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.