shopping – Page 2 – Connie Smithison

May 24, 2012

Great cloth diapers and diaper covers for gifts

It seems that all of my oldest daughter’s friends, have decided this summer is the time to have their second and third child, which means my gift of cloth diapers and even diapers services are now to be thought about. At last count, there are four of the girls who have been best friends for years, that are expecting little ones in the next five months. They, I noticed spaced their children out in age, so they didn’t have two little babies in the home at the same time. In this period of time, things have change a lot for all of them.

When my daughter first got pregnant, I asked her to consider using cloth diapers and saving some money while doing so. She wasn’t too keen on the subject, since she was 13 when I had her first little brother. She saw me washing diapers and at that point in her life, she wasn’t into doing her own laundry, though she would help fold the diapers and diaper covers for me.

While my daughter and I were together last week, planning on big baby shower for all four girls together, such as tradition I showed my daughter the site I had found online shopping, that carries every type of diaper one could possibly imagine. The little covers are so awesome and cute now. It’s changed so much since I had to diaper my baby in plain white. Now it’s might be fun to change a baby’s diapers!

May 16, 2012

Kill then shop

Today I played the Terminator in the back yard. The patio is all old brick, which was literally covered in heavy weeds. I used a great weed killer last year, that killed the weeds within an hour, but at the first sign of Spring, up came the weeds again, though the weed killer people promised a full year of no weed infestation.

The whole chore took a lot less time than I thought it would and I was rewarded with dying ( I thought I heard them screaming) weeds at a very rapid pace, and also a great start on my tan.

Tomorrow I go shopping for some top soil for the beds I dug up, and also I’d like to pick out some tomato plants and I saw an ad that there were garden hand tools of a good brand on sale at the tractor supply store that I go to. I’m sure I’ll find seeds and other plants I want though.

May 14, 2012April 17, 2018

The Bunk Bed has arrived

For a long time, I waited patiently to find just the right Bunk Bed for my two son’s who share a room. There is a five year difference in ages, but they are really close and call one another best friends. Now that they both have to share a room, it means organization and also planning for storage space, going on in that said room. So far there hasn’t been any big arguments, but I expect to hear some in the future. They do get on one another’s nerves every now and then. It’s bound to happen in a room that size.

To make matters a bit more cramped, they have moved in a full drum set. This, along with all the other musical instruments and such, takes up a great deal of space. My guys decided that they wanted a new set of bunk beds, since the one they had was rather bulky and took up a lot of wall and floor space that they need.

I told my guys that I wanted to get them beds with enough room left over for their desks and computer things. Then I began some looking for what I thought would be a serviceable piece of furniture and not just a bed. I found is called the Empire Loft, and it will be perfect in the room. With both in the room, they both will have their own space while doing work and homework.

April 30, 2012

For stainless steel lovers

Since I love fireplaces, I’ve decided I want one. I’m not sure what kind of fireplace I want yet though, since this is just at the whim stage. I went online and came across a place that sells blomus stainless steel. While looking for a fireplace, I never thought such beautiful items could be made of this material.

I decided that I’d look at the fire places anyway, not knowing what I’d find. The Blomus fireplace search gave me photos of some really unique fireplace accessories but there was a lack of fireplaces, at least that I could find. I did see one little stainless steel item that had an oval opening and there was a small blaze in it,so it must be a fireplace. I didn’t see any others, but the one I did see, looked more for ambiance than function. I might be wrong.

After trying to find the fireplaces, I decided to just browse, as my sister loves stainless steel items, and shes been remodeling her house. She want to go stainless all over the house. I’ll have to tell her about blomus stainless. The prices are good, and she’ll love the selections. Maybe I can get her a gift card if they have them. If not, they should think about it.

April 24, 2012

Home improvement with young adults

Deciding what colors to paint the living room, has been a challenge for me. The room is only 13’x13″ and I want to make it look bigger using paint color and mirrors and lighting from the windows. My son is trying to help me decide on the colors and other planning, but he is color blind. Yes, he was tested and indeed he is color blind. Some people call it colored blind, so this is the same thing. However, despite of his troubles with certain colors and shades, he is one excellent-judge of them, and then mixing various colors together, that one wouldn’t think would work for wall.

We’re both leaning to a deep terracotta. I call it, baked pumpkin pie…the top, before it is cut into. White trim and ceiling. and a deep blue. The only way I can describe it, is in the old big boxes of crayons that Crayola made. After they changed the original colors and shades, I stopped buying the big pack. The color blue was the original Midnight Blue. Forest Green was another awesome shade.

So tomorrow we’ll be paint or at least some sample cans if there are any available. I love home improving, especially when one of my kids have a creative streak. I welcome their input. I also like the fact that they help me find bargains and who doesn’t like to save money?

April 20, 2012

Feathers, glitter and fancy fixings

Yesterday I went shopping at the hobby store and though it was a fast trip in and out, I did pick up a few items to make a mask for my daughter’s prom outfit. This year the prom theme is Masquerade.

I was informed last night after being told by my daughter for months that she didn’t want to go to her Senior prom, she indeed was going and that she needs a mask by next Saturday. I work well under pressure, but this is cutting it thin, considering I’ve never made a mask before. With my costumes that I make, I work with big time make up to finish off the costume.

I bought a few feathers, two masks, and some little fixings and such, as I do have some ideas in mind. I’m going to mess around with the things tonight and then add to the list of items I’m going to need, once I get a creative brain storm. I might even have some of the items I need and that will save some money.

April 7, 2012

Bathroom ventilation and decisions

We’ve recently put in a high powered vent in the bathroom. Before we had it, the walls and ceiling gathered black mold, so I had to consult an expert, since I needed help immediately. I’m happy to say my bathroom is now mold free, which is a great feeling. This house is so old that no one had thought about what would happen with no window, and no ventilation. One vent didn’t get it, so when we got rid of the mold, then repaired the damage, we put a second one vent in and the problem, was solved.

Now comes the rest of the remodeling, and it’s about time. Now though, since we have the vents, I can hang wallpaper without it bubbling up, or drooping because of the dampness that was always in the room before. I am either going to wallpaper, or wait until all the kids are out on their own, if that ever happens, and paint for now.

I’m debating now as to laying bathroom carpet, or just getting new tile. The tile that is on the floor now, isn’t very old at all, but it was laid before the vents and so it’s pulled up in places. I’ve heard bathroom carpet in such a small carries a whole lot of bacteria. Maybe I’ll just get new tile and new bath rugs that I can wash once a week. I’m leaning toward that. I plan on taking one day to go shopping and looking around for what I can find that I really want in the bathroom. I figure when I see it, I’ll know!

April 2, 2012

Shepard’s pie

Shepard’s pie comes in so many variations that I couldn’t be able to count them. My daughters boy friend who is a guest here until Saturday, wanted to contribute to one of our evening meals. I told him to go for it, and my husband took him and our daughter on their first “grocery trip” together. When they got home, they had gotten the ingredients Keg (we will call him) needed to make his take on the Shepard’s pie.

I have to admit that I tried not to hover, but I absolutely hate to have someone messing around in my kitchen. I even have a problem with my kids and husband cooking something in my kitchen. I mean, it was nice the young man wanted to contribute and show off his cooking abilities, but it still felt odd for me. Instead of hovering, I gave him a bag of potatoes, which I had told him I already had, then left the room. One other truth be known, I was sort of hoping my daughter would learn a few tips on preparing and cooking a new dish. She can bake like hell wouldn’t have it, but to say she is handy in the kitchen, would be a lie.

Keg’s mean tuned out wonderful. Yes, I was surprised. My two son’s and grandson loved it, V loved it, and I liked it. V did learn how to mash potatoes, somewhat. And bless Keg’s heart…he doesn’t measure, and cooks similar to the way I do. I don’t measure and it’s all basically taste test. I’m going to send the recipe to my blogging buddy Lindsay. She is starting to collect recipes for her blog. Her blog is comprised of a little of everything. She knows my family, as she has kids the same age as I do, which is why we hit it off so well, so it’s going to be a sort of ” Family and extended Family Cookbook ,” which will fit right into her blog, since she has many hobbies and life stuff happening… but that is all I’m going to tell you about her surprises. 😉

March 28, 2012

An arbor for the garden

Once again I’m on another hunt for a awesome wooden arbors for my gardens, but this time I’m looking at various ones that is going to be sort of a focal point in the back yard, besides my flowers. While looking over my plans that I have been making all winter, and also looking at various arbors, I actually am no closer to deciding exactly the ones that I would like. (Yes, I would like more than one, since my back yard consists of two acres, a small portion of which is our family pet cemetery. To some this may sound rather odd, but we love our pets and they are part of the family.

While browsing, I found all sorts of different styles of garden arbors. Now I’m not sure I want to go with wooden ones. After we had the deck and front porch built with another material that doesn’t have to be treated and there is virtually no upkeep, I’m having second thought about having wood way out in the back yard.

To me, some arbors make up a great deal of a garden’s personality at times. Also it shows the garden owners personality also. So while I’m just looking at various arbors even the vinyl arbors which I don’t care much for, I’m thinking about which kind I’d like to use. It’s time to start shopping for the outside of my house, and the gardens and I have a lot of ideas to put to work.