Deep thoughts

The Restore (Habitat Trip SB2013)

I haven't been on in a while, but I have learned so much over the past week that I cannot wait to share with you!

I went on a Habitat for Humanity trip; it was three days in Holland, Michigan.

http://www.lakeshorehabitat.org/

Day 1: We spent demolishing Tracey's kitchen, Habitat has expanded and now does renovations.

After demolishing the Kitchen and Taking down the Chimney, we headed to the restore, which was a gold mine.

The idea of a restore is to receive donations of house hold item including lighting construction door knobs tiles books couches chairs fabric and so much more. They sell these items at a discounted rate, like super cheap because it is all used.

The proceeds go to running the store and then the rest goes to building houses in the community. This is an amazing store, and it was so fun to be a part of cleaning and reorganizing it.

Day 2: We spent the whole day at the restore, hanging chandlers was my favorite task, but I didn’t mind organizing the knobs and the fabric also.

Day 3: We painted the 127th house to be built in Holland by Habitat for Humanity. Right next door AmeriCorps/NCCC were raising the walls of a new house and laying the ground work for one 2 doors down. The work being done was amazing to watch. Attending the wall raising ceremony for the families that could now afford to live in a house of their own was awesome, and I cannot wait to do more with this organization.

Chinese New Years 2013

So, the fam went down to china town for Katie's birthday and it turned out to be Chinese New Year, after grabbing some dim sum, which is the Chinese version of tapas (amaz-balls). We wandered around for a bit through the shops. My parents found kava kava in liquid form, which they were super excited about, but Katie and I found some treasures too.

Katie has been trying to spice up her boring room for a while now and we found just the way to do it, some awesome Chinese lanterns.

I just wanted something small and I have every representation of Shiva the Buddha confusion and the three monkeys already. So this time I went with the Chinese New Year theme and got a lucky picture of a rooster because I am year of the cock.

0.

Happy Chinese New Years everyone!

Be My Valentine!

Hey guys, my sister, my friend Kerri and I all swapped gifts for the big V-day. This is something home made I did for the both of them. Lips sticks, scrapbook paper some markers and a dollar store frame is all you need.



For Katie

For Kerri

Nashville for St. Patty's Day

 

I live in Chicago and for my birthday, I wanted to go explore another cities St. Patricks day festivities.

So, I dragged my best Dedria along with me to Nashville.

We took the MegaBus, lesson-learned do not take the megabus, anywhere, ever again.

We also stayed in a hostel (http://musiccityhostel.com/) . Which I didn't mind but Dedria, the former neat freak, she hated it.

The hostel provided free waffles, 10 dollar bike rentals, and very interesting people to meet.

We did alot while in Nashville,

- wandered the streets down town and shopped

map of down town nashville, TN

When a record shop has John Prine its a REAL record shop

 

- drank beer out of squirt cans

- went to a gun show

- got lost in a forest preserve

- swam in the river running through nashville (won't ever do that again)

- went to a blues bar (wish I could do that again)

Dedria imitating the old man getting into the blues colaberation

 

- Biked around the town (beware lots of hills)



lucky shoe

- lost my shoe saterday night

- found my shoe on the street sunday morning

- walked the vancover Campus (beautiful)

- danced in the steet to a drumming raper who sang about us

 

All of that in a matter of 2 1/2 days.

Then the megabus was 10 hours late, and we had no where to sleep thank god the hostel still had 2 open beds Sunday night.

Inexpensive Road Trips!

Spring Break Road Trip 2012:

This Road trip was a lesson learned.

--Katie Mapped out all of the E-85 stations to save us a little cash, and help the enviornment

--We aso made reservations at a Cabin in the Mark Twain State Park.

St Louis Arch

(Be sure when you make reservations at a state park, that

you specify which park you are staying at, we wanted to stay in the south western corner of Missouri, and I ended up driving 18 hours in one day and eventually having a ment down and sleeping in the parking lot of Mark Twain's Shrine because I had to drive back up to the North-eastern corner of Missouri.)

This is me post-meltdown sleeping in the car until the suncame up

-- Make a play list that will last twice as long as you think you need.

--Bring your dog, Ty my trust-worthy guard dog



 

 

We stop by, Red Velvet(http://shopredvelvet.com/), which is a vintage shop that our favorite bloggers Elsie and Emma from a beautiful mess (http://abeautifulmess.com/) own.

Katie at Red Velvet Playing Dress UP

A Bridge Near Red Velvet at Sunset



Bran' Spankin' New Floors

Hey, everybody so I am trying to catch up with some old projects I have done over the last year. I try to learn as much as I can so that I will be able to do things on my own, epically with things to do around the house. This fall I learned how to re-finish wood floors myself. Now I was that little girl who would start painting her room without her parents’ permission, on multiple occasions. So my floors were paint splattered.

 

Now it is really easy to re-finish your floors, do not hire someone to do this for you because you CAN do it yourself. It will be an entire weekend project, and do not re-finish all of your floors at once start with a room you don't love and them learn from the mistakes you make there when you do your other rooms.

You will need:

1. A few sheets of 100 grit and 60 grit stand paper.

2. A Sander, if you do not have one, invests in a square sander. It will come in handy for when you re-finish your other floors, distress your furniture (see that’s tots trending) and also for any outdoor projects you decide to start that involve wood.

3. Stain, pick any color you like but I prefer the dark reddish stains or the chocolate brown, they look super sleek.

4. Polyurethane, get more than you think you need because you will be applying it thick and with 2 coats.

5. A fan, to speed up the process.

6. A bag of rags, or a cut up old t-shirt

Friday night:

First clear the room sweep and mop the floors. Wait for the floors to dry.

Second, get out your 60 grit sand paper and start in the corner of the room furthest from the door.

You may want to open the window because there will be dust everywhere. Close the door to the rest of your house to avoid the dust spreading. Sand until the previous stain on the wood is gone (the shine is gone)

Third, take a break and go eat something and rest your wrists, because your arm is probably tired.

After your break does the same thing with the 100 grit stand paper. You do not need to be as persistent but you do need to be thorough. The 100 grit paper is meant to smooth out the rough spots that the 60 grit left. Sweep and mop all of the dust and crap that is all over the place.

Now go make dinner and relax for the rest of the night.

Saturday early in the morning:

Fourth, in the AM sweep and mop again and this time when I say mop I mean get down on your knees with a rag and wipe it down.

Fifth, it is time to stain that raw floor of yours. Start from the corner furthest from the door and make your way back. Use a rag to rub the stain in and follow he grain of the wood, of you go against the grain of wood it will look sloppy when it dries. Once you have finished wait 4 hours for the stain to soak in and dry up. (Try to finish this step by 10am)

 

Around 2-3pm on Saturday:

Sixth, repeat that last step all over again, do not wear pants your like for the second time you stain, because you knees with be brown. And your palms.

Let that dry for another 4 hours.

Around 6-7 on Saturday:

Get that Polyurethane out! And a paint brush, large paint brush and a small pointed paint brush.

Just like with everything else start from the corner furthest from the door and make your way back to the door use the small brush for the area nearest to the trim and apply a thick coat of this stuff to seal in and protect the stain you just applied.

Then go wash up and go out with your friend or family or whatever you do on Saturday nights.

Sunday AM:

Before church, or whenever you wake up from your crazy Saturday night Apply another coat of polyurethane. This time not as thick and touch up spots you’re messed up on the first coat. WARNING: if you step on the floor and it is still super sticky, wait another few hours before applying this second coat.

 

Go about your Sunday as you please, eat some yummy dinner and once you finish dinner check on the floor to see if it is dry. If its dry put all of your furniture which should have little floor protects on it, back in the room and enjoy a job well done.

Old-fashioned Ornaments

This is late, Kate and I made these in December, early December so we could give them out as chrstmas gifts for the whole family. This yeah we used cookie cutters, but next year I hope we can get more intricate and do something more original.

 

I am currently enrolled in a ceramics class at Oakton Community College. So I brough my sister in a few nights when the ceramics lab was dead, and we wouldnt be bothering anyone.

 

We rolled out slabs of clay till they were about 1/4 inch thick and them used cookie cutters from the dollar store. After Cutting all of these out We punched holes in them for the orniment string. (be sure that the holes are large because they will shrink when fired). Write the date and your name on the back of the ornaments, or a silly saying for the family you are giving it to.

We also had some fun with making flowers too.

Let these dry for at least 2 days.

 

Then you can have them Bisque fired which hardens the clay and redies it for glazing.

When you get to glaze your ormaments be sure to mix your Glaze well.

Then dip your ornaments in the glazes your prefer and have them fired.

 

 

 

The glazes kate and I used were older, and dirtied by all of the students, so our ornaments came out rustic looking.

Use cute ribbon and some awesome tissue and boxes and hand them out to family members at christmas, co-workers and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 dolla holla!! Rain boot socks.

So rain boot are in, and those hunter boots are pricy. The socks that accompany the boots are outrageously about $50 a pop. They are all the same boring knits and they make your feet sweat like a pig

Lets fix that.

Step 1: go to goodwill and find an awesome sweater.

Step 2: cut the sleeves off of this awesome sweater.

Step 3: (optional) you do not need to be a sewing expert to do this. Hem the cut edge. (You might also need to slim the sleeve down or shorten it depending on the size of the sweater and the height of the boot)

Step 4: Put these on like leg Warmers, when you put them on make sure they are inside out.

Step 5: slip your pretty little rain boots on. Flip the edge of the sweater sleeve over the boot, and you have just made one of a kind hunter socks that everyone will be super j of :)

if you've got skills flaunt it!

If you can make something awesome, keep doing it!

My dad has been out of work for almost 5 years and side jobs just don't cut it.

So he makes lamps, and I just posted a few on Etsy so go check it out!

The big boy:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/123875899/tall-lamp?

The Desk Buddy:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/123802276/15-inch-desk-lamp-made-of-pip-fittings?

Drawing 101

Having a bad day?

Take 30 minutes and print a picture you really like.
Cover the back of the picture with lead from your pencil.

Tape it to a nice peice of paper, like the kind your boss keeps hidden away so you cant waste it, because its that expensive.

Then take a pen and outline the picture.
flip up the original picture and ink over your pencil.
Knowing you can do a small task like this with success, the rest of your tasks for they day will pass with ease.

I work With Dogs all day and of course I am close with all of the staff dogs, and this is Molly a rarity in general with one blue and one brown eye plus, their are about 100 Dalmatians inside of the city limits of Chicago,  and Molly is one of them <3

Crayola Creations

After seeing all of the hype about the crayon melting, I had to try it.

You need-

• A blow dryer, preferably not a nice blow dryer (goodwill)
• A gigantic bag of crayons, remember you will not be able to use these again so do not buy new crayons, scrounge for old ones!
• A can of white spray paint (who doesn't have one of these?)
• Look around at garage sales and goodwill stores for canvas pictures and spray them white, for a project like this their is no point in buying a new canvas.
• Glue (Super glue, hot-glue, wood glue.. just strong glue) 

Be sure to,

1. Glue the crayons on together in groups and remember their will be no wax where the crayons are placed
2. lay news paper all over the floor
3. do not leave the blowdryer on one crayon for two long it will splater rather than drip
4. do not touch the hot wax not only is it hot and will burn you, it also leaves ugly finger prints.

Good Luck!

B-a-n-a-n-a-s

Chocolate covered Oreo bananas!
Remember we just started this blog so I have tons of catching up to do!
K and I make a lot of treat, we like chocolate to much, if that's possible, this is one we made over the summer at Grandma's Sunday night dinner.

These Bananas only take 5 minutes to make, so listen close!
What you need-

• Bananas
• A bag of chocolate chips
• a package of Oreo's
• skewers
• wax paper
• freezer

1. heat up a bag of chocolate chips (find some one to stir constantly, burnt chocolate really smells)
2. cut all your bananas in half(hamburger style not hotdog), unless you like'em long!
3. make sure the bananas are ripe, still a little green or they will not hold up when rolled in chocolate.
4. next crush up 1/2 to1 package of Oreo's, their are a-lot of fun ways to do this.  You can put them in a bag and jump on them, put them in a bag and hammer them with the first kitchen utensil you find or, be boring and get out the food processor. (I recommend the bag ideas they leave you with less dishes)
5. Once the Oreo's are crushed put them in a shallow bowl or a paper plate(if you really hate doing dishes that much, one paper plate won't kill the whole rain forest)
6. Now comes the assembly line effect. use skewers when dipping the banana in chocolate, then roll it in the Oreo's and put it on wax paper. Repeat until you run out of bananas and then freeze for an hour and they will be ready to serve!

Mix up your summer work outs!

 

Maxing out in Millennium Park!

Summers in the Chicago suburbs are great, barbeque's, trips to the lake, tanning in the front yard, bonfires every night.. but keeping that beach body you worked for all winter is hard with the s'mores, grilled chicken and popsicles.

A great way to get otgether and embarass yourself with zumba and some friends.

A good way to keep in shape and to keep in touch with some friends is to head down to Mellinium Park every Saterday morning at 8. No matter how hung over, tired, over worked or burnt out you are it is absoluetly worth it.

For the past 2 years my friends and I have gone for Yoga at 8am, Pilates at 9, and my favorite Zumba at 10am. All of this is free and their are hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes that crawl out of bed early on saterday morning for this work out!

This is me and my unflexable self, bring a towel, yoga matt, and LOTS OF WATER!

Holiday Treats, and maybe a boot mug too.

Holiday Market, Date night ;)

Being under 21 has its disadvantages, but theirs always a way around that, redboxing at home is not your only option youngsters, go find something to do.

K and I went out last night to the seasonal Christkindle Market in the Daily Plaza.

http://www.christkindlmarket.com/en/

If your from the North west burbs, like us take the blue line to Washington and you will see it right outside the station.

 

Perfect holiday tradition to get a family ornamnet every year to add to the tree.

This place is for everybody, hot choclate for the kids and german beer/spiced wine for the adults.

After checking out the market walk a block east to State Street for a glimpse at the Macy's Windows! Perfect date night also, if I was with a special some one other than my little sis

Christmas Greens

Christmas Decor Ideas

 Everyone is trying to find new and inventive ideas for decorating their house for Christmas, but who wants to spend money on something that will only be out for a month out of they year?

Well, I know I don't no, matter how cute everything is at Ikea I can't bring myself to buy the battery operated lights and pine cones in a mason jar for 12 dollars a pop.

1. So Stop by the dollar store and buy some glass bottles, they have a wide selection, or buy slim necked vases that would work too.
2. Then pick up some yarn. Cute yarn or string of any kind.
3. Next if you do not have a strong pair of scissors or garden clippers at home you should probably buy those to, they are totally worth the investment of say, $10.
4. Go home with all of your goodies.
5. Do you have shrubbery or bushes or anything that is green still around your house? Start clipping. Everything has to be more than 6 inches in lenght, preferably 8-10 inches, better to long than too short. If you do not have shrubery, go to the park they do, or the forest preserve (but be discrete it is kind of illegal).
6.  Now that you have you clippings go back home and fill up your vases and bottles with water 3/4ths full and then start sticking your clippings in the vase.
7.  Once it is full, or at least once it looks full tie the yarn around the neck of your vase/bottle and put it some where in your house where people will notice it, ask you about it, and you will of course, show them this blog.
8.  These can be big or small and they will last as long as they are in the water and near the sun, they might even grow roots!
9. Thank my mom for this one, she is a crafty lady!

Moving up in the world?

 Inexpensive Moving Gift

Last year I was low on funds but I had alot of time when I got out of my first semester at OCC. So I looked all over blogs for what to do and I found one idea that I fell in love with and ended up giving it to one of my closest friends for christmas to spruce up her Dorm at IU.

Of course I made a few minor changes first.

1. Go to any hardware store and pick out 50-100 paint chips any size but you probably want them all to be the same size so it looks uniform and takes less time to cut up.
2. Next PAY FOR some wood glue, do not use super glue you can see it through the paint chips after words and it looks tacky. Now you don't look like the ass-hole that came in to steal some paint chips with out buying anything.
3. Then go to K-mart or any cheap store, walmart works to of your ok with that whole miss treating you workers thing. Buy a big frame, it shouldnt cost more than 10 dollars, and get a tinny squeeze bottle of paint.
4. I forgot to mention that you really should cordinate your colors so you like the combination when you put this all together.
5. Go home and cut up those paint chips, it will take a while to so, buy a redbox movie and chill or drag your boo along to help you or in my case sence i'm lacking a boo manipulate yoursister into helping.
6. Now their are 2 options for this either you can paint words on these chips as I did with the awesome Dr.Seuss Quote, or you can use white paint chips to write a name or slogan that is of course personally fitting to your realtionship. Tip: use dense colors next to the white chips to make them stick out. (I just thought of that second option while I was writing this so let me know how it works if you try it and I will add it to my list of things to try.)
7. Back to what I was saying put on some paramore, redbox, christmas music which ever you like and start glueing you cut up paint chips to the backing of the frame, so its permenent, if your friend hates it they will just have to deal because it wont just slip out of the frame to be replaced by a poster of chuck bass.
8. This gluing will also take a while and remember with glue less is more!!

Once you have finished and cordinated your white chips into words or painted your awesome quote onto it set it up high somewhere where the dogs, parents roomates, birds do not step on it for a day then wrap it up and hand it over for christmas.
 You can aslo do this with a few small frames that all go up together to spance things out a bit their are alot of options so good luck and please give me feed back on your virsions, I plan to use this ideas for chirstmases and birthdays to come.