Be Kind to Animals Week

Hi friends! Last week, May 4-10th, was Be Kind to Animals Week. To celebrate the occasion, I did a couple things extra nice for my pet. I'm excited about it! Let me show you.

For starters...

A new bedazzled collar!

This was a really simple craft. A extra collar, a bucket of jewels, and a tube of adhesive. All of which I just laying around the house. My out of pocket price? FREE. Score!

best glue ever!

I'm really impressed with this glue. This is my new favorite glue. It's called Welder. It's a clear gel, and the best part, NOT SMELLY! I bought it at Home Depot a couple months ago. (Some craft adhesives have a super strong chemical smell that lasts and lasts, but not this one!)

The bling is blinding me!

Here's the cat, wearing her new fancy collar! It's been a couple days since I made it, and it's still on. Nothing has fallen off. All the jewels are still in place! Yay!

Thanks for the tuna. I won't kill you just yet

Then, besides giving the cat a can of tuna, the second thing I did was plant some Cat Grass. If you have a cat, I totally recommend this! My cat has been going crazy! She loves it! You can get it here or at Walmart or your local pet store.

Throw it on some dirt. Keep it watered. 3 days later you'll have sprouts. Totally easy!

It might be just plain oat seeds, but I swear, by the way the cat's been acting, it's a little more "herbal', if you know what I mean. She has the munchies, has been all lovey-dovey, and best of all; doesn't try to bite me just for the fun of it. Lets just say planting this is the best thing I've ever done. It's cheaper than cat Valium!

I don't know about you, but I think this shot of the cat, all up in the flower pot, chowing down like nobody's business, is funny. Usually, there's a no picture taking tolerance policy in place, but somehow, I got right up in her face.. I think she was too busy to notice.

Ok, fun time is over. get back to work!

And that's it for today's pet pictures. :) Hope you did something special for your pet this week.
Hugs!
Caroline

DIY Aphid and Ant Spray

Well Hello there! Welcome friends!
Here's my take on the DIY aphid and ant spray. It works like a champ!
Can I just say, this stuff, even with my half-way attempt at following the recipe, is AMAZING!

boring everyday things CAN kill on contact! 

To save my one lone bell pepper plant, I was researching how to get rid of aphids (and subsequent ants) using alternatives to harsh chemicals. I found quite a few sites that talk about using a tomato leaf spray or a garlic oil spray. I'm sure they'll work fine. I'm just too impatient to wait the 24 hrs for the smashed cloves of garlic or the tomato leaves to steep. Plus it seemed too fussy for me.

Then I happened upon this site, and its ever-so-easy homemade insecticide spray, which is basically soap and oil in water. SOLD!

I just guessed on following their recipe. Here's what I did:

Start with a big empty spray bottle
cooking Oil: glug in enough to approximate 2 tablespoons
Soap: dribble in enough to look like 1 teaspoon, then squirt in some more just to make sure.
shake all this up to blend them together.
fill the bottle up with water.
***go have fun spraying and killing all those icky things! (shake the spray bottle occasionally since the water and oil tends to separate)

The downside is this'll kill friendly things, like ladybugs. Since my patio container garden is ladybug free, I'm okay with using this.

There was a hint of an ant trail from the patio edge to the bell pepper plant yesterday, and then today,when I checked,  it was almost a thick, black ant highway!! Yuck! They gotta go. Guess what? After dowsing the ant trail with the soap/oil spray, they all went away! And they are still gone, 5 hours later. I know that's not long, but with ants, they would've been back by now. I'll check back later on the aphid's demise. Here's hoping it wasn't too late for the bell pepper plant!
Hugs!
(I'm off to go wash my hands)
Caroline

Patio Garden

I'm so excited! My very first tomato! Check it out!

I just noticed it today. I'm surprised it's as big as it is. We only potted the tomato plant 2 weeks ago. I didn't think we'd see something this soon. I'm just happy everything is still alive!

Me and the niece had a great time playing in the dirt/planting all our plants. I try every year to grow something, but this is first year I have actual sun on the porch, not complete shade.

This was the first day we planted stuff. I got a mix of plants, bulbs and seeds.

These are all the plants on the sunny side of the patio. The shady plants are still marinating in the dirt and haven't popped up yet. When they do, I'll post an update.

This is the close-up of my pot of lettuce. We planted /threw the packet of seeds on the dirt and they sprouted in 3 days. This is Mescluin, a mix of red and green leafy lettuce and arugula. Right now, they're a little to close together. The  packet says to thin them out. I ate a couple of the leave already. They taste like spicy alfalfa sprouts!

This is one of those "as seen on TV" flower seeds in a box that I got from Big Lots. I'm surprised it grew! It's supposed to be 30 different types of flowers that flower/bloom all season long. We ran out of pots so this blue thing is a plastic tub with handles, that normally holds ice and drinks. I think it'll be pretty once the flowers bloom. It's the right size to sit on the table as a centerpiece.

So, here's the full shot. From left to right, it's catnip, sugar snap peas (with the bamboo sticks), tomato in the corner with marigolds, green onions and marigolds, a green pepper plant with strawberry plants, a pink carnation looking plant with purple pansies, Jasmine and pansies, lavender, peony with pansies, lettuce, tomato with strawberries, and last, in the red pot, a blackberry bush!
In the shade we have fern, astible, and hosta.

I'm excited to have my first tomato and lettuce from my patio garden in a couple weeks! Now to keep everything alive!
Hugs!
Caroline

Dining Table Makeover

I'm really excited at how well the dining table came out!

Look at those legs! The gold spray paint really makes the curves pop.

I don't think I ever noticed how cute the legs were before. I didn't think about taking a before picture until it was half gold. Just imagine a boring dark wood table that was just crying out for a makeover. The top has a black leather look inlay. I bought this a couple years ago at a local thrift store. I had intentions to stain it and the chairs a dark mahogany. I'm so glad I went cheap and easy on this project! A can of  gold spray paint and 20 minutes. Done! It's fabulous! 

Another shot of my fancy swirly legs! 

Please ignore the 70's mirrored dining room wall. Normally I love it, but it makes picture taking difficult.

The table totally matches the gold chairs

The wood veneer wasn't in the best shape, but I still love it, imperfections and all!

Do I need a rug for dining room? Yay or Nay? 

Hugs!

Caroline

Perfume: a discussion

Happy Friday!
This morning I had the wonderful experience of going to traffic court. I'm pleased to say my ticket got knocked down to something resembling a parking ticket with a reasonable/do-able fee instead of the original  I'll-just-sign-over-my-paycheck fee.  Yay! It's always nice saving money :)

My thoughts Exactly on getting a ticket! 

While sitting in the courthouse, waiting my turn with the rest of the general public/traffic offenders, :), I started to notice I couldn't breathe. I figured I was allergic to something or someone in the room. I took extra Zertec and hit the inhaler, twice! It got a little better, but I was still drowning.  The sad thing was, I couldn't pinpoint any particular perfume or cologne that set it off. At least if it was a particular flavor or brand, I'd know for next time to stay away. You know, how some people are allergic to lilies or roses? You betcha I'll stay away from the courthouse! Now I can legitimately say I'm allergic to the place. Ha! :) I didn't feel totally better until I was outside the building. Then I stood on the steps and breathed in some wonderful, clean air! It's nice to breathe

It felt like this.. but with more suits and ties

Anyway... besides getting a look at our justice system, today's post is all about perfume.

It's a leap, from courthouse to perfumes, I know. I was thinking that since I couldn't smell anything offensive perfume-wise, it must be the building. And then back to perfume. What perfume AM I allergic to? Is there a perfume I couldn't smell that was killing me softly? If it didn't register in my nose then it wouldn't kill me right?(Random thoughts while trying to breathe. Inhale.... Exhale.   Inhale... so pardon me if this is silly. Lack of oxygen and all.)

kills on contact

I know what I do find horribly offensive and makes my eyes water from the stench; Polo, the original version. It smells like moldy socks or a hot locker room. Ugh. You can almost smell it now, huh? and... Your welcome. :)
What cologne do you hate? And please share. There's always a great story tied along with perfume. Right?

Tasty, back in the day.

 I don't have a favorite men's cologne at the moment. I remember Men's Eternity was the biggest thing while I was in college. I really liked that one. It seemed that all the good looking men and football players at that time were wearing it. Good looking and smelling good. Nice combo. :) Or maybe the smelling good made the man that much better looking? Either way, I like it!

This may or may not be it.

Then I was introduced to Liz Claiborne's men's cologne by a boyfriend who gave me his shirt drenched in the stuff. It was kinda nice (the smell) but not amazing. I'm sure there's more than one men's cologne in Liz's line. I tried once or twice to hunt down which one it was, but no luck at the cologne counter. oh well, It was a short-lived romance anyway.

Have you ever been in a crowd and someone walked by with the most amazing cologne/perfume on, and you couldn't help but turn around and follow them?

Yum, Right?! Have you ever asked them what they were wearing? or should I ask, Did you actually speak to them?? If so, we want all the details!!

On that note; What perfume/cologne turns your head?  Think about it...


Back when my older sister and I were in high school, we wore Oscar De La Renta. I also had Chanel #19. I thought I was all that with my Chanel! I used to wear Liz Claiborne for women, remember that triangle perfume bottle? And I had a bottle of Eternity for Women for a while too! Remember all these old school perfumes!? I might need to revisit some of these...

I currently have a bottle of Gucci's Envy in the bathroom which I never wear and L'Occitane's Verbena, which I love.

best stuff!

I have a hard time picking out perfume for myself. Well, I should say, something new, that's not from high school. I walk into the perfume shops or Sephora and its a perfume overload, so many choices!! My head spins! I want them all! On a trip to Sephora last year, one in particular that stood out was L'eau D'issy by Issey Miyake. They didn't have the testers for sale in this flavor so I didn't get it. Do you or anyone you know wear this? 

Then I remember most perfume turns to the equivalent of bug spray (or worse) on me. For the common good, I stay away from musk or amber (Amber turns to poop flavor. Trust me on this) Dang that personal body chemistry! I can justify buying a couple testers/samples to see if it'll go bad before I invest good money, or what's worse, buy something on impulse cause it smelled good on the paper or someone else. When I do wear it, thinking I'm smelling good, but really I'm burning off people's noses! I think I'll go get a bunch of samples and start trying out perfumes with the coworkers. Watch out! I might be bringing old school sexy flavors back!! lol 

So... world, what perfumes are good right now?  I'm open to pretty much anything at this point .What perfume do you currently wear? Do you have a signature scent? I'd love to know.  Jump in!
Hugs!
May the beautiful perfume odds be ever in your favor

Caroline

Bowling Bag Makeover!

Hello Friends! I'm excited to show you my bowling bag makeover! Cause, everyone needs a fancy shiny gold bowling bag for that rare event they go bowling once a year, right? If you gotta go, you might as well go in style! 

Just my new styling bag for the bowling alley, sure beats a beat-up backpack

 Here's another shot. The glitter is hot pink in real life, but the purple in the picture looks good too! I'm really pleased with the attached name tag. I think it's cute. This is part of the original. One side said the brand name and the other side has spots for writing your name and phone number (in case of it getting lost, I presume? Or to identify who's is who's in a sea of bags at a bowling alley?)

                                      

This is what it looked like when I found it at my local thrift shop.Kinda cool in it's retro-ness, but not quiet as awesome as it could be. (Fancy filters make it look cooler than it really was. trust me)

Before

I sprayed 2 coats of gold spray paint. I sprayed the handles and everything, even the zipper.

I really liked the original design with the stripes. I thought about paint for a bit, but decided... Glitter it is!!

For the glitter:  
This is how I did it: Watered down glue (more glue than water, this is your DIY Modge Podge. Thank you Pinterest!), mixed in some glitter, painted it on. Looked too thin so sprinkled on tons more glitter while it was wet. After it dried, painted on a 2nd coat of the glitter glue which seals everything up. No random glitter evidence falling from this baby!

Items used:
White glue from personal stash
Hot Pink(Magenta) glitter from Hobby Lobby (personal stash)
Elf foundation brush (personal stash)
Bowling Bag ($4, Deseret Industries)
Total spent = $4.

You're probably wondering why I need a bowling bag in the first place, aren't you? Well, it holds the bronze swirl bowling ball I got years ago for a steal ($1.99!) and the perfect sized bowling shoes ($3!) I found as well. I love myself some thrift store shopping! Of course I can't bowl worth a dang. The last time I went I scored 110, and that was both games combined!  But now, when I do go, I'll have a fancy new bag to hold all my stuff!

 Another shot of the bag. It's pretty cool in person. Not quite finished yet, but almost there. I think it needs just a little bit more to be perfect. Any ideas? Monogram  in the middle? sculls? Something black??
Well, while we both ponder, I'm off to enjoy a nice cold glass of Dr Pepper!
'Night everybody!
Hugs!
Caroline

Here's a silly picture of my niece photo bombing the photo shoot! I think she's way excited to go bowling, don't you? :)

Taco Tuesday!

Welcome back friends! Guess what today is? Taco Tuesday!
Yes, we've decided in our house that Tuesday is designated Taco Salad night, we love it that much.
What's the deal with Taco Salad you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's just the best stuff ever! Plus, it's way easy.
Of course we ate it before thinking about taking pictures, and I don't think a shot of my empty plate would convey the tastiness of it all.
So.. I found this recipe and picture. It's pretty much how we do ours, but of course ours is better :)

The basic recipe can be found here.  We switched it up a bit to suit us. We use ground turkey and add in a can of red beans with the taco seasoning. Some people serve this salad all mixed up in one big bowl. That's too messy for me. I'd rather have a buffet style/build your own taco salad station, with all the ingredients available to add in as you wish. (I try to avoid olives, yuck, while others ~Aimee~ can eat the entire can, she loves them so much)
Of course the magic ingredient is Doritos. I like to take a big handful and smash them on the plate first (or big bowl. Does that count as piggy when it's a "salad"??) then load on all the lettuce, meat and toppings. Followed with Catalina dressing, the 2nd magic ingredient. I don't eat Catalina regularly on a salad, but somehow, it's the perfect thing mixed with the Doritos.. Dang! This is making me hungry! Even though I just had some! Seriously, it's that tasty. You gotta try it.

So..Does your family have a version of Taco Salad? Do you have Taco Tuesday, or another rhyming food day? Let me know. I'm currently thinking about something like Around the World Wednesday or New Recipe Day to actually try some of the million recipes I've pinned on Pinterest.
Join in! Or comment on facebook. I've love to hear your ideas.
Hugs!
 
It's been a while since I've shared anything, huh?
Well, as you know, my fabulous niece Aimee moved in with me, and we've been busy playing tourist and seeing all sorts of shows on the Las Vegas Strip. We've done all sorts of fun things I've been meaning to share, but haven't gotten around to posting. Fun! So stay tuned!  :)