Green Your Blog to Support Free and Fair Elections in Iran

I've been neglecting my blog a little lately because my kids are getting out of school in 2 days and it's been a bit busy.

But I'm tuning back in briefly to do this: (to borrow the words of LeeDumond.com) "I’ve temporarily changed the background of my blog to green to express solidarity with those who yearn for freedom in Iran. If you have a blog or website of your own, won't you please consider doing the same? . . .

If you live in the USA or any free country; where you are allowed to say what you want, do what you want, elect the leaders you want, read the blogs you want, and march in the streets if you want, then take a couple of minutes and show your support for these brave men and women who want nothing more or less than to enjoy the same freedoms you and I take for granted every single day.

It won’t take much. Put a green background on your blog or website for a week. It’s a small gesture, but it would mean a lot.

Just do it. And be thankful that you can."

To find out more, go to LeeDumond.com.

Stand With Free Iran

Lamps

Today is Nester's Lampapalooza Party. Here's what I've got to show you . . .

Here's the thrift store lamp I bought for a couple bucks. This picture does not do its ugliness justice. A couple coats of oil rubbed bronze spray paint, add a new lampshade from my closet, throw a tassel at it . . .

Not bad!

Next up, my bathroom chandelier:

I love it, but I hated the chain. I really wanted to sew one of those cute cord covers but didn't have time. So I broke out the hot glue gun.

I cut a very long piece of extra fabric I had sitting in my "to do" pile, and I glued that sucker right on.

Well, I didn't actually glue it to the chain, but I did fold a little hem and glued that. Then I slipped it on the chain.
Can't even tell, can you? My one piece of advice if you try this is, try to go light on the hot glue. It's difficult to get the fabric to bunch up naturally if there is too much glue on it.
This is the most recent addition:

Mr. Jones replaced the nasty builder-brass lights out front. They were pretty cheap, and it made a huge difference.

For more Lampapalooza, stop by Nesting Place.

WFMW - Changing the Trash Bag Faster

Here's a little tip to help you change the trash bag just a little faster when you take out the trash:

Have the kids do it.

Just kidding.

That isn't faster or easier.

Keep a bunch of new bags in the bottom of the trash can.

You don't have to dig a new one out of the cupboard every time you take out the trash. It's just a little bit of time and effort you're saving, but it's nice. Trust me.

You guys probably already do this because you're smart. I'm sure I'm the last one who has figured it out. We were visiting at some friends' house and I saw my buddy reach into her big, tall trash can and come out with a clean bag. Hmmmmm.

For more What Works for Me Tips, stop by We are THAT Family.

Free Furniture

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality asked us to share our thrifty treasures from this week. Does free count as thrifty? Oh, yes, I think it does. Woohooo woohoooo.

I stopped by my friend, Laura's house last week to look at what colors she is painting her basement, and I spied a lonely piece of furniture off in the corner. I freaked because it has some serious potential. She told me she was trying to get rid of it and couldn't. I could have it. For free. I freaked again.

The guys have been teasing poor Miss Laura because they think it is junk. I knew right away what she had seen in this piece when she found it on the roadside years ago. She should get an award for saving it. I'm going to send pictures to all the guys who teased her. They won't even recognize it when I'm done. I can't wait to drench it in paint. I already have some beautiful knobs for it.

The only catch was, I had to get it out of their basement. No problem. Mr. Jones was patient with me. He doesn't see the potential, but he trusts in my vision. He learned to do that when I painted this little desk that looked like trash.

Do you see the vision, too?

Stop by Rhoda's blog for more thrifty finds.

Got Epsom Salt?

Have you ever heard of all the things you can do with Epsom Salt? I had no idea what the stuff was, until I had a conversation with the plant manager at Lowe's. Lowe's always has great sale racks of plants at the very back of the plant department. A lot of times, the plants look pretty sick and wilted. The guy told me, just mix some epsom salt in with water and water the plant with it after you stick it in the ground. It worked! It helps them recover and grow nice and healthy. I had no idea.

So I looked it up on the internet, and it turns out, epsom salt is a great thing to use regularly on all your plants. Apparently, even Martha uses it. For more on using it for your plants (like why and how much), check out this and this.

I noticed that the epsom salt looks a lot like sand because it has big grains, not tiny ones like table salt. I always use this for my hurricanes. Much cheaper than buying pretty white sand.

You can also do things like keep away racoons, soften your skin, and clean tile floors with epsom salt. Go here, here or here to see more ideas.

I'm going to give some of them a try, and I'll let you know if it works.

Little Things I Love

Today is Beautiful Life Friday at The Inspired Room. Here are some little things I love:

Mary Janes. I love them. My feet love them.

My new $49 vacuum cleaner that kicked my Dyson's butt. Kicked it all over the place. (More on that to come in my vacuum cleaner challenge post).

Morning sun on your face.

My constant companion.

The reason I need a kick butt vacuum cleaner.
Cute Corgi ears.

Stop by The Inspired Room for more Beautiful Life Friday inspiration.

When I Run Out of Milk

Do you ever make a pot of coffee in the morning, go to the fridge to get the milk, and Oh, man, no more milk? Or when you're fixing cereal for the kiddos before school? Or when you get home late from vacation? Or you're cooking something?

I don't know about your family, but ours must drink 50 gallons a week. We should have our own cow. (By the way, Costco has the best price on milk in my area. It's about $2.00 less than grocery stores! Yay, Costco!)

Here's what I do:

Before my milk emergency (an emergency because I do not drink coffee without milk), I buy a couple of those little cartons of regular milk and stick them in the freezer. When my coffee emergency happens, I run to the fridge. It is important to get small cartons, because it takes a lot longer to defrost the big cartons. You could also just freeze milk in some small containers. Easy Peasy.

I also buy a couple cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk. It's milk for cooking. It doesn't need a fridge. It's there when you need it.

Just a little bit of planning is all it takes. For more tips, stop by We are THAT Family for What Works for Me Wednesday.

One more thing ... any American Idol fans out there? Did you watch last night? I really wish they would stop making them sing the generic one-size-doesn't-fit-all song as the last song of every season. The songs are lame. They never sound good. It's insanely anti-climactic.

So what do you think? Who are you votin' for? My vote is for Kris. Adam is talented and was my favorite for a while. But at some point, I felt like he was the same every week. Kris gets better every single week. I look forward to seeing what he does. We'll see tonight!