Before and After Garden Planters with Valspar Outdoor Spraypaint

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Just so you know in advance, I do not have a green thumb. Yet every spring I plant flowers. I had much more success when we lived in Oregon, but Texas heat does me in every summer. I love giant pots, but the one in the photo has seen better days. You can tell from the picture that it was getting a scrub down, and it was still in desperate need. I picked up the Valspar outdoor spray paint earlier this week when I was shopping at Lowes. My son had brought home flowers from school and we had to grab some little pots and we decided at least one should have some color. I decided since I had the bottle I should do the giant pot since it was so pitiful. I was shocked when I was done, because HOLY MOLY its BLUE! In the end I decided I really do like it. I think it will be the pop of color my front area needs when those flowers are no longer blooming and the green stuff left is getting leggy. Hello Texas heat! Here are some more shots. 

 

Here is the can in case you need a visual on what to look for at the store.

 

The littler pots are shown below. We kept one black and the other one we painted. Please pray for the sunflower my son brought home that is planted in the black pot. It's not faring well and my son was really attached to this little plant. 

Here's a close up from the side. The paint helped bring out some of the details along the side. 

Here's hoping I don't kill the flowers before the dreaded Texas drought kicks in! I'll leave you with a few more shots of some other planters I have flanking our garage. I picked them up last year at TJ Maxx and love them. I figure by next year they will need some paint---what color would you go with?

They are an easy combination of flowers. In the back is Mandevilla. I have a tomato cage over it that I picked up at the dollar store last fall. I'm hoping it will wind around it. Off on each side are sweet potato vines (Chartreuse and dark purple) a coleus in the middle and petunias that should spill over soon. 

Ignore the messy lawn off to the side of this one. As my kiddos were leaving for school the other morning, I heard my youngest say, "Daddy, look at all the pretty flowers!". My husband didn't skip a beat and said, "Don't worry, they'll all be dead in 2 weeks!". 

So I only have to make it past 2 weeks and I'll exceed expectations. I'm thinking about installing a watering system Have you done that? Do you remember to water yours? Do your flowers make it through the summer? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy Spring!

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The best study sites and apps for you or your little student

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So in my last post I mentioned that I had gone back to school. I was debating on applying for nursing school and only had about 3 prereq's left. So last semester I took a 300 level psych class, microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology 2. I'd like to tell you I had the best prof's in the world and that I didn't need supplementation, but I did. Thankfully I remembered a lot of sites that my children used and was able to find almost all the info I needed. Sometimes seeing it in a condensed youtube video over 3-5 minutes is easier than relistening to an hour long lecture. 

My #1 Tip

Google is your friend

So is that search bar in youtube. The more specific you get the better your hits will be. So if the subject you are studying isn't on one of the sites I'm listing, you will be able to find it this way. 

1. My first site is one of our family favorites. My older boys watch a lot of his videos during the summer to keep their brains fresh. He's easy to listen to and is very detailed. So my #1 pick is Kahn Academy. 

2. My second choice is for more visual learners. For some reason, being able to draw out the charts or images really helps me with recall. Plus he has a very pleasing voice (hello attractive accent!). So kudos to HandWrittenTutorials, a sharpie has never looked so good!

3. My third choice is Crash Course. This youtube channel has almost every subject under the sun, with a bunch of humor thrown in. Sometimes having a joke can really make a difference in whether or not you are able to recall the info. My jr high son's biology teacher uses these in her class, and the kids find it a very approachable teaching method. 

4. Interactive Biology. This site is more science based, but I absolutely can not leave this guy out. He has helped a lot. He is more science based, and has been a lifesaver for me. I see he is actually a high school teacher---I really wish he was mine! Special thanks to my friend Jacyln who told me about his site!

Now onto Apps……There are a TON of study apps out there. And I know I did not go anywhere near testing them all. However, these are the 2 that I absolutely positively could not live with out.

Quizlet This app is handy to have on your phone because it is basically virtual flashcards. You don't have to carry a ton of index cards around anymore! I used the website more than the app on my phone. You create your own flashcards. It is genius because it will make "tests" and has all kind of interactive methods to get you to learn your cards. Also, my hand did not go numb from writing all the cards! I was able to copy and paste vocabulary terms directly from the online version of my textbook. You can also form "classes", so my micro lab group would split who did what chapter, which cut our work by 1/3! Whoop for teamwork! You can also search their database. Chances are someone has created a set you need!

Audiomemos   Make sure you ask for permission before recording anything! My micro teacher was gracious and generous and allowed us to record lectures. This was one of the best things ever. I tried to use the default recorder on my iPhone, but it tended to get more static and it was a bit limited in its capabilities. So I decided to give this app a whirl. I am so glad I did. There are adjustments to cut out background noise, but the best part for me was an add on that allowed me to listen at faster speeds. On a test day, I could listen to almost a whole lecture in double speed and get the whole thing almost done by the time my commute was done. SCORE! Having the ability to just speed through, refresh my memory, and slow down on stuff I had forgotten and didn't understand was worth every single penny. 

So that's my wrap up. These are all apps/websites I used on my own and had success with. No one has sponsored me or asked for my opinion. These are the same apps and websites that I continually shared and encouraged my classmates to use as they were personally tested and approved of by me--for whatever that is worth! I'm sure there are more out there that are very helpful. If you have an app or website that you have had great success with I would love if you leave a note in the comments section! Good luck to everyone on final exams and their classes! 

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Where I've been….

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    In January I got a wild hair to go back to school. That has been fun and interesting. I'll be posting some school stuff later on this week (sites that have helped me, hints and tips, etc). Going back to college is basically why I dropped off the face of the earth. Finals wrap up in about 10 days and I'll be back to blogging. I have lots of projects to blog about, a vacation to Europe to blog about, and a recap about my recent trip to the SNAP conference. So anyhow, that's the latest. Thanks for hanging in there with me! Love you all!

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Look honey, FREE Wood. And other random things my husband has found in my minivan.

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So yesterday I come home from the grocery store and my husband puts on his shoes to do the gentlemanly thing  (unload groceries). I wanted to block the door, scream NO!!!!!, anything but let him go out there. But I was a good wife and merely went to the kitchen and started unloading the bags. Every time he brought bags in he stared at me. I could feel his eyes staring me down. No comments yet. Then finally on the last load he says, "what exactly is that you have in your van??".  BUSTED.

 

"Oh That??? That's nothing. Don't worry about it. I've got it covered!". The stares continue. This is what was left in my van after the groceries were out. 

 

Man! My minivan can really cram it in.  So how exactly does one end up with a bunch of wood planks (complete with nails) in the back of one's minivan? Well….They get there after you take them from the side of the road where they were waiting for the Bulk Garbage Man to take them away. So I rescued them. Sort of. 

 

See, my friend had to move away (insert sobbing here). She and her husband are now several hours away, but have come in on the weekend to do some work around the house since its now on the market. I am helping them out with painting, etc. They had put the wood up on the wall in the youngest boy's room and had to take it down to make the house more neutral for perspective buyers.  When I stopped by their house to do another coat of paint it was sitting by the side of the road. I did wait until after I texted her and had permission before throwing it in the van as fast as I could. Our text messages went something like this.

Me: OMG!!! Are you throwing out all that wood that was on M2's walls?????? 

Her: Yes, do you want it????

Me: Yes! Loading up now! THANKS!

Her: Hubby says watch for nails!

Me: No worries, I had a tetanus shot! 

*****Note to self. Get tetanus shot! You are not up to date!*****

I managed to get all the nails out today and now I have a serious pile of wood to work with. I'm dreaming of projects. Which I need to actually put into action soon, because I think hubby is going to scream if I try to shove 1 more project into the garage. 

Here are pics of my pile:

 

 

So what would you make with it? And have you ever salvaged wood from the side of the road?? Has your husband found hidden gems in your vehicle?  Do tell!!!!!

 

 

 

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Turn a small hallway into a family control center! Conquer school paper clutter! All for around $100

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So the 4 kids went their merry way to school and came home with a plethora of paperwork. Seriously??? So I decided that instead of piling it all over the breakfast bar and kitchen island, this year was going to be different! This was the school year we are going to be more organized (cue Superman music here)! What to do, what to do…. I decided that the mini hallway we have in between the playroom and kitchen would be the best bet for a control center. Here are some of the before pics:

 Notice that I taped off all the trim like an organized/prepared painter? Makes me feel like a grown up when I do things like that! The tape I used was Frog Tape and I scored it in my swag bag at Haven. I've used it before though, because we have highly textured walls and this seems to be the only tape that really works.

 

I was originally inspired by this picture:

 

The Yellow Cape Cod

That picture just makes me swoon. Doesn't it say organized all over it? I also made the bags, but those are going somewhere else. Be sure and check out her blog, it's one of my absolute favs!

So here's my version:

 

First I painted the wall. And then I freaked. I may have said to my friends on Facebook that it looked like and Easter Egg threw up on my wall. 

It took me 2.5 days to get used to the white walls looking like this, but in the end I liked it. 

 

The chalkboard keeps our daily activities in check. That way the week is all laid out. There is a letter bin for each kiddo for all that paper clutter!

On the other side I put in a freestanding letter bin, a small board with clips, and a bulletin board.

Here you can see the bulletin board. It houses more important paperwork, like school menus, athetic team game dates, etc.

The freestanding letter bin was a splurge, but I love it. It has sections for "To file, etc". 

The board with the clips was very easy to make. The hardest part was finding the right glue for the job (not hot glue, not craft glue). Only E-6000 seemed to do the job!

 

 

Added accessories: Over the Playroom door. Three vintage tiles I purchased years ago from a garage sale. I believe they were sold by Southern Living at Home. 

 

 

 So here is the price breakdown:

Chalkboard Wall:

• Chalkboard paint $10 (didn't even use half of it)
• trim for board (4 poplar boards @1.99 each plus a decorative trim molding ($2 @ habitat restore) $10
• Board for chalkboard (my way is too textured to paint directly on it, so I used a dry erase board from Home depot, I had it cut to size there $10
• The letter bins were a splurge at $16.99 each. I tried to make my own from Lady Goats tutorial  but that was a Big Fat FAIL! I found these at TJ Maxx
• The iron scrollwork I had around the house, it was purchased years ago from Entertaining at Home (I don't believe they are in business anymore?)
• The actual paint for the space was on sale. It is Valspar and was $20/gal on sale. Even with 2 coats of paint on heavily textured walls I didn't even use half of it. 

For the other side of the Hallway:

•  The bulletin board I already had, I just repurposed it by painting the edge with trim paint. 
•  The clip board was made by using a leftover board, painting with trim paint and glueing clips I found at Hobby Lobby on (clips were $2.40 after coupon)
• The other splurge was the big letter bin. It was $29.99 at TJ Maxx. Well worth it. 

So that's it!!! What do you think? The bins are already filling up with paperwork. The chalkboard has helped out a ton with keeping up with all the activities. The boys are disappointed I won't let them color on it, so I think I need to make another one somewhere else for them to play with! Total cost of project breakdown: $91.37. I cut the cost of the paint in half because I only used half of the amount. If you had to bought the big sizes out right like I did it would cost $106.37. I'm sure you could save money on the letter bins if you made them yourself. I just apparently am not the best at using a jigsaw. Thanks for looking at the blog today, I really appreciate it!

 

 

 

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How to clean toothpaste stuck in your sink with no harsh chemicals or smelly disinfectant wipes

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My four boys have beautiful teeth. They brush them every night in the bathroom they share (click here to see their Pottery Barn inspired Bath I blogged about earlier this year). Dentist appointments have been cavity free. But I'm not sure why. Because in all honesty, I'm wondering what they are brushing their teeth with. Because after they have done their nightly routines, this is what is left in the sink

LOVELY isn't it? This could also be why we go through a tube a week!

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Remove paint from door hinges easily and simply. No chemicals needed!

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     We bought our house brand new, straight from the builder. Apparently the painters our builder used didn't waste their time surfing Pinterest. Otherwise they would have known about this clever little trick! Granted, our house is 5 years old now and pinterest or the post from UglyDucklingHouse didn't exist, but hey, these were professional painters people! Anyhow, in case you are painting doors (or hiring someone to do so) please share this tip! 

UglyDucklingHouse

Anyhow, our interior doors for the most part were done correctly. The painters had painted over the hinges on our back door, front door, and the door going to the garage. Here are a few pics of their stellar job. 

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