Get Rid of Crap Steak Stew

I made another "get rid of the crap that's going bad" meal tonight. This one's not for the kiddos (unless yours like spicy soup), but my husband likes it and so do it. My potatoes were about to spud, my red and green peppers were slightly wrinkly, and I needed to do something with a leftover steak.

Get Rid Of Crap Steak Stew
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-1 red bell pepper, diced
-1 green bell pepper,diced
-1 large cooked steak, cubed
-1/2 large red onion
-7 beef bouillon cubes
-7 cups water
-1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
-parsely
-garlic salt
-6 potatoes, cubed

1. Turn your crock on high.
2. Dump everything in. Go easy on the garlic salt, liberal on the parsely.
3. Let that sit for 5-6 hours.


You'll learn that dumping a bunch of leftovers into a crock is one of my favorite things to do. I hate wasting food, and you can make almost anything taste good in a soup. Empty out your fridge and give it a try tonight!

Gazebo Bird Feeder

I found these tiny gazebos that had fake flowers sticking out of the openings at garage sale a few years back. They were absolutely ugly, yet I had to have them. They sat in my basement for two years. Then I finally got a brilliant idea for them.

Gazebo Bird Feeders

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-pole

-metal plate with hole (diameter of the pole)

-mighty putty

-screws

-gazebos

-spray paint

***an easier way to do this is with a threaded pipe and nuts, but I found that they were much more expensive that way, and I'm cheap, and this way works just as well.***

1. Spray paint your gazebo. I did mine in white.

2. Attach your plate to the bottom of the feeder with your screws. I used long screws so that it would stick out a bit. Squirrels aren't as graceful as birds, and it does help ward them off.

3. Put a bunch of mighty putty in the hole, then stick the pole in the hole. Wrap a bunch more of mighty putty around where the pole meets the plate for added security.

4. Let that dry for about an hour.

5. Stick the pole in the ground, fill

with bird seed, and watch the birds!

German Spud Chowder

I made a great German chowder yesterday.

German Spud Chowder

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-1 pkg bacon

-1 chopped onion

-3 carrots, chopped. Or half-bag of baby carrots, chopped

-3 stalks of celery, chopped. Or half of a head of cabbage, shredded

-1/4 cup flour

-7 beef bouillon cubes

-3 cups water

-3 cups milk

-6-10 potatoes (depends on the size of each potato) diced

-salt, parsely

1. In a large pot, begin boiling the water, milk, and cubes.

2. Chop up all the bacon into inch-long pieces or smaller. Fry this up really good.

3. Add in your chopped carrots, celery, diced potatoes, and chopped onion

4. Drain the fat from the bacon into a seperate bowl. Add the bacon to the pot.

5. Add the flour to the fat and stir until the flour is dissolved. Add this to the pot.

6. Season with salt and parsely (go nuts on the parsely)

7. Kick the heat down to low and let that cook for about an hour.

Window Trellis

I finally took some pictures today. Sorry about the terrible quality. It was actually raining when I was taking these. Anyways, here's the how-to on my window trellis.


Window Trellis
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-Old window
-stain
-screws
-chisel
-rubber mallet

1. Smash out all the glass with your rubber mallet.
2. Clean up all the edges with your chisel
3. Clean and stain.
4. Screw onto your house.



I added a big wreath I had lying around to it. My trellis used to be screwed onto two boards and stuck in the ground with a bunch of birdhouses on it, but it looked sloppy. I hated it. Now I love it all over again <3

Bird Cage

I just want to show off a cool garage sale find. It's my favorite find from the past few weeks. It has threading on the bottom so that you can attach it to a pole, but I like it hanging out on my patio table.

It's the weekend, Happy Hunting!

(How-to posts will come soon, I just didn't have time to take, edit, and post pictures. I'm working all day =P)

Faux Planter

I'm really stalling my post on the bathroom remodel, mostly because I haven't touched up the paint yet. Hey, cut me some slack, I'm a busy mom. Okay, it's mostly that I don't feel like washing paint brushes lately, but whatever.

Anyways, here's a cute planter project. I got the idea after seeing one sold at an auction for over $40. I laughed because you could tell it was made and the previous owner probably didn't pay a dime for it (just like me).

This is low-cost to no-cost.

Faux Planter

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-Pot (I spray-painted an old one white)

-Dirt

-Branches

-hot glue gun

-cheap fake flowers (I chose white to stick with a theme)

1. Fill your pot almost to the top with dirt. Sandy dirt (or just sand) works best

2. Cut some thin branches off a tree ***(I chose a lilac bush)

3. Cut the flowers off a bouquet of fake flowers

4. Stick your branches in the pot and arrange

5. Glue your flowers to the branches (little flowers make it look more oriental, many flowers look more cottage.)

***PLEASE, if possible, cut dead branches. Nothing is more stupid than needlessly harming a plant. I have an overgrown lilac bush, and I found dead branches.

I plan on putting more flowers on mine, but I ran out of time that day.

Coming up: Window Trellis how-to, Post-Feeder how-to, and then MAYBE my bathroom remodel :)

Shepard's Pie

Made this last night, after forgetting that I LOVE Shepard's Pie. It's a nice dish that substituting is great to make many variations. Kids love it, and so do I!


Shepard's Pie
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*2 lbs ground beef
*6-7 potatos (more if you are using red potatos)
*Vegetables (shredding carrots and/or chopped celery, and/or corn, and/or peas)
*1/2 cup onion chip dip (tub sour cream + onion soup mix)
*2 c heavy cream or whole milk
*paprika
*parsely
*1 onion, finely chopped
*1/2 large green pepper, finely chopped
*1 large egg yolk
*2tbs. flour
*2 beef bouillon cubes
*1 cup water
*4 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
*2 tbs. butter

1. Peel the potatos and cook in a large pot with water until soft.
2. Get out a large skillet and brown the beef. Toss in the onions and the green peppers while this is browning. The flavors will soak in better.
3. Add your other veggies to the skillet and continue heating.
4. In a seperate small pan, heat the butter and flour. Add the egg yolk bouillon cubes, water, and worcestershire sauce. Heat until you get a gravy mixture.
5. Add the gravy to the beef skillet and heat another 5 minutes.
6. Turn your broiler on high
7. Drain your potatoes. Add the milk and chip dip. Mash it up really good.
8. Pour your beef into a large casserole dish.
9. Spread the mashed potatoes over the beef.
10. Sprinkle paprika and parsely over the top of the potatoes and place under the broiler until the edges of the potatoes just start to brown.




Coming soon: Faux oriental plant, window trellis, and finally......bathroom redo!

10 money saving Tips

***Tips from Brittany's Pocketbook***


I'm a sucker for sales. Even worse, I'm a sucker for anything FREE. Who isn't? With this economy, I decided to share a few secrets for scoring deals:

1. Walmart.com. Click on "In stores now" and then "Free Samples" For an entire year I didn't purchase a stick of deodorant because Walmart's sample sizes generally can last over a month. Check it weekly.
2. Shop4freebies.com Another one of my favs. They have a daily list of freebies, so check it daily! I've gotten everything from kitchen gadgets to dog food to months worth of shampoo on this site.
3. Department stores. You can score tons of makeup and perfume at counters. Most places like Younkers or Macy's (the ones that have the makeup counters), the associates actually work for the makeup company. The company's worry more about making repeat customers out of you, not making a sale right away. So go up to the counter and tell them that you've been shopping for something specific (weightless foundation, anti-aging creams, etc.) but that you don't want to commit to anything until you've tested it. Sometimes they will slap some on your face right there, but much of the time they will send you home with a tube. I haven't paid for makeup in years.
4. Another Department store. Ask for a sample of a perfume that just came out. The stores usually have sample tubes. If not, spritz a complimentary card 3-4 times with the perfume that you love and stash it in a plastic bag. This can honestly last quite a few days.
5. Spring cleanup. My city sets a few days aside once a year for you to put stuff on your curb that you no longer want. People can come up and take whatever they want. After the said amount of days, city workers will haul away what's left. I got my beloved potting table that way. Just take a car ride around your neighborhood and see what you can find!
6. Hold a swap meet. This can work with basically anything. Swap clothes, split perennials and swap, DVDs. Pretty much anything can be swapped amongst friends.
7. Go to your local health department of government financial center and pick up brochures. I picked up one that is a Dolly Parton reading thing. Anyone ages 5 and under is eligible to receive a new book in the mail every month until they get too old. And it's FREE!
8. Do the same for health insurance if you aren't insured.
9. Kiosks. Oh my lord, do those people running the booths want to do some crazy things to you, but if you have the time, it can be beneficial for you to take your time and let them do it. I've gotten free massages, free pedicures, and free makeovers from those silly places.
10. Rain barrel. I haven't gotten one yet, but it's on my agenda. Half my water bill is just from watering my gardens every day. Let mother nature pay half that bill for you ;)

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

I used to purchase this salad from the deli every week for 5.99/lb, which is ridiculously high priced. I went to my cousin's grad party, where my former aunt had made this salad. I'm in LOVE. She gave me the recipe, yay! It's by far my favorite salad, to the point that I get really annoyed it the grocer's deli didn't make it.

Aunt Sheila's:Broccoli Cauliflower Salad recipe
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1 head cauliflower (break into small bite-sized pieces)
2-3 large bunches broccoli (break into small bite-sized pieces)
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. fried and crumbled bacon

Dressing
-----------
2 cups Mayo
1 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons vinegar

Mix dressing then pour over salad and mix well. Refrigerate and enjoy!


I made this, and LOVED it. I did add a bit more vinegar though.

Terra Cotta Windchime

I know that the next post should be my bathroom remodel, but I need to give a corner one more coat of Canary Yellow (yes, I know), but my silverware windchime fell down, and until I get another ceramic drill bit (other one bit the dust), I can't fix it. So I decided to make a really quick windchime to replace it. I bought a whole box of assorted sized terracotta pots for 50 cents a few weeks ago, and I've been dieing for a way to get rid of the ridiculously small ones. So here you are:

Terra Cotta Windchime
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-terra cotta pots all the same size (use as many as you want)
-farmer's twine (whatever length, depending on how many pots you use)

When I say "make a knot," that means to make it bigger than the whole on the bottom of the planter, for obvious reasons

1. Make a knot about 4-6 inches from the bottom on your twine. Fray all the twine under this knot (the 4-6 inches)

2. Place a pot face down on the knot.

3. Make another knot about 2 inches above the pot.

4. Place a pot face down on that knot.

5. Continue this until you feel you have enough pots. Tie a know on top of the top pot to secure everything, then hang!

***If you decide to use bigger pots, you will need to space the knots 4-5 inches***

Hopefully tomorrow I will display my bathroom.

Headboard Garden

I had an amazing rummaging experience last week, but first I need to put a little backstory past you:

2 years ago, I went to a garage sale. Some good stuff, some bad. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a "free" sign by a tree. A cute little headboard. I figured, "why not?" I decided to use it as a little border on a corner of my driveway. I HATED IT. Every time I drove into my driveway, I cringed inside. I loved the headboard, but it was just too dinky.

So, last week, oddly, I stumbled onto the same exact headboard! They wanted $10 for it, but I wasn't going to pay that for something I was just going to stick in the ground. I got 1/2 off. I love haggling. So I rearranged the headboards, posted a bird feeder between them, and WALA! A much better corner garden! Now I love it! Eventually I will be putting a pretty white lamp-post where the bird feeder is, but in due time. One step at a time.

So that brings me to this once again: cottage-style is about treasures that you find. Repurposing objects.

Now I must depart and fight off a swarm of wasps that invaded my beloved trellis >.<

Update on Patio, Cottage Decor

Alright, I promised an update pic of the patio. It's a bit blurry, but whatever. You get the idea. I still need a bit more concrete, but it probably won't happen until the weekend. There will eventually be grass in between the cracks, but I can't seed it until I install all the blocks and pack the dirt. So it will be a while before it's looking really nice.

Since an update on my patio is a little boring, I thought I would spice up today's post with an idea. Here's a story:

My husband had to go to his camp to clear out some old metal things to bring to the recycling center. There happen to be an old broken wheelbarrow in the mix. He wheeled it to the side of my garage and it has since never moved. It ended up being one of my favorite yard decorations.

So I need to remind everyone: cottage style is about what you make, or what you find. It mostly involves things that other people would throw away, or plants that you split from a friend/neighbor's garden. Take a look up at your own cabin and see what you can salvage, or even head to the dumps. You would be amazed at what you can find.

Large Scrap Trellis

Alright, let's get the How-To on the scrap Trellis done. If you cut a straight line when making your garden room divider, there should be no cuts to make here.

Large Scrap Trellis

----------------------

-Your scrap piece of standard lattice

-2 8' 2x2's

-stain

-staples and staple gun

1.Your scrap lattice should be 8' long. Unless you want a freakishly large trellis (in which case your 2x2's would need to be 10' long) trim off 2 feet off the length of the lattice.

2. Stain the lattice and your 2x2 poles. I actually spray painted my lattice white and only did 2 coats to let the natural wood shine through, giving it a weathered look. This technique also made it pop out better from the side of my white garage. I stained the poles with the same color as my porch railings.

3. Staple your lattice to the top of one 2x2 pole, then do the same on the other pole on the other end of the lattice.

4. Dig two holes spaces as far as the poles into the ground. I only dug down 1 foot because my trellis is stabilized by the side of my garage, but if it's going to be more free-standing, dig the entire 2' down.

5. Plant some nice vines according to your climate zone.

Here's a picture of the side of my garage, almost finished, with some newly planted lilac bushes, my old broken wheelbarrow, trellises, and the previously posted room divider.

Country Style Room Divider

Alright, I've been promising a How-To on the screen room divider, so here we are. I don't have exactly how many boards you need. 1. I winged it by going back and forth to Menards. 2. It depends on how many sections you want. But here it goes:

Country Style Room Divider

---------------------------------

-1x3 boards

-staple gun

-staples

-4x8 standard lattice (we'll use scrap for another project)

-chicken wire

-4 silver hinges (to match the chicken wire)

-2-3 L-brackets (optional)

-stain

Alright, this is pretty straight forward.

1. Cut your vertical boards to 6'. Miter the end of only one side to a 45 degree angle. You need to do this 12 times.

2. Cut the top crossbar to 24 inches. Miter IN both sides to a 45 degree angle. (long side should be 24, short should be 21-ish). Do this 6 times

3. Next we need to do the middle and bottom crossbars. Straight-cut these to 21". DO NOT MITER THE ENDS! Do this 12 times.

4. Now you need to start assembling the pieces. The mitered corners should fit nicely. Look at the posted picture for reference as to how the pieces go. A monkey could figure this out. BUT you should pre-drill holes for your screws because 1x3 boards will split easily without.

5. Once that's all assembled, roll out your chicken wire onto the top opening. Staple it in place, then cut around the edges. That's the easiest way to do it, or else the chicken wire will keep rolling up on you. Do this for only 3 screens.

6. Cut your standard lattice to the dimentions on the bottom hole. Mine was 21" square, so I cut my lattice to 23" square. Cut your pieces the LONG way. This is important for the scrap for a future project. You should end up with one really long piece of lattice.

7. Staple the lattice to the bottom hole on only three. You should probably use longer staples for this. Now you should have 3 screens with chicken wire and lattice, and then 3 with nothing but the frame. Screw the empty frame onto the one with the chicken wire/lattice. This will hide the prickly wires and give it a nice finish. You are essentially sandwhiching in the chicken wire and lattice between two frames.

8. Now all you have to do is stain it all. (You may also want to do this to each piece before assembling to cut down on mistakes of painting the chicken wire, or just be careful). I chose to spray paint the lattice. This is something I also did on an upcoming project. If you only do 2 coats, the paint won't sink in to some rough spots in the lattice. I LOVED THIS! It gave the whole piece a more aged, weathered look, which is a style that I'm addicted to right now.

9. Install the hinges where the 2 lower crossbars are. If you want this screen to fold up nicely, intall the hinges on the front side between the first two, then on the back of the last two.

10. This step is optional. I connected the screen to my house using the L-Brackets. It made a nice little room for my potting bench.

Stay tuned for more projects to come!

4th of July, Patriotic Parfait

What a 4th of July party! Friends and family all gathered to celebrate our great nation's birthday. I learned that I NEED to get that patio finished soon (so many scraped knees from my baby), that if you give my friend enough beer, he'll do almost anything (besides being shot with Roman Candles), and that if you want people to leave your house because you are leaving, you need to ask them if they could lock up the house when they leave.

The decorations were beautiful. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of this momentus day (besides my friend's new "bald-man" look), but I did get to take some pictures today of some leftovers, like my vase with patriotic colors, and my potter (on my new kerosene lamp!) with pretty red flowers.

Anyways, I promised a recipe, so here it is. Sorry there's no picture. I forgot to take pictures and I ate the last one yesterday.

Patriotic Parfait

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3 large tubs of vanilla yogurt (not sure of sizes)

1 tub of Cool Whip

Reddi whip

a bunch of sliced strawberries and blueberries

In a large bowl, combine the cool whip and the yogurt. Then layer your ingredients in a clear cup (I just used plastic). Yogurt, strawberries, yogurt, blueberries, yogurt, line slices of strawberries around the edge then stick a spoon in the top and spray a bunch of reddi whip on the top.

You can freeze this the night before. Take it out about 2 hours before your party.

I DO have pictues of my new how-to's, but I don't want you to get sensory overload. So here's the order of the next posts: room divider, trellis, updated patio, corner garden, bathroom remodel.

Work hard, Play harder

I almost fell asleep at the wheel today. That was pretty scary.
I've just been so busy. Like today:
-Made a trellis
-Made a room divider
-Mowed the lawn
-Weed-wacked
-Painted a table to carry the drink tub
-Wrapped up 30 spoons/forks/knives into cute little festive napkins
-Unclogged the gutters
-Installed more gutter screens
-Swept the deck and washed the wicker cushions
-Commuted to school, took a test
-Went shopping for the party
-Painted the porch railings
-Hung all my plants.
-Potted a butt-load of flowers
-Began cleaning the house
-Helped my husband install our new digital antennae
-Filled all the bird feeders

I didn't know I could do so much within a day. I'm so exhausted, but yet I still have to give one more coat of paint to my bathroom remodel before it's done. So up and coming posts:
Bathroom remodel
How-To screen room divider
How-To Trellis
Update pics of the patio
4th of July recipes and decor

Stay tuned!