Commitment to get rid of 100 things October Edition

So I was definitely behind the train on getting in to young house love, despite hearing about it last year. Well about four months ago I finally had some time and I sat down to look at it. Fast forward to a few days later when I had looked at the whole darn thing. I love them, I wish they lived closer because I think we could be best buds. I admire the way they live their lives, their thrifty attitude, the commitment the environment & family, their quirky personalities and their love for the hunt.

I pinned a few things from their website and one of them was their post where they fulfilled their commitment to get rid of 100 things. In the beginning they thought it was a daunting project but once they got rolling they ended up getting rid of 222 things.  They started this project because they knew they were moving soon. Guess what we are too.

We are not moving super soon I think we have about seven months left. My husband will be going in to a PHD or graduate school program. I think we will be moving around the end of May. While we I do not live as edited in my possessions as those YH lovers. I am going to take a page from their book blog and work towards it. That is why I am quadrupling the project. My goal is to get rid of 100 things a month until we move. They do not all have to be big things as there will be at least 800, I started back in October so the first load will be classed to October even though it has come and gone. I went on a bit of a tangent knowing that we would be moving and purged a bunch of crap, seriously most of it was thrown away. I also played the game for two days if it does not have a home find it one or get rid of it. This corresponded with organizing my craft drawers. You will see throught this process that this is all my stuff. I am the one that has the hording problem. 

So to start clothes:

27 items, mostly shirts, most notable my Mudd Volleyball shirt from this year. I have gone every year for the past five years. I am not a big t-shirt person and I really did not like this years design. Out it goes. Also some 7 Of Mankind jeans I found at a thrift store for $5. Well my friend Melissa found them, but they fit me so I bought them. They had weird pockets, I can only remember seriously wearing them once. I just got caught up in the brand/price. Do not do that. 

The black dresser

a pair of shoes

hat
scarf
lacy cartigan that is so cute but I have never worn.
4 bottles of V. Sattuii Mosacto empty bottles
box of stuff for old phones
box for the  bootineers for the wedding
glasses case
4 small canvases
hair tie tin
warped scrabble coaster I saved the letters I could
empty bottle of Dom
pitcher
cocco tin
orange votive
iron candle holder
A colander
2 mugs
2 pop up tupperwares (pre bph)
4 bottle bottles (pre bph)
wine holder
3 clear glass votives
3 green taper candles
drawstring bag
ladle
hand held strainer
loose leaf tea holder
2 pillar candle bases
business card holder
wallet
wine arreroartor
contact case
Little green frame
age box
camera case
swatch watch
2 ice cube trays
2 packages of pipe cleaners
bracelet box
jeweler box
kids tin
Christmas ornament
plastic carring case
guitar pick necklace
medal from FBLA
cowboy figurine
2 wedding bells
key chain
hair clip
frog
egyptian bracelet
4 furniture knobs
2 eye masks

104
Which was 4 over due to me buying 4 shirts at the Salvation Army last week. 4 in 4 out.  700 to go.

25 things under $25

The time of secret Santa's and white elephant parties. Here are a few of my choices that I would love to   unwrap:

Pure maple flakes $11.95. Not super expensive, they seem to decatant, lovely I would love to try them in cocoa and on sugar cookies. Not something I would buy for myself. 

Dr. Schulze's Air Detox 4 oz $24.00 Makes the room smell better, wards off sickness. 

Stained by Sharpie 8 count $19.49 I looked and looked for these at Joann's so that I could get them 50% off. Alas they do not carry them. What the crap? They carry every other kind of Sharpie except for these. I bought a green fabric marker of another brand, but I feel like I maybe delaying the project, because of it. 

Water color world map no. 6 $25.00 Love this would love it in the bedroom. 

The apothecary matchstick bottle small $15 I am loving candles in the house right now. This is way classier then a lighter. I would also not spend the money on this myself. They are sold out right now, but they think they will be in stock after the 30th.

Beeswax candle 6.3 oz for $21.00 burns for 48 hours and comes in a cute jar. I have been burning through all of the candles in the house right now so that I can can move to exclusively beeswax in the future. 

Rub and buff Spanish Copper .5 oz $13.43 Needed for an AMAZING upcoming project.

Young house love the book $17.30 no explanation needed. 

Electric oil warmer $20 For all those end of the candle bits and essential oils for when I need a break from honey. 

Clarisonic body brush $25

Clarisonic body brush extension $25

EradiKate $22

Tweezerman Satin Etched Zebra tweezers $25

Air Control hairspray $24

Letterpress mixed group unique fonts $18

Industrial Light Vintage Style Porcelain Mount Fixture with Metal Wire Cage Guard $22

Pocket hand warmers set of two $20

Straws of Steel four count $10

Mushroom Kit $19.95

Cards against Humanity $25

Apples to Apples $19.99

Threshold tumbler $19.99 

$25 itunes gift card

Libbey Glass pitcher $14.99

LED baseball cap $24

Happy Shopping!!!

How to Fake a Bed Skirt

After doing a deep clean on our guest room I thought I would show you how I fake our bed skirt. We have risers for the bed so we can have storage underneath something that I hope we will not need one day. 

I always start in the corner, I only have one that I need to do right now as the bed is pushed up against one wall. I used a bit of brown paisley to add a little interest  I pinned it o the box spring with straight pins but you could use safety pins as well. 

It started as two table cloths I place one on the long side and one on the short side. Then pin in place. Have two people lift the mattress on so you do not pull your pins out. 

Dress your bed.

Yay, you are done.

Turkey Stock

Last week  we had a Thanksgiving at work. We had three turkeys and everyone brought in sides and desserts. On of my big regrets from the Christmas party last year, I almost took the ham bones home but then I was too embarrassed or something and I did not. Well, I did not make that mistake this year. When I left work today I left with tree turkey carcasses. While I got several weird looks I did not care. I was going to make turkey stock and freeze it for the winter. When I got home and was getting ready to break apart the turkeys I realized that there was a decent amount of meat left on there. So I started to shred the turkey in a much more personal hands on way then they were willing to do at work. I ended up with three pounds of turkey. Mind you these birds were only twelve pounds each so three pound of meat was pretty cool. I did not take any pictures of my disassembled turkey carcasses but I made  two batches of broth in my slow cooker, since it was already out from the pot luck. Here is the breakdown:

• 1 1/2 turkey carcasses
• 4 large carrots chopped in to large chunks
• 4 stalks of celery chopped in to large chunks
• 1 yellow onion chopped in to quarters
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 6 bay leaves
• 2 Tablespoons of Ms. Dash 
• 1 Tablespoon of thyme
• 10 peppercorns
• 12 cups of water

Put everything in the removal able iron insert and put it in on the stove on high heat for twenty minutes until it starts to boil then put it in the slow cooker base on high for 4 hours and then reduce it to low heat for 8.

After you refrigerate it overnight take it out and scrape out all the fat that has hardened on the top. 

Magic in Minutes Monday ~ New French Script Pillows

I love, love, love the little green notebook. I stalk that blog. I wished she posted more, several times a week I check and I am disappointed when it is a post I have already read. I have learned that Jenny does not disappoint. According to Pintrest I pinned this picture 29 weeks ago:

According to the date on my camera I took the pictures of these about seven months ago. But better late then never I thought I would still share these with you. If you read Jenny's post she got king sized  pillow cases and made two cases out of them with zippers. Well I hate zippers, maybe because I am not great at them. 

I ourchaced the fabric from Denver Fabric and it was quite a bit more expensive that I would usually pay. $22 - $25 a yard, but I love it and Mike loves it so I just measured out how much I needed (which I cannot remember at this point and had them cut it to size. I Ironed the hems that would be on each side so they would be perfectly coordinating, and I would only have to iron once. (smile)

Once all the seams are ready to be sewn fold the fabric in half so it can be ironed and cut evenly. 

Cut in half and fold to desired dimensions for me that was eighteen inches. 

Make two at once to make sure they are the same that the folds are at the same point. 

Refold inside out so that the sides can be hemmed, pin. At this point hem, then fold right side out and iron. Then use your markings on your sewing machine to make a dark line inset from the edging. I think I went around three or four times, but I did not take a picture. 

This is your final product. I always stuff in a pillow insert that is three to four inches larger than the pillowcase is to make them extra fluffy and full. 

On our couch. 

Thursday Thrifting ~ Nightstands

I have been wanting to do the guestroom for a while now. I tried to get Mandi to pick me for the Vintage revivals Epic room makeover, I did not make it. I have been stuck. I feel like it is a pretty nice place for our guests. Mike wanted it orange and we painted it orange. But it is not the best it can be. I was at the Salvation Army a while back and I spied these end tables and I thought they would be great night stands. 

I love the sweet little details and the hardware.

I love the wood grain on the top. 

This is what I would have done with them if I had gotten them:

I could have finished them like this gorgeous end table from Curbside Creations. I love the mocha top since the grain is so pretty and I would have painted the bottom dove gray. I think I would have added a bottom shelf like that with the same interesting shape to hold baskets with for more storage. 

Or painted it like this dresser makeover from Casa Sugar, just a canary yellow. I would have sprayed the hardware white just like they did. 

Alas they were $50 each so they did not come home with me. 

Magic in minutes Monday ~ Homemade Wallflowers

I have had wallflowers in my house for years and adored them. I was not deterred when some people told me that they can burn your house down, or cause damage to your house. Which I have never had an issue with. I saw this on Pintrest, I am always on the look out of ways that I can make things myself so that I know exactly what is in there, that I do not have to run to the store on a whim and it also usually has significant cost savings. That is when I learned that they contained VOCs. To be fair I have not been able to find any that did not contain them. I felt silly but after years and years of low VOC paint and such I was shocked that anyone would still have products that produced that compound. 

According to the EPA here are the heath ramifications of VOCS:

Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.

The ability of organic chemicals to cause health effects varies greatly from those that are highly toxic, to those with no known health effect. As with other pollutants, the extent and nature of the health effect will depend on many factors including level of exposure and length of time exposed. Eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders, and memory impairment are among the immediate symptoms that some people have experienced soon after exposure to some organics. At present, not much is known about what health effects occur from the levels of organics usually found in homes. Many organic compounds are known to cause cancer in animals; some are suspected of causing, or are known to cause, cancer in humans.

As someone who suffers from migraines and would like to limit my use or exposure of chemicals that can cause cancer I was on board. 

So following the tutorial this is what I did:

I started with a couple of empty wall flowers in my favorite sent eucalyptus spearmint.

Using a pair of pliers you have to pull out the wick. This can be a little tricky if it is not budging easily use a butter knife to loosen it out a little. 

Pull it out beware of the little nail.

You will then have some empty bottles. I filled according to the instructions about a third of the way full of essential oils. Twenty drops of spearmint and ten drops of eucalyptus, as eucalyptus is a super intense smell. 

Enjoy! I will report back on how they work out.