Decorative Solar Light

I would never say that I'm a pack rat. When I think of "pack rat" I think of someone that has to hang onto EVERYTHING because there is emotional value. I'm not one of them.

But I do believe that I'm part of a new breed of "pack rat" that I'll term as "store-for-the-future squirrel."

What's the difference, you ask? I will find something at a garage sale or auction that I MUST have, but I have no use for. So I buy it and tuck it away into any nook or cranny in my house, just as a squirrel prepares for the winter.

But I know, just like Mr. Squirrel, that I will use these found objects some day, whatever I may use them for.

Why the story? Because today's project cost me only 59 cents! That's just for the vines. Everything else, even the light, I had. The rope, though it was no longer usable, had a charm to it (and I have no idea where it came from), and I never throw away usable wood. I stored things that I love and turned it into something cute years down the road. Now that's thrifty!

Decorative Solar Light

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3" Landscaping Timber, treated

Rope

Wood Glue

4" screws

Spade bit

Solar Light

Decorations

Staple gun

1. Cut your landscape timber into lengths of 21" 17" 13" and 9"

2.Glue and clamp all the timbers together in decending order (reference picture). Let that dry for a day.

3. Reinforce the wood by screwing the 4" screws through the wood. Plan this ahead so that the rope will cover the screws!

4. Check the pole of your solar light. Use a spade bit the same size as the pole. Drill down into the longest timber.

5. If you matched up the sizes correctly, then push your solar light on the top. It should fit snuggly. If you made the hole too large, just put some glue in the hole, put your light in, and let dry.

6. Staple one end of your rope to the back and wrap the rope around 3-4 times. Secure the end in the back with another staple.

7. Embellish as you please! I used some vines and the end of my rope had a cool clasp on it, so I used that. Wala!

Thank you Uncle Bart and Aunt Rita for coaching me through this one!

Mailbox Redo

I redid my mailbox a few days ago. No "before" picture. Sorry, I'm lazy. But let's just say that it was a floral abomonation that I had thought was soooo cute only 3 years ago. It....was....ugly. Anyways, here's my new mailbox redone. I'm not good at freehand, so I WILL be painting over the lettering and getting myself some stencils. Things are smeared for obvious reasons. But I'm just in love with this "wine" color. I'm smitten <3

Sorry for the picture quality. This emormous "bush" on the side of my house is apparently a walnut tree. Someone planted too many seeds next to each other (or mabye Mother Nature did this) and now my tree won't grow upwards. It's now a walnut "bush." Commical, no?

P.S.-----100th Post Today!!!

Tips from Brittany's Liquor Cabinet

I had a cute post today, but after I got done taking pictures, my SD card farted, then died. So maybe tomorrow you'll see something of interest. But for tonight....

***Tips from Brittany's Liquor Cabinet!***
It's no secret that I enjoy a good brew. So I will share a few lessons, tricks, or tips learned from my very short years of being able to consume it.

1. Don't call, text, instant message (including Facebook, Twittering, MySpace posts), after consuming large amounts of alcohol. Nothing you say will make sense, and you could make a few enemies.
2. If any mixed drink curdles (I honesly don't care if it's SUPPOSED to curdle) don't drink it.
3. If Moonshine tastes like rubbing alcohol, then it probably IS rubbing alcohol.
4. For the ladies, heels and alcohol don't mix.
5. The slogan for Budweiser is "drinkablility" and that's probably because they stick as much water into it as they can get away with.
6. Yaegar comes in so many different sizes that you can actually make a shrine.
7. At least once in your life, you need to make up a drink that people LOVE. So far I have participated in the "Snowcone" and the "Junior Mint," and it should always be done with good friends and family ;)
8. Tallcans can actually be cheaper than the regular size. Dig for bargains, people!
9. BLOW OUT YOUR FLAMING SHOT BEFORE YOU DRINK IT!!! I've never seen a lady's face catch fire like that before.....lol.
10. Packing a cooler of beer in the car so that you can be literally drinking while driving tops the stupidity chart.

Da Yooper Pastie

We're getting back to our Yooper roots tonight, with home-made pasties. Do NOT pronounce this (Pay-stee), that's a woman's undergarment. Anyways, my Aunt Linda made awesome pasties at the family reunion, so I tried my hand at it.

Da Yooper Pastie
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Pie Dough:
-3 cups flour
-1 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
-1/2 cup water
-1 tsp. salt

Mix the flour and salt. Then cut in shortening a little at a time. Now put in the water all at once and mix with a spoon, until you have a clump of dough that stays together. This dough will be very moist, so you can work just enough flour in with your hands to make it a plyable and soft dough. Hint: Use a lot of flour when rolling, also.

Filling:
1 lb. cubed steak (round, sirloin, ground chuck, depending on your budget)
4 cups cubed pealed potatoes
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup of 1/4 inch cubed rutabaga (carrot can be substituted, but rutababas are better)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F
Mix it all in a large bowl.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll out one at a time into a 12" circle about 1/4 inch thickness (use lots of flour on your rolling surface)
Fill each with one with a heafty size cup of the filling. Fold the crust over the mixture. (It now is a half circle).
Roll the excess edge up to meet the form of the ingredients.
Gently pick up the pastie with a spatula and place on a large cookie sheet and cook them for 1 hour.

This took me about 2 hours to prep from peeling the potatoes to closing the crusts, plus the hour to cook, so make these if you have time and want to feel like "Suzie Homemaker." IF you don't have the time that I did today, you can save about half (or more) time by buying premade pie crusts (try Crisco's), and buy pre-cubed steak, or if you don't like rutabaga, buy pre-cut carrots. So don't shy away from this recipe because it seems long and tedious. There ARE shortcuts.




I have a really cool How-To coming up that my husband thought of, and another How-To that my uncle is teaching me how to do (but I'm desperately trying to find a special drill bit)

Bathroom Remodel

Here's the pics on my bathroom remodel as promised.

The walls are canary yellow. It's a very small bathroom on the second level of my house, and I wanted something very bright and cheery to open up the space.

I was on a tight budget for this project, so I installed a white chair rail all the way around the walls and painted below it to give it a wainscoating/country paneling type look. It's much cheaper than buying the paneling and the look is about the same.

I added a big mirror (not pictured for lack of a decent angel to take a picture) on the wall behind the door to add the illusion of depth.

I didn't have enough money in the budget to install new flooring, so I painted the linoleum a bright white and put a plush pastel yellow rug over the top.

For a touch of luxury, I added a hemp basket on

the back of the "Crapper" (a little inside joke for those readers that were at the family reunion this past weekend), with soft face towels rolled in them.

Since the angling of the ceiling didn't permit for a mirror to be added to the back of the sink (unless I wanted a view of my chest every day), I hung a beautiful painting of a flower with soft pastels over it instead. The opposite wall has two similar paintings, but smaller, hanging.

With the purchase of expensive (but on Yellow Dot at Younkers, so not so expensive for me!) decorative towels, a few nice candles, fake tropical plants, and pretty tealights (that my mother-in-law made), my bathroom came together wonderfully.

Sure, there are some more things I have planned. Like changing that ugly light (that happens to be a fan that vents into my closet. Dear Lord....) with a gorgeous sconse I've had my eye on, new fixtures on the sink, and matching accesories. But for the most part, I'm pleasantly pleased with my remodel.

Sorry I don't have any "before" pictures. It was so bad. Let me explain. Floral wallpaper all the way to the ceiling. The door was wallpapered with the same crap. Then the ceiling had wallpaper (I know, absolutely stupid). But not with ordinary wallpaper. On no! With FABRIC wallpaper! Who does that?! I was in such a hurry to get this project started, I completely forgot to take "before" pictures. Sorry!