Brownies in a jar

my tea stained tags and twine I bought at a dollar store

My $1  brown paper gift  bags



$1 dollar tissue paper



The finished product - Brownies in a jar !

Ta-da ! Inexpensive homemade Christmas gift

I needed something thoughtful yet inexpensive for several Christmas gifts, times being what they are I needed to come up with a gift idea that was fairly inexpensive. Then I thought about a gift in a jar idea. My family loves sweets so  brownies in a jar seemed like the perfect idea ! I had several mason jars at home complete with lids and rings so I didn't have to spend the money buying all of those ! I had most of the ingredients on hand as well ( another money saver) so all I had to do was go buy some twine & some rustic/primative looking wrapping items and I was set.I went to a local dollar bargain store and found what I was looking for.I went home measured out all the ingredients put them in the jars, slapped on a recipe label & ta-da... a neat , delicious homemade gift ! At least I know this gift will get used lol. All in all the gifts cost me less than $20 and they look neat too !

Just some funny videos

These are just some of the funny , random videos I have on youtube of my family, we obviously love to laugh and have a good time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6zHxCKtAuQ&feature=share&list=UUTwiAcUvDpZXMoC9O5l4V_w


My husband being silly during Karaoke at the house lol

Old window repurposed into a pot rack

Before, but after one coat of paint

after

I made this some several months ago and I'm just now getting around to putting it on here. I love old windows, they have so many uses. I needed a pot rack so I decided to make one out of one of the old windows I have. I had black paint on hand so all I needed was a few simple things, like screws,hooks and chains & some lighting. First I painted the window flat black then sanded the edges to make it look distressed. I then screwed the hooks into the corners to attach the chains. I added lights and it was done !

Pallet gate

I had to make a gate for my fainting goats and I didnt want to sink alot of money into it. I always have pallets on hand so I knew I could make something that would work. I bought 2 hinges for $2 and attached them to the pallet & the fence post..tada---a new gate ! ps...please note Sid is mid faint in the backgound lol

donkeys & fainting goats



My 2 "asses" lol just kidding honey...





Sid...our fainting goat..in a mid faint





Our newest addition 




I didnt realize when I took this picture that you could see the "Ass crossing " sign in the background...too funny


I am having a blast with my new animals, they are so much fun ! I love coming home to them everyday. They are just so sweet ! Farm animals are definetely therapeutic !

Pallet Fence

I made these over the summer, they were free and I already had paint on hand. It took a couple of hours to paint them because I had to brush it on. I have since learned that when painting pallets, it is best to use spray paint :)   

Another new do !



dark hair with caramel highlights

So I couldn't take it anymore and had to change my hairdo & color again ! This time I wanted to add a little more dark and change the color of my blonde highlights so i decided to give a caramel color a try...I love it !

Oreo.....my new fainting goat !

Just went and got our new fainting goat !

Our new donkey !

I love this little guy! He is amazing,so sweet !

Sid, our new fainting goat !

Meet Sid , my new Fainting goat !

Our new fainting goat ! OMG we love him, he is amazing !

Kitchen floor



Kitchen floor before, bare down to the subfloor- look at my husband working so hard :)  



I have been working on different projects in my kitchen for the last little bit. I was undecided on which type of flooring I was going to put down. All my floors are hardwood and I initially wanted to do tile in my kitchen to make it stand out but instead I went a different route. I was at the store with my husband trying to decide on flooring and I didn't want to put a fortune into the floor but it needed to be replaced.I couldn't find any tile that I liked and wasn't crazy about laminate in the kitchen. All my other floors are solid oak flooring but I didnt want to fool with all the staining & upkeep that goes along with wood flooring.We were about to leave when my husband spotted the above style flooring. It is a vinyl planking that looks like real wood and it has a 25 year waranty. Each plank is about 8 inches wide and it is so simple to install. The installation is similar to installing laminate except its way easier.Me and my husbnad put this new flooring down in one day, meaning everything was tore out and replaced in the same day !  In the end I kepy my rustic/country kitchen feel and I love the floor ! It was simple and it only cost about $230 to do the entire kitchen.   

Shingles for slippery steps

I recently re-did my front entryway and used a non-slip paint on my front steps.The steps were not slick but I felt they needed some added protection. I needed to do something and wanted to use what I had at home. So I found some old roofing shingles I had from about 15 yrs ago that were covered up in my building. I wasn't sure if they would work but I decided to give it a try. I got the shingles out to make sure they were salvageable and they were. I then took a utility knife and cut them to fit. Next I took some old roofing nails and tacked them to my steps.The real test came when it poured the rain down the next day. The shingles did amazing, and the best part was it didn't cost me anything since I had the shingles on hand. If you try this and don't have any old shingles at your house ,I would check a local Habitat for Humanity store, they usually have some there at a discount.

Entryway on a budget

This was my entry way before

Entryway before



My entryway was in dire need of some kind of makeover. The paint on the steps was peeling and it had no color or pizazz.It was bland and boring.I went to my building and found all the paint that I had and tried to come up with a color scheme that would work. I found red & grey paint and decided to use them to somehow spruce my entryway up.I decided to paint the steps red and also my new $19 screen door .I then painted the trim around my door grey to make my front door stand out. I also bought a pack of anti-slip mix for $5.99 to add to my paint for the steps and also a $13 screen door hardware kit (knobs,hinges etc.)  I got a whole new entryway look for $37.50 plus tax.  :)  

Deck redo on a budget



This was my deck when it was halfway done. 


I needed to redo my deck but didn't have alot on money to put into it. The boards were weathered quite bad and I thought the whole deck may need to be replaced.I did some research and came across some deck repair paint at the local home improvement store.I bought it and thought I would give it a try before I tore my deck boards off.  I washed the deck and then screwed down any loose boards before I painted.The paint had a gritty texture and it  was difficult to roll on the deck. I had to use a 3 inch wide paintbrush to apply it to the deck boards first then use a special roller to roll it over the boards.It was alot of work but the results were amazing. My deck is about 15 x35. I bought one 5 gallon bucket and one gallon of paint for the deck,it covered the deck and I had some to spare.  In total I spent about a $100 to redo my deck.    




The deck after being painted



More highlighting !

Since my last post I have had more highlighting, I am beginning to believe I am addicted to highlighting my hair lol As you can tell in the pictures my hair is versatile lol .I try to take good care of my hair considering how much I put it through, that is why  I love Redken products, they make your hair so shiny and healthy ! My favorite product is "guts" it pumps up your hair and makes it more manageable ! It is great for both straight and curly hair! In the summertime I just like my hair lighter because it reflects the sunlight better. As it gets cooler I will probably go back to my natural dark hair. I searched the internet over trying to find just the right color to tell my hairstylist and I am very happy with my results ! I love wearing my hair straight & I also love leaving it curly when I am in a hurry. I am so thankful I am blessed with naturally curly hair ! Although in the past I did pay to chemically straighten my hair only for it to last a month.....hard lesson learned ! I have learned to accept what I was blessed with and work with what I have lol.I have learned one thing, people with straight hair want curly hair, people with curly hair want straight hair, if you have dark hair you want blonde hair ..no one is ever happy with what they have lol  

Repurposed old chair



This was the chair before...

 I bought this chair at a Antique store for $5. It was in horrible shape but I loved the design of it and I knew I could make something out of it. Of course my husband thought it was a waste of time of money lol. He has no vision ....Anyway, I got the chair home and decided to make a planter out of it. I left the old chipped paint the way it was. The bottom was busted so I finished cutting the bottom out of it & found a old red & white metal bowl/pan that I had. I put the bowl/pan down inside the cut out area and placed one of my ferns in it.I had a gorgeous $5 planter  from a old chair ! It looks amazing and right at home beside my pallet fence :)




The chair after ...

   

I love owls !

I have loved owls ever since I was a little girl. One Christmas my grandma got a huge owl lamp that I just loved. From then on I loved everything having to do with owls.I was at my moms over the weekend and I came across this, a vintage owl clock that she has that I love ! It is just adorable !

New highlights !



Love the shiny color and the dimension !



My hair curly with my new do & color!



 I absolutely love the highlights !



My appointment finally came to get my hair highlighted, here are the results,keep in mind that I had my hair cut off in February , then had my first round of highlights in April so these pictures happen fast lol. She did amazing with my highlights, I wanted to keep my hair dark underneath and add  honey color highlights throughout. Stay tuned for more updated pictures !