th set.  Doesn't that seem ridiculous?  Ok, well if I am perfectly honest we had 5, but I returned that one after 24 hours.  It felt like we were sleeping on concrete!

   I'm starting to feel like the princess and the pea.  But this is not just a comfort issue, it's a construction issue as well!  The other three, have all had body impressions so deep that you can't stand it. One had body impressions with NO pillow top!  The one we have now is a "plush" and the springs are literally bulging against the side of the mattress!   Seems ridiculous to me that it would do this after 3 years.    

  I am waking up with such shoulder and neck pain that I can't take it.  And my hands go numb almost every single night and from what I have read, it seems as though my bed has no support (which is true) and my back is completely out of alignment.  Some nights I start out in my bed, move to my daughters room and even move to the couch!!    I have scoliosis  and it usually never bothers me, but it is now with this terrible mattress.  

So I did  something radical this time.  I didn't just wing it though.  I have researched until my eyes were burning for many nights and hours online.  I ordered a mattress and two different toppers, of two totally different materials that I have never even touched let alone laid on.   I know this seems completely insane but I am at my witts end!   I ordered a medium firmness latex mattress, a 3 inch latex topper in "soft" firmness and a 2 inch gel infused memory foam topper.  And I am PRAYING this is going to work.  

  I don't require tons of sleep.  Usually 6-7 hours but it needs to be RESTFUL sleep!  I would LOVE to know what you all are sleeping on.  And if anyone has gone through this agony! 

XOXO

Cute little table!

Last week I had to go run an errand in the next town over.  I don't get out there that much, but my FAVORITE Sally's is out there.  So you know I HAD to stop in and see what they had in there!

I found a bunch of clothes and adorable cream bust, forgot to take a picture of that!  But then I spotted this cute little table.  I needed a little table like this for a chair in the family room.  I walked over and was stunned to see it was only $7.99!  I snapped it up immediately!  It's solid wood, but I am going to give it an Chalk paint makeover!    Any hints on what color I should paint it?      

It's going to go next to this chair (I think, lol) I used this table in the basement for the tv area down there.  So the chair is lonesome and needs a table!

XOXO

Easy Bolognese Sauce

Lately, I have been using my Crock pot A LOT.  Like 2-3 times a week sometimes!   I like recipes that do not require a bunch of prep.  Throw it in and let it cook is my style.  Now, I do  cook some recipes that do require a bit of prep.  But if I have to dirty 2 or 3 pans and THEN the crock on top of it, I usually don't make it.

I kind of made this one up as I went along.  I'm 100% Italian and believe me when I tell you, we make A LOT up as we go along!  This coming from someone who didn't know how to make anything but coffee and toast when I left home as a young adult!    Anyway, last week I was in the mood for meat sauce.  Lately I'm big on one dish dinners, of course with a little salad.    We are busy usually after dinner  and it's just easier.  




I didn't have any ground beef, but I knew I had about 3/4 lb of sausage to use with it.  Ground beef would be great and I know some like to mix both ground beef and sausage.  The sausage has a lot of flavor so I didn't need to season it too much.  I also cook with turkey sausage as well.

  So here is my made up as I went along Bolognese that I think you'll really like!

1/2-1 lbs of sweet Italian sausage browned bulk style (aka small pieces) 
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
1/2 small onion chopped fine
2 or 3 cloves of garlic through your press (minced is fine too)
 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
15 oz can of diced tomatoes
8 oz can of tomato sauce (you could also use paste if you like a thicker sauce, I didn't have any on hand)
Fresh basil (I keep fresh basil in my freezer, is it still really fresh? lol)  you can use dried of course
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups of water,  Now the water is up to you, I used a little more because I knew it was going to cook on high and didn't want to have to worry about it getting too thick.  I would use as much or as little as your comfortable with and adjust your cooking time accordingly.

I browned the sausage, put the Olive oil in the crock pot with the onions and garlic and added the rest of the ingredients.  Gave it a good stir and left  it on high for 4-5 hours.  You could also cook on low for longer.  

I cooked a lb of capatavi pasta and when it was done, drained it and dumped the contents of the crock pot into the pasta, mixed it up really good and served it with Romano cheese!  

YUM!   My family loved it!

buon appetito!

XOXO

The "main" bathroom aka kids bath

I pretty much dropped off my home tour last year.  The fact was/is the upstairs isn't really finished.  Yes it's finished in the sense we live here and it's done.  But it's not really decorated.  Well, I shouldn't say that, M's room is done.  And J&K's room is done, although most of the time it looks like an episode of hoarders!

The upstairs was supposed to have three bathrooms, one master and two mains.  Cleaning bathrooms and toilets is my least favorite cleaning job, so I nixed one of the bathrooms and made it the laundry room.  I couldn't be happier that I made that decision.   So this main bath is shared by the kids.  M is only 4 so she uses our bathtub a lot still.   It's not big and actually on the small side.  But it has everything they need.  Two sinks helps a lot with multiple children, something we didn't have in the old house.

looking back to the upstairs hallway

We opted for just a tub so we could tile the walls to give this bath a little pizazz.   I wanted it to have an old/vintage feel.  So when I saw the floor tile I fell in love.  I was concerned with so much grout, but like I said before it's a small room.  I can deal.   I got the mirrors at TJ Maxx and all the towel bars, hooks, and toilet paper holder on myknobs.com for a fraction of what the bath store wanted.  And they are Moen which I figured was a good brand and hopefully the finish won't be chipping off!  

We still need a shower curtain in here and I was thinking this fabric might be good?   It's shared by boys and girls so I probably should keep that in mind.  I had a few other ideas but felt it might be too "girly".  Does that matter in a bathroom?  I over analyze everything .   Which keeps me from doing and finishing things, which keeps me from blogging.  Do you see the trend here?!

What kind of fabric could you see in this room?  This one or another? I love hearing your input, helps me in the decision making!! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour! :)

Gonna party over at

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Come join the fun!  

XOXO