Table and cookies

Last night my husband's sweet tooth was acting up and he asked me if I could bake either a cake or some cookies. I recently went through my grandma's recipe box searching for apple dessert recipes and came across a chocolate chip cookie recipe. In the past I always used the cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package and the cookies have always turned out flat and either burned or mushy so I thought it was the perfect time to give this recipe a try.


They turned out much better than I expected! They looked like bakery cookies. The hubs really liked them and said they were the best I've made but I thought they were a little too sweet. But I rarely eat any desserts anyway so if he loves them it's good enough for me.

Ready to eat!


For the 'Morocco' room I really wanted to get a table or stand to put the TV on but knew with all the money I had spent I couldn't purchase anything new. So the other day I went over to the closest Goodwill store and shopped around until I found an end table I really liked that matched the theme. I snapped a pic and sent it to the hubby who said go for it. It was in decent condition but needed some paint and to be aired out- it was kind of musty.


Side view, with a watchful Rooster. There are a lot of decorative carvings on it and I definitely didn't want to hand paint it. So this was my first time using spray paint!



Peek-a-boo!


Side view.

Around three hours later, sanded and cleaned then coated with one coat of primer and two coats of paint, voila! It looks more of a tan color in the picture when it is a dark gray color. We already had sandpaper and tack cloth so the costs were:

One end table (Goodwill)..........$9.99
One can Krylon primer spray paint in Gray (Wal-Mart)..........$3.24
One can Krylon Gloss spray paint in Smoke Gray (Wal-Mart)..........$3.47

Total for a new table: $16.70 + tax ($1.06)= $17.76

Total overall: $234.27

Originally I had planned to paint a decorative border on the top of the table but this one turned out to be so ornate to add more decorations would just be distracting. And it didn't come with knobs on it so I'll be purchasing them later and editing this total to reflect the change.

Bedding breakdown

For bedding I needed to get pretty much everything. We moved our queen sized bed in there after purchasing a king sized bed and had sheets and a bedskirt for it. The bedskirt is staying in there but the sheets were several years old and don't match the 'Moroccan' theme. (Except for the flannel sheets which are newer and will be useful in the winter.) Our old comforter had to be thrown out because it smelled really strongly of dog after sitting in storage while we were moving. So with those items need and our need to keep costs low, especially after splurging on pouf materials, here is what I purchased.

The comforter, not pictured is from IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50131433 as well as two pillows: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80129179


The sheet set, on clearance at Target.

Pillowcases I made from the same material as a section of the pouf with a ribbon sewn in.

Full length. I really like the ikat print.

A smaller pillowcase for the 14 inch decorative pillow I bought. I also turned the fabric inside out on this one so while the other ones are shiny and satiny this one is matte and the colors more vibrant.

My super splurge. I fell in love with this duvet cover in a catalog and it inspired the orange paint and theme.

Helper Rooster.

Bed stealing Mary.

Cost breakdown:

One full/queen comforter (IKEA).........$9.99
Two pillows (IKEA)..........$.99/each= $1.98
One 14" pillow (Jo-Ann Fabrics)..........$3.99

2 1/2 yards tribal ikat (Jo-Ann Fabrics)..........$22.76
One roll of satin ribbon (Wal-Mart)..........$2.00
One queen sized sheet set (Target)..........$24.98

Total of taxable items: $65.70 + tax ($4.17)= $69.87

One queen sized duvet cover (The Company Store)..........$69.74

Total for bedding= $139.61

Total so far= $216.51

A tutorial for the pair of pillowcases can be found here: http://www.filminthefridge.com/2010/01/27/pretty-quick-pillowcase-tutorial/ and the 14" pillowcase was made using an overlap closure in the back.

Pouf breakdown

It took me a while to find buttons for the poufs but now that I did, here are the pictures, and a breakdown of the cost.

Creeper dog in the background!

Pile of poufs.

The smaller sized one.

The two large ones.

The fabric amounts are for all three poufs combined.
1/2 yard bordeaux (cotton)..........$3.00
1/2 yard copper (cotton)..........$2.50
1/2 yard charmeuse (orange print)..........$4.55
1/2 yard sateen (brown)..........$2.50
1/2 yard tile (blue print)..........$3.00
1/2 yard velveteen (mustard)..........$4.00
1/2 yard knit (blue)..........$4.50
1/2 yard green moss (cotton)..........$2.50
1/2 yard kaleidoscope (orange/brown/green)..........$2.00
1/2 yard kona berry (purple cotton)..........$3.50
1/2 yard serafina (blue/green/brown)..........$2.00
1/2 yard tribal ikat..........$4.55

5 1/2 yards muslin (for lining)..........$10.95
5 lb. box of stuffing..........$11.99
32 oz bag of stuffing..........$7.99

Four large washers (to help pull in the middle)..........$.14/each=$.56
Two small washers..........$.11/each=$.22
Four large blue buttons (on sale)..........$.50/each=$2.00
The two small buttons on the mini-pouf came from my great-grandmother's bag of buttons.

Total for three poufs= $72.31 + taxes ($4.59)= $76.90

Though they ended up being more than I set out to pay I'm happy with them. They're quite large- the small one is 17 inches wide and the large ones double that size. All the materials were purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics except for the washers from Lowe's. The pattern and instructions I used can be found here: http://www.designsponge.com/2010/05/sewing-101-making-a-pouf.html

Morocco on a $300 budget

Progress on decorating the interior of the house has been fairly slow since most of our time and decorating money has gone toward fencing in the backyard. Since that project is almost complete (5 panels and 1 gate left to put in) we have begun turning our attention elsewhere. (Or should I say I have, as I think the hubby has had enough of working on projects for one year. :P ) We purchased a set of gorgeous stone and glass tiles for our kitchen back-splash at an amazing price- $1.98 a sheet- originally $8.98! And I have discovered a new store that I absolutely love, which is IKEA. We purchased a pair of bookcases for our formal living room (that are made in the USA!) and numerous other items, several of which will be going in the "Moroccan" room.

One day I went into one of the guest bedrooms and was surprised at how bland and boring it was in there. So to kick it up a notch- or 5- we decided to go with a Moroccan theme. Originally I budgeted $500 because it is sparsely furnished in there but knocked it down to $300 for more of a challenge, plus who has that extra $200 just lying around? Not us!

Boooooring!

Snoozefest!

Blam! Olympic no VOC paint in Mandarin, sold only at Lowe's.

Not the best pictures, as it was getting dark out and we painted during the week we had no power due to hurricane Irene.

The fabrics I'm using to sew three matching poufs. They're definitely funky- when I asked my husband what he thought of the layout he looked over at it and then looked as if he might be sick to his stomach.

The stack of fabrics waiting to be sewn.

In future posts I'll be breaking down how I spent the money and including more pictures of the sewing projects, items, and after pictures. As a side note I try to refer to my husband only as such and not use his name to remain as anonymous as possible in case others should stumble across the blog. Just wanted to include that so no one thinks I'm slighting him. :)

Care packages

I had several items from couponing that I got for free or even received overage on that I thought the hubby and I might not be able to utilize before they go bad. So I decided to put together a package for a random soldier serving in Afghanistan. After searching for a while I decided to go with anysoldier, which is a website soldiers can post on requesting various items, especially for soldiers who don't receive much mail. I ended up picking two different people who, in theory, will pass on the boxes to the other people in their troop- some of them seemed more interested in getting things for themselves than sharing with others though. Anyhow I thought I'd share here was in the boxes.


Box 1- Hygiene for a male soldier includes toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, several deodorants including Degree, Dove for Men, and Old Spice, Schick Hydro 5 razor, Bic Advance razors, q-tips, Benadryl itch stick, Flintstones rubber band bracelets (for either the troops or Afghan children), and Folic Acid, pens, Sharpies, and card/envelopes which were all divided between the three boxes.

Total OOP: ~$3


Box 2- Foodstuffs including Crystal Light lemonade pouches, beef jerky, popcorn with pour over butter packet, several oatmeal packets, coffee and cocoa packets, m&ms, a box of ice cream flavor Poptarts and a box of smores flavor Poptarts, Kraft dressing, Twizzlers, two small boxes of freezer pops, Airheads, and the same pens/Sharpies/cards as above.

Total OOP: ~$6

Box 3- Female hygiene including two bottles of nail polish, two John Frieda shampoos, Almay and Lumene eye makeup remover, Degree body mist, several deoderants including Secret and Degree, St. Ives body wash, Playtex and Tampax tampons, Always pads, a small bag for toiletries, and Folic acid/pens/cards.

Total OOP: ~$7

Those boxes are crammed to the brim, I had to almost stand on it to get it to close, haha!

And here we go...

So I'm going to pick up by posting what I've been doing lately in each of the three categories, paranormal, prose, and petticoats, and add a fourth category: penny-pinching. I've recently gotten into couponing so I will be breaking down some of the deals I get every once and a while.

Paranormal:

I haven't done much about paranormal stuff since we've moved here though there seems to be plenty of places to choose from! Even the road in front of our home is reported to be haunted. I've started watching a new show on Syfy called Haunted Collector about people's items that are haunted and the investigator comes in and takes the items and puts them in the 'museum' in his basement... Which is in CT!

Prose:

I had a letter to the editor posted in the local paper of my hometown and that's all that has been published for me. Still plugging away on my book, though I do have my nom de plume picked out. :)

Petticoats:

Not much here either. Mailed off a quilt top I made a long time ago that I was originally going to throw out to have it quilted by someone and mailed back. I'm also working on a scrapbook for Miles and have plans for to knit a scarf in a paper chain pattern. We've been working a lot on our house, putting up a fence, painting, and planning a deck. I'm working on putting together the outdoor furniture pieces I purchased from Target at 75% off. Which brings us to...



Penny-pinching:

The picture is of the items I purchased on a trip to Target, and here is a breakdown.

Kraft Ranch Dressing: $1.59
Kraft Italian Dressing: $1.59
Minus $1 off 2 Target coupon stacked with $1/2 manufacturer coupon= .59 each

One Kellogg's Poptart, 8 count: $2.14
Two Kellogg's Poptart, 12 count: $2.50/each
Minus $1/3 Target coupon stacked with $2/3 manufacturer coupon= $1.38 each

Two Morningstar Products: $2.99 each
Minus $1/2 Target coupon= $2.49 each

One St. Ives trial: .99
Minus $1/1 manufacturer coupon= Free

One Sally Hansen nail polish: $2.04
Minus $1/1 Target coupon stack with $1/1 manufacturer coupon= .04

One Pantene trial: .97
Minus $1/1 manufacturer coupon= Free

Two Hefty one zip travel sized: .99 each
Minus $1/2 manufacturer coupon= .49 each

Three Benadryl Itch relief sticks: $2.29 each
Minus three $2/1 manufacturer coupons= .29 each

One Sharpie permanent marker double pack: $1.00
Minus $1/1 Target coupon= Free

One pack of ballpoint pens: $1.02
Minus $1/1 Target coupon= .02

Catahoula Rescue

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love animals, especially dogs (and horses but I've never owned one so they're slightly scary). For months I've been browsing petfinder and other similar sites looking at the dogs for when we move, even before everything that happened with Miles. I'm continously drawn back to the Catahoula Rescue, as that was part of Miles genetics. One particular dog caught my attention and I wanted to post here to see if anyone could help him out. His name is Ted, there's a link here: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15444355

And some information cut and pasted about him from the rescue message boards:

"Ted... I call him "Tedward" and he laughs!!! He "talks" to me, especially right before breakfast. He's always in a good mood and has turned out to be quite lively! He's not a high drive dog and has medium energy. Ted gets along with just about everyone, just about all the time, including cats. He does not seem to have much of a reaction to livestock. Ted has become much less shy about meeting people. We started out with his hiding behind a tree... Now lately, he even approaches people he's met a couple times. He's learning to love attention. And if you know him, you get to see all the antics that are just a secret kept from many...and believe me, there's a lot of fun stuff going on with Ted! Ted would be happy to lie on a sofa or some other comfortable place part of the time. He's around 50-60#. He's always good natured. He does well with cats. He has enough energy, but does not have high prey drive. For someone wanting a terrific, always happy, very beautiful dog with spunk and humor, who does not always need to be doing something, Ted is the perfect choice!!! "

I'm dying to adopt him but we won't be able until the beginning of next year, as we have a short move first, for four/five months. My parents have already gratiously agreed to care for our dog Mary if I'm able to stay with my husband so I don't want to burden them by asking to take in another dog. Please! If anyone can help. I plan to contact them to see if we can make arrangements for next year but I still have to hear from the hubby before I do anything. Especially since we've been discussing adopting some entirely different breeds... Surprise! LOL

In addition there is 1 other male and 3 females that need urgent homes.

Been a long time

The hubs and I have been primarily focused on our upcoming move so I haven't had a ton of time to devote to crafts. I do have a pair of footie/hoodie/mitten pajamas with a drop seat next in line that my husband would like me to make. He may have to wait a while though, as I am excited to announce...that I am 10,000 words into my first novel!

(For those of you though who thought I was going to announce we were going to have a baby, you are quite silly. Quite silly indeed. )

I plan to seek agent representation by the beginning of next year. I'm very excited but don't want to share many details in case it all burns to ash. The novel combined with our short term move means I probably won't have many updates for the rest of the year but I will try to pop in a few times with interesting news.

Not much news.

Nothing much new here, just wanted to share some pictures. We're still waiting on orders as the place where they write those has been flooded and is closed this week. I don't plan on making anything crafty before we move so until then, there will probably be random postings. Tim bought this necklace for me a Tiffany's yesterday. I'm modeling the one in my novel after it. :)

Mary is so excited...
Hmm, I don't know how to turn the picture.

It was the last one of this kind they had and it's made of bone china.

I also wanted to thank everyone for their cards and wishes about Miles. We really miss him.

Sad boosh

Well I think everyone knows by now but Miles passed away. We loved him very much, as did all the people who met him.

The costume is finished though.

Back

Close up of hand painting.
Front

Front close up
Belt
I'm satisfied with the cloth parts. Some of the pleather I'm iffy on but it was the first time I've made any armor or pleather stuff so I think it turned out alright. Now I'm going to take a nice long break...