Category: Home and Yard

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Decorating With Candles

The perfect lighting makes a big difference in everything.  I’m working on redoing our home decor and want to add just the right touches of light with candles throughout our home.  We have two children so decorating with real candles can be very tricky.  We have to make sure the candles are not lit when the children are around for fear of burning.  If they are lit when the children are present, they need to be in tough to reach places.

In order to circumvent the dangers and hassles associated with traditional flame candles, I’ve decided to decorate our home with battery operated lights. I don’t just mean spot lights and such and dimmers, I mean flameless candles.  Flameless candles mean we don’t have to worry about one of the kids reaching up and grabbing a flame and getting burned.  They are much safer.  We don’t have to worry about remembering to blow the candles out before going to bed or leaving the house.  They really make me feel a lot safer than using traditional candles.

LED tea lights will make a nice addition to our living room and dining room.  I like how we can set them in any votive holder and they will flicker just like a normal candle would.  The soft candle light glow is what I’m after, not the danger of the flame. I also like the idea that I won’t have to have bags of tea lights on hand to replace all of the time once they burn out.  The only thing I’ll have to replace will be the occasional battery.  I’ve even seen the kind of tea lights that are rechargeable.  That sounds like my kind of candle.  I won’t have to store extra candles or extra batteries.

I enjoy the glow of candles when I want to relax, so may I’ll pick up some extra candles to use in my bathroom for when I want to take long,hot baths.  It wouldn’t hurt to add a few lighting touches to our master bedroom either.  For the bedroom though I think I will go with the kind of candles that look like real melting candles but are still battery operated.  I’ll get the look I still want and the peace of mind that flameless candles provide.

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Ideas for Re-purposing Pallets in Your Garden

As we enjoyed our fruit harvest this week from our upside down planters, I discussed with the kids and my husband what we wanted to plant next year.  I also looked into ideas about how we could implement them into our existing garden.  I found some neat ways to re-purpose pallets in our garden and grow our own food.

I found that I can stack some pallets together and make a vertical planter.  Vertical planters help to maximize space both vertically and horizontally, which would be great for people with limited space to plant a garden but still want to enjoy a bountiful harvest.  It’s important to plant shallow rooted veggies and herbs in these planters.  I think this solution could be great for us so we don’t lose too much room of the play space for the kids but still get to have a  nice sized garden.

I even found a creative solution to use the pallets to make a green house with sheets of glass layered on top of each section of the pallet.  This could be neat to grow different kinds of plants.  I’m really excited to try these ideas out in the garden.

 

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Harvesting Our Home Grown Fruit

Our upside down planters have really done wonders with the fruit plants we have.  I spent the afternoon harvesting our strawberries, tomatoes, and even a bunch of peppers.  We ended up getting a huge crop of peppers.  I’m excited to try all of the recipes I’ve collected for all of these peppers.  We do seem to have more than we need though so I plan to give some away to our neighbors and friends.

Our plants also produced a nice few baskets of tomatoes and strawberries.  Of course we’ll be gobbling most of the strawberries up before I have much time to do anything with them, but I told the kids and my husband that I really want to save some to make some jam and a nice strawberry rhubarb pie.  I know it will be hard for them to resist the temptation of eating the fresh and delicious berries but I promised them it would be worth their sacrifice.

I love seeing my family enjoy the work that I put into the garden.  I know exactly what they are eating when I grow it for them myself.  Next year I think I want plant more food for us to enjoy together.  I’m not sure if I want to do planter boxes or if I want to dig up some of the garden for vegetables.  Maybe I’ll have the kids help me pick out what we should grow together.

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Homemade Dryer Sheets

So I was surfing the net tonight after I put the kids to bed and I came across a really neat article that explains how to make your own homemade dryer sheets. I love making my own things when they actually work and can even save me a bit of money in the process.

To make your own dryer sheets there are only a few things you need: Liquid fabric softener, wash cloths or pieces of flannel fabric, a container to hold your dryer sheets. The article said to add 1/4 cup natural fabric softener to 3/4 cup warm/hot water and still it up.  Then add in your pieces of flannel and let them sit for at least an hour before using them.  Pull one out and add it to your wet clothes when you toss them in the dryer.  Dry your clothes as usual and they will come out smelling nice and static free.

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Cleaning Ceiling Fans

Dirty ceiling fans are really gross.  I hate how they collect dust and then just whirl it all around the air in my house.  They make products designed to help you clean ceiling fans.  Most of them are long poles with some sort of attachment.  I recently got a nifty Swifer type thing that helps me get the job done and I love it.

If you don’t have one of these fancy gadgets it’s still possible to clean your ceiling fans.  I’ve found that a chair and some damp paper towels work wonders for the lower ceiling fans.  But for the higher up fans you will need something to help you reach the distance.  I’ve used a broom in the past to help me knock off the dust.  It gets messy and dust goes everywhere.

I’ve also tried taking an old paper towel roll and slipping it on the end of the broom and bending it so that it has a right angle.  Then I cover it in damp power towels and use that to wipe off the fans. It’s not fancy but it definitely gets the job done.

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Dirty Carpets and Getting Them Clean

Dirty and stained carpets absolutely drive me nuts.  They are on one of my biggest pet peeves list. That’s why as soon as I spill something on the carpet or find a mess that someone else has left me I clean it up as soon as possible. I’m a firm believer that the longer the dirt and grim sit on the carpet the harder it will be to get out.

When I do get a hard to get out spot I like to call in the professionals to take care of the dirty work for me. Searching for round rock texas carpet cleaning services can give you options of places that can help you remove those unwanted stains.  When I find a company that I like that provide great service I always make sure to call them back again if I have a similar problem with my carpet.

Luckily for me I haven’t had to have my carpets professionally cleaned to remove a nasty stain in over a year.  However, I have had the professionals come out just to do a major deep cleaning of all of the carpets in the house to freshen everything up.  The carpets look great and I like to have them come out at least twice a year just for maintenance.

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Homemade Wind Chimes

The kids and I went for a walk this afternoon. We heard some of the most beautiful wind chimes. Hearing the lovely sounds and then seeing the creations behind them inspired me to want to make some of our own wind chimes at home.

I gathered fishing line, beads, seashells, a few nuts from my husband’s tool box, a bit of paint, paper plates and some plastic cups. I had the girls paint designs on the plates and cups. Then we punched holes in them and laced the fishing line in long strings through the holes. Finally we attached the beads, seashells, and nuts to the lines. Once everything was attached we spray painted the lines and decorations all the same color.

We hung them up on the patio and wiggled them around to listen to the items clank together. They didn’t sound nearly as beautiful as they looked but we all enjoyed making them.

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Choosing New Bathroom Sinks

So, my husband did some more looking into the kind of things we would like to add to our bathroom when we remodel it.  We are trying to narrow down our options for each area we want to freshen up.  My husband really would like to get his and her sinks.  He wants to be able to brush our teeth together and things like that without bumping elbows.  To be honest I’m excited about having my own sink and area in the bathroom.

I checked out some really gorgeous vessel sinks.  I saw such a variety that I think it’s going to making choosing my favorite pretty difficult.  The stone sinks look soo organic and natural. Some of the glass sinks looked like lava and were just stunning.  I like the straight forward, and clean cut looking sinks.  The sharp lines of the square and rectangle sinks look very modern and might be perfect.

However, if I want to relax in the bathroom I might choose the oval shaped stone sinks. The curved lines of those sinks make me think of flowing water and put my mind at ease. Renovating our bathroom and making all of these choices can be a little overwhelming at times, the least I could do is have a nice relaxing bathroom in the end when it’s all done.

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Crystal Vase Rest In Peace

One of my very favorite vases broke today.  It wasn’t anything fancy really.  It was just special to me.  It had a lot of sentimental value.  It was a large crystal vases with flowers all along the base.  I got it a a yard sale when I was living in my very first apartment.  I think it only cost me two dollars.

I know it won’t be the same but I really want to try and find another vase just like it.  It seemed to be just the right size to hold most any bouquet of flowers.  I think I’ll try finding a match online and maybe also check out my local thrift stores.

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Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

With news of my friend Nancy retiring and designing her own home, it made me think about wanting to redo more of our home. I looked up Atlanta Bathroom Remodeling and got some great ideas to show my husband. We’ve already been talking about doing a few things to the bathroom to improve it.

I started with the flooring. I really want to have nice tiles put into our bathroom. I’d like something in a warm tone but not something too dark. It also needs to have some texture to it so we don’t slip and fall easily. I’d also like to have a separate shower and bath tub installed. Right now we have one of the combination bath and showers. I really want to get one a luxurious bath tub that I can soak and relax in. Of course I wouldn’t mind if it had jets either.

I’m also thinking maybe we can have the toilet in it’s own little room.  I’ve been in plenty other homes to see these and appreciate them.  I don’t want to stare at my toilet while I’m relaxing in my tub. Separating it from the rest of the room would eliminate that problem. It would also provide extra protection from unpleasant odors that may arise.

I’m sure there are a few ideas that my husband will want to add too. He will probably want his own sink. He’s always wanted matching his and hers sinks. I wouldn’t mind having the extra counter space to myself either to be honest. Our bathroom isn’t huge as it is so we’ll definitely have to work with someone to see how we can get everything we want into the final design.