Another Pinterest Success!

Hi everyone! I hope you are keeping warm wherever you are! It is super cold here in Virginia. We are getting
a nice little warmup this weekend though. I feel like the groundhog at this point -
I may come out of hibernation this weekend though!

I was all ready to have my leather ottoman reupholstered. Then I cam across - what else - a great Pinterest tip!
Well I dove right in to see if it would work. Because money saved is money I can spend on another project!
Look at how horrible this was looking. It sits in front of a chair in our family room and gets a lot of use!  The leather
is very soft and scratches so easily. I was pretty skeptical that it could be revived. Look at how the leather is so
scratched that the top layer is scraped off! This would be what you call "overly distressed"!

And it really just looked like that from end to end. I swear, it looks like someone threw it off a cliff!

So the Pinterest tip said to just rub some olive oil onto it and then buff it off with a dry paper towel. I used a old white
tee shirt to wipe the oil on. This poor thing was so thirsty it just sucked the oil right up. I worked in small sections
and just really rubbed it in. Here is the picture of me just starting to work on it! That is the first little spot I did.

You can see how quickly it is making a difference!

Here it is all finished:

The ottoman sucked up the oil so much I did not even have to buff with the paper towel.

I guess the leather was that dry! Yikes!

I may actually go back and do another coat.

So. Pinterest is proving to be a great resource if you actually end up doing all the things you pin!
Whoo-hoo! Success!

Time to get real. And admit my addiction...

Well in my last post I hinted at the fact that I may be a teensy bit OCD. I am. There is no denying it.
It's not too terribly bad. Not in a really horribly noticeable way. Just little things. Like, I can't fall asleep if the
closet door is open. I can't focus if a pantry or cabinet door is cracked. Or carry on my day in any
sort of sane way if I, say, forget to put earrings on. I always get complimented on my tidy house
but it is really driven by my little OCDs!

So. On to my next confession. I have a serious addiction. Compulsion. Whatever you want to call it.
Either way -
it's really not healthy. I can't control myself and I just keep doing it over and over again.
It affects my family. And my friends enable me as well.

So I am here to come clean!

Candles. Scented candles. I just can't stop! : ) (Sorry, I'm sure you were expecting something more exciting!)

They have their very own cabinet in my kitchen.

Yup. 2 full shelves worth. Stacked up. Summer scents, Fall scents, Holiday scents. The smell pretty much
sucker punches you in the face when you open the drawer above this cabinet!
I ran into my neighbor in HomeGoods the other day. She asked what I was shopping for.
I said "apparently this candle that I totally do not need!".
So I am on a mission! I am going to burn a candle every day until I get through this ridiculous stash!
Here is the one burning in the kitchen today - Yankee Candle Autumn Wreath:

But I have them tucked all over the house. There are 4 around the kitchen alone!
Here is one in the crate on my dining room buffet...

 And another under the buffet...

 Up on the corner of the family room mantle...

 On the coffee table in the family room...

 AND that smaller container on that table is another in the family room! That is too many for one room.

In my defense we do have a bagel (bassett/beagle) dog who can have some fairly intense gas!

Sorry to out you Burly - I still love you though! (aw, look at that face!)
And I have candles in the bathrooms, the master bedroom and basement too. Stop the madness!
BTW. That candle I got from HomeGoods is a Yankee - Coconut and Sea Air! To. die. for! : ) But I told myself
I can't light it until I get through some of these other candles! Candle rehab starts now!

My OCD disguised as Organizing

I want to share some of my tips for keeping my life organized and stress free uh… reduced!

Let me preface by fully admitting I am a little OCD. Having a tidy, clean house
just makes it easier for me to relax and, quite frankly, even think!

1.) Make my bed every day. It is amazing how nice it is to slip into a nicely made bed at the end of the day!
Before I got my dogs I would even turn down our sheets! Just think how lovely the turn-down service at a hotel is.
You should have that feeling every night. Go ahead and leave yourself a chocolate on the pillow too!

2.) I keep a running shopping list on the side of the fridge. Whenever something gets used up my
family knows to write it on the list the same time they throw the empty out. It took a little to time
to get them trained - but once you do it really works!

3.) I never leave dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. Seriously. It only take a couple seconds
to throw them in the dishwasher. Your kitchen will just always look better and cleaner instantly.

4.) Keep up with the laundry! Do a load of wash every (other) day. If you just do one load every day/evening
it won't pile up to a mountain that you just keep putting off! Do ONE load and finish it. This does not mean you
leave it in the dryer. It means fold it AND put it away! Don't drag one load out over 48 hours.When you don't
do this you clutter your house. If the clothes are clean but in a basket to be folded or folded but still
sitting on the top of the washer it makes it seem like you still have a bunch of work to do!

5.) All of makeup is in desk organizers in the drawers in my bathroom. I totally lucked out and found some that
fit the drawers perfectly! That smaller one sits perfectly on the top edge of the drawer...

 So I can store more makeup underneath. This drawer holds some of my favorite eyeshadows, blushes and palettes.

 I have another drawer that is filled with my hair accessories and nail polishes.

Now. Don't judge. This next drawer has all my lip products, pencil liners and foundations. Yes. There are a lot!
In that little pink Vera Bradley bag I keep the concealer, powder and foundation I use most often.

I might as well put it all out there. I have already shown the worst. Let me prep you by saying I was a fashion
major in college. So I really, really love clothes and jewelry and makeup. And I really wanted to enjoy walking
into my closet each morning and "shopping" for my outfit of the day. I did not do any tidying up before I
took these pictures either. So this is pretty much how it always looks in the drawers and the closet.

So I have little jewelry displays in there. Those are my handbags along the top. And my jeans and leggings at
the bottom. All my clothing is organized by type and color - just like in a boutique.

Those pink bins up top have off season clothing like bathing suits and shorts and things. Next, on the right,
are all of my tops. Short-sleeve and sleeveless on top and long sleeve and jackets on the bottom. Keep in mind,
I keep all my clothes in my closet. So all my t-shirts, underwear - everything.
I am hoping that telling you makes it better and not so shocking! LOL!

And then the shoes…

with another shelf of jewelry display in the middle.

Well that's it for today. What do you do that helps you get through your days easier?

Revive your old dinnerware!

I am so excited to share this with you! I have been contemplating buying new plates for a few months now.
More specifically, I have been drooling over this Pottery Barn set:

source
Yummy! I just love the color! Those of you that follow along know I have been bringing this color in all over
my house. Of course since I have a family of 5 I need to purchase 3 sets (annoying!) to be able to get 2 meals worth
of dishes without having to run the dishwasher. I like to really pack the dishwasher to beyond capacity you see,
so I only run it every other day! Don't ask. It's a weird control/OCD thing!
So doing that is going to set me back a quite a few beans. And I still am recuperating from a near death
 experience caused by viewing the Christmas credit card bills.
Pinterest to the rescue!
More specifically Bar Keepers Friend! Apparently this can remove/reduce those annoying silverware marks
 that accumulate on your plates making them look old and dingy!
Like these:

And here is a close-up. Mine were SO bad! It's like Edward Scissorhands ate of these!

Ack! That is embarrassing! In my defense, these plates ARE 13 years old! And only one
small chip so kudos Pfaltzgraff on the amazingly tough plates! You deserve a award!
In comes Bar Keepers Friend...

I bought both kinds (from Lowes) since I wasn't sure which one I would need and they were cheap. I
 ended up using the first one pictured which is the powdered (the second one is the liquid form).
I just hand-scrubbed each plate for about a minute and VOILA!

Same plate! Before and after! Some of the really bad marks did not come out. But holy smokes! Can you
believe that! Sadly, I still want those dang gorgeous turquoise plates from Pottery Barn. But at least I
 can save these and pass them on to my son without feeling like I am giving him some hideous old junk!

Can I get a "what-what"?

I'll just tell you "you're welcome" now! :)

Linking up to:
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

DIY Earring Frames

Since I have been hibernating in my house with a virus and then all these deep freeze days I have been doing
a lot of organizing! I have thrown out a ton of things and donated a huge pile as well! And plenty more to go!
Today, as I was going through my office I found some old picture frames. I had previously taken the glass
out replaced it with linen covered cork. For a short while one of my hats was a Stella & Dot consultant and I used
the frames as part of my jewelry display. Funny how office organizing turned in to Earring Holder making...

Anyway, now they look like this:

So my supplies were things I already had in my house. I love that! The frames - I had 2 - and the tin. As you
can see below the tin sheets come as silver. You can find the sheeting at Lowes. You will probably have to
ask for some help finding it. It was in a odd place at mine! I did have to buy the clippers for the tin too. Do not ruin
a pair of your scissors - it WILL NOT WORK! Below you can see the original frame with the linen.
It was starting to stretch and become baggy from use.

I had previously bought a sheet of the tin for this project:

That used to be my huge ugly white louvered intake vent! See that project from last year here! So I had already sprayed the entire sheet with Rustoleum Oil-Rubbed Bronze. This leftover scrap was perfect for my new little project!

I just clipped the tin down to size so that is slipped right into the grooves that used to hold the glass in.
Easiest project ever, I swear! You know I only do it myself if it is monkey-proof!

I hung some earrings on there and even a couple belt buckles!
Now I just need to decide if I want to leave them sitting on the shelf or hang the two of them on the wall.
They are nice and sturdy so you can really load them up. Believe me - they only got a couple things for
the photos but I will load them up soon! I have a serious jewelry/clothing addiction! I will need to
give you all a tour of my closet soon. It's like a mini-boutique in there! I love it!

In the meantime stay warm everyone!

Yummy Meat Sauce on a Cold day!

This will be a first for me on this blog. I am just posting a recipe for you guys tonight! It's the best, yummiest
meat sauce EVER! I just really need to share it because it will make your life easier! My mom thinks her
sauce is the best but this is better! And since she does not read my blog she will never see this!
And if you tell her I said that I will most certainly deny it! And now am going to share this wondrous recipe with you! And you will thank me for making your day easier
AND for all the compliments you will get from your family!

First let me tell you what I love most about it. I was done cooking dinner at noon! I use the crock pot for this recipe which I love. And the house smelled wonderful on this cold, winter day as I went about cleaning after
the "festivus of un-decorating" that happened the 2 previous days (more on that later!).

Here is what my house looked like as I pulled in from driving my son to swim practice:

 It was just starting to snow here! As I write this it is completely white out!
On to the good stuff now!

Yummiest Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
7 garlic cloves
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 14-ounce cans of chopped or diced tomatoes (I prefer the fire roasted)
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Brown the beef with the onion and garlic in a skillet. add into crock pot with all the other ingredients.
Cook on low 8 hours or medium 5 hours.
Enjoy!

Here is what was left of my second bowl! Yup. I had two serving. Clearly low carb diet starts tomorrow!

I hope you try it and I hope you love it as much as I do.