My Saturday Project: Bookshelves

Today I tackled my bookshelves in my den.  I love these shelves.  They are similar to the ones in my kitchen and our playroom.

 They are a simple structure that my husband built, and we painted the same color as our walls so they would blend in.  I, once again, got on pinterest to get inspired by some bookshelf ideas.  What really struck me, though was I wanted to display some of my favorite things, and of course it meet our storage needs!  So, here is what we came up with.  A beautiful combination of things we love, our favorite books and pictures that are special to us!  We are pleased!  Hope you agree!

My Saturday

Today's blog was going to be about a couple of projects I had planned to knock out this weekend. I was going to take pictures of my handy husband installing quarter round in our den. Me sewing a curtain for our bathroom-


not out of this fabric. But instead, I got up- with a ginormous headache due to a complete lack of sleep( my big girl slept with me and literally thrashed all night!) . Made pancakes for my family, garlic chicken Alfredo for a friend's birthday party and then noticed that the rosy cheeks from my tired thrasher never faded. I touched her forehead and ... You guessed it- fever!
Time to regroup- so E took my baby to soccer registration. I took my big girl to the dr.


After a sub sandwich for lunch we all came home and crashed. Wanna know the kicker? It was awesome! Saturday afternoon naps are second only to Sunday afternoon naps! So enjoy your Saturday! Take time for a nap!


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My No Cost Rustic Elegant Dining Room Table Decor.

Today I wanted to play a little... Just a little since I really had other things to do. I mean, Have you heard? It is only 22 days til Christmas! Anyway, I decided to play with decorations for my dining room table. Last year our family started a tradition - we ate on our fine china for dinner at night for the month of December. It was a wonderful experience! Even with a 6 and a 3 year old, our dinners were wonderful! This year we started again. So today my baby and I played at decorating out table. This is what we came up with...




What do you think. We used everything we had already, and even clipped the greenery from our yard! It's rosemary, and Nandina clippings in the vase. Here's a shot of my helper




Another angle for you to enjoy:




Merry Christmas! Happy dining!
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Green with Envy Part 2

Baking Soda - It's not just for Baking

A few weeks ago I introduced you to my journey toward more natural living. I have really high ambitions, but am completely satisfied with taking baby steps toward a more earth, family, health friendly lifestyle. So today I thought I would pick a product and tell you the many things I use it for. So I started with my favorite. Baking Soda. This blog will be a multi part blog because I use baking soda for many things, but today I am sharing my house hold uses for it, I will post the health uses another day - when the "Green blogging" mood hits me. Where was I? Oh yes, home uses for baking soda. I will list - it's easier to follow.

1. Place a teaspoon in a vase to make cut flowers last longer.


2. Spread some on the windshield of your car to repel rain.


3. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.


4. Soak dishrags in baking soda and water to remove the smell.


5. Sprinkle along window seals and in basements to repel cockroaches and ants.


6. Scatter it along your flower beds and gardens to keep rabbits from eating your flowers and vegetables.


7. Sprinkle anywhere you want to absorb odor - shoes, slippers, garbage cans, diaper pails, litter boxes... you get the picture.


8. Wash your fruits and vegetables with it.


9. Soak 1 cup in your toilet for an hour before flushing, it will clean and deodorize your toilet bowl.


10. Use it to scrub sinks, porcelain and plastic tubs.


11. Sprinkle on couches, carpets, or any upholstry and let it sit an hour or overnight before vacuuming for a home made dry cleaning option.


12. Combine with water to make a paste to polish stainless steel... I learned this from my many many many restaurant days.


13. Scatter it on your garage floor, scrub, then rinse to cut the grease and oil spills in your garage.


14. 1/4 cup white vinegar and 2 tbsp. baking soda and 1/4 gallon of hot water make a great all purpose cleaner for the home. A few drops of essential oil - I like lemon or orange to give that clean smell in your home.


15. Flush 4 tbsp with hot water down your drains weekly to clean your drains.


16. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water to scrub your enameled cast iron pots and stainless steel pots and pans clean.


17. Make a paste to and rub into clothes to remove grease spots.


18. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution to clean then rinse.


19. Combine 3/4 cup with 1/4 cup salt and 1/4 cup water to clean your oven.

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