Best tool!

My creative juices have been flowing again.  Thank God, I thought they were gone for good!  I've done a few makeovers I hope to share soon.  But first I have to share this tool with you.  I'm sure some of you already have it!

This thing makes taking off those metal, plastic or any material "Feet" SO EASY!  It's also great for a bunch of other things too.  And SO much easier than wrestling with a screw driver! :)

 

 

 

 

Then you can put your felt on!  It's the little things that make life SO much easier!

 

XOXO

Beef Stroganoff, Thrifty Gypsy style

Hi all!  I know I've been absent, what's new right?  I have a "summer fun" post coming up so stay tuned.  But I wanted to share todays dinner with you.   We are going to our trainers barn for  lessons this afternoon and it's 40 miles away so I wanted to have dinner ready for John if we aren't home.
 
I had a package of organic beef chunks and it was a little too hot out for stew.  I always want to make things and then almost always don't have one or two ingredients.  But my skill (sometimes) is improvising!  

Recipe

1 package of beef chunks - I cut them smaller than how they are packaged
1 package of mushrooms halved and sliced
1 large onion chopped
1 cup of beef broth
1/3 brick of cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
a few tablespoons of half and half
flour and/or corn starch
1 lb of Campanelle pasta

Start by boiling your pasta, when it's done put 2 tablespoons of butter in it to keep from sticking.   Season your beef with garlic powder, salt and pepper and brown in a little olive oil.  Take out and put aside, then add a lil butter and put your mushrooms and onion in the pan for a about 5-7 minutes.  Add your beef back in pan and add broth.  Let simmer on low for 10 mins.  Let your cream cheese get room temp and add it along with the milk and half and half and stir to let it break up and meld in the "sauce".  Let simmer for another 5 mins and then add your corn starch and stir real good so it thickens.  Put pasta in your dish and pour this over the top!  Serve with a mixed green salad and voila, you're done! :)

XOXO

Lamp dilemma and a little chat :)

Ok, first things first!   I have decided that in order for me to keep blogging in a somewhat timely manner, I am not going to wait until everything is magazine worthy or edited to death.  I just do not have the time.  And honestly, we don't live that way.  So why put up a charade that we do?  I have 3 kids, 4 horses, we homeschool and our kids do more activities than anyone should!!  My housekeeping has slacked MAJORLY since having kids.  I figure when they are grown and gone I'll have plenty of time to make it all perfect.  Maybe...  And if I wait until my house is perfect there will be no more blog posts.  Deleting the blog would make more sense than waiting!   Whewwwww, I'm glad I got that out!   I consider us friends.  When I look at my stats I see people are reading, and I'm thrilled with that.  So if you're my friend it means you can come over for coffee and a visit and see some clutter, riding boots, an occasional lampshade on the floor (like in this post).  Because you're not going to judge me right?  Well it's ok if you do, just follow the golden rule please! LOL!

 so I have changed lamps in the family room and never shared it. I know, I know......

 I originally had the crystal lamps that you originally saw here.   And here
  

  But about a year or more ago I changed them to these....

 

But now I have found these ADORABLE goldish-tan silk type shades with LEOPARD on the inside, have I mentioned I LOVE having little splashes of leopard.... :)

 

isn't it cute?!

 

Here are what both lamps look like next to the sofa.  Which do you think goes better?   I'm leaning toward the crystal lamps (and a hint, that right table is changing too!!).   But open to suggestions!  I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

And yes,  there is a shade on the floor behind the end table!  We are friends remember?  Come in and have some coffee or tea! ;)

So, what do you think?

XOXO

Mattress update, over a year later

I originally planned on updating you a week and even a month later.  But a year later I think speaks volumes.  You may remember this post from last February.   We did something VERY daring (probably stupid) and ordered a mattress online without ever touching or laying in it.  But to be honest with you, we were desperate and I'm not even exaggerating at ALL.   We had several horrible mattress sets that had cost much more than what this was going to cost.   I had pretty much read up on latex mattresses until my eyes were sore. 

 Two things kept standing out to me when I read about them, actually three.   They are made of natural materials (some more natural than others), NO springs (to break or bend) and they seem to last and have been around for a VERY long time.  Longer than our normal 3-5 year life span that our others had lasted.

I had read about "layering" for awhile.  Which is where you buy a firmer mattress than you are usually used to, but then use latex toppers (not memory foam).  I could not decide between the firm and medium, that was the hardest part. While I LOVE the feel of a soft mattress (for usually the first 5 mins)  I knew the lack of support was making my body (and hubby's) sore.  It was basically agony for active people who are just 40 yrs old!    But I was also afraid that the stiffness from a firm mattress wouldn't be much better.   So I read some more...... lol!   And from what I understood the latex mattress tend to be much "firmer" than regular mattresses anyway.  So I thought the firm would be like sleeping on a cement slab!

We finally decided on a "medium" Nuform mattress from Overstock.com.  They are not as thick as conventional mattresses either.  So we bought this 3 inch latex topper and then also this 2 inch latex topper.  And use this mattress pad, I read even THAT makes a difference, LOL!   I  have been PAIN free for a year.  And no, I am not being paid by Overstock!

this is what it feels like!

courtesy of Google images

Do I feel like the princess and the pea? YES!  But, FINALLY we found something that works!   I am so happy we bought this combination.  I sometimes wonder if I should have gone for the firm (for longevity) but this seems to be perfect for now, with no sagging or wearing (yet!).   We turn it (not flip) every couple of months for maintenance.   But we are HAPPY with it!  YAY!   So if you ever wondered about Latex mattresses, we love ours! Go for it!!

XOXO

Lost all my blogs in reader.........

So I was just trying to catch up on some blog reading and all my blogs are gone..... POOF!  I signed out and in and they were still gone.  I added some back, then looked again and those are gone too!  I am so sad :(   Has this happened to anyone else???     And every time I go to the " my blog" page I get an error message.  That has been happening for a few days too.  Can't things just work?!   

Anyone else having problems?

Sofa table, need your thoughts and opinions!

It has been just shy (like 3 weeks) of us being in this house for three years.  I am JUST starting to want to do some projects.  I'm not sure if it was the trauma of moving, kids, homeschooling, horses or the million other things.  But for awhile I had ZERO ambition to do anything around here besides cook and clean.  

Well, the creative juices are flowing and I'm ready to tackle a few small projects.  I even have a bigger one in mind, but that is whole other blog post! ;)  And while writing this I am remembering that I have never shown you the mudroom cabinets...... which I painted in Annie Sloan Emperor's silk.  Uh oh, my bad!!   Will show that soon too :)

You might remember when I first posted our family/great room, I had this smaller sofa table in here.  For the simple reason I had nothing else.  And actually as I look at this picture, things have changed, LOL!

About a year ago I moved the original one in our master bedroom and found the current one on Craigslist.  It's a Thomasville table I got for a great price.  But it was much longer and narrow, which were the specs I needed most!     I would like to paint this table with Annie Sloan chalk paint.  Which color, or colors do you think I should do?  I have so many that I'm embarrassed to name them! Colors in the room are tannish gold, green, red, turquoise, and some black accents.  The walls are Sherwin Williams Ivorie.   If you need a refresher of the room you can see the Family room here.     Anyway, here is the table......   

 

 As you can see, I have already played with the knobs.  I added the crystal knobs,  but two weeks ago I found mercury glass knobs at Homegoods which I thought were adorable.  You can vote on those too! ;)       Thank you and hope to hear from you!

 

XOXO

Snow day

Well it seems as though everyone has been hit with snow!  We go 22 inches in 24 hours!  We have really been having an old fashioned winter here in upstate NY! 

 

 

Yesterday during the snowfall I made taco soup, chili and  cornbread.  Today I made spinach and feta quiche and broccoli ad cheddar quiche.  I hope we have leftovers for 2 days!!   What are you all up to?  I'd love to know!

XOXO

kids, life, horses, homeschooling.....

And all those other things that keep me from blogging!  But the truth is I MISS IT!  Thank you for all your emails and messages wondering if something happened to me.  The only thing that happened was LIFE and BOY has it been busy!  I have so much to talk about that I don't even know where to start!

I can start with the fact that I am now mother to TWO TEENAGERS!!  How did that happen?!  Seriously, time has flown by so quickly it scares and saddens me!  My twin baby boys turned 13 in January.  They are really good kids and I'm so proud of them.   We are currently homeschooling 7th grade.  We homeschooled last year too.  The plan is to continue next year through 8th.   Johnny would like to attend high school and Kris is not sure.  If he wants to stay home, that is ok too. :)    Madi could have gone to Kindergarten this year but she turned 5 in July and some days was still taking a nap over the summer.  I decided that it wouldn't hurt anyone to wait.  And she is doing a "loose" k curriculum at home.  She is playing and enjoying being 5.  What more could I ask for?    She visited a Montessori school recently and really seemed to like it.  So not sure if she will be home with us next year or school.  We'll see!

We have been busy with horses, tae kwon do, swimming, baseball lessons and I'm sure many more things I'm forgetting.  We had our pictures taken in the fall and I am just thrilled with how they came out.  I'll share a few here.

 I haven't been up to many home projects but I am ITCHING to do some chalk painting and some switching around here.  And I have an overwhelming urge to add more leopard print just about anywhere!!!! 
 
And I promise, it won't be another 6 month hiatus.... ;)

XOXO

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! 

Come join the fun at 

WOW Us Wednesday's

Open House Party Thursday's at No Minimalist Here

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!

Come join the fun at 

Make it Pretty Monday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday's at Coastal Charm

WOW us Wednesday's at Savvy Southern Style

{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