Pinterest trail number 3 and 4...thumbs down and thumbs up

Pinterest

vinegar in place of jet dry thumbs down! i recently tried this and wishing i didn't.... my wedding silverware from pottery barn has held up for 7 years nicely  but now it almost looks like they have a permanent water stain. also some of the plates and bowls had a strange film feeling and all my dishes smelled like vinegar. i didn't think you really needed to have jet dry as a regular product in your dish cleaning until my mom told me when they bought their new dishwasher the sales associate informed her to get the best cleaning functionality from your dishwasher you will want to use jet dry. since i have been using jet dry on a regular basic and noticed that when the load is finished my dishes tend to be dryer and less spotting.

Outnumbered

"bar keepers friend" on my scratched up plates thumbs up! i tried another pinterest tip using "bar keepers friend" cleanser and polish on our dishes from macy's (we also got for our wedding). our dishes from macy's. over time they have gotten covered in scratch marks from our silverware. after calling the manufacture and no help from them i saw this pin and  i'm so glad i didn't have to buy new dishes.

magic eraser

i bought a burberry purse on ebay about 3 years ago and knew i was paying way too much on it ...but its a classic and i will have it forever. around 9 months ago i felt like it was getting a little dirty- i started to ask around to see if anyone knew of a "good" dry cleaner that could do the job right. 

after much debating i decided to stop in the burberry store at easton and see what they recommend. i admit i was scared to go inside and embarrass myself if this purse that i all along have thought was real (and paid too much for it) was a knock off. when the sales associate approached me i started off saying, "i received this purse as a gift and i am not sure if it's a knock off but if it's real ....how do you recommend i clean it?" the sales associate took a look and confirmed it is the real deal (sigh). AMEN!

he told me since its italian nylon that you can use a magic eraser to clean it or mild soap and water. i was really confused and repeated his instructions- he confirmed a $2.99 magic eraser would make it look brand new. next stop target...  tested one area and it defiantly magically cleaned the dirt off. waited to see if it was going to leave a big water stain or worse bleach it... after 10 mins nothing happened so i cleaned the rest of the purse and it looks brand new!

who knew buying an expensive purse would only need a $2.99 cleaning?!

Happy Birthday -Hot Coral #712

Today is my Grandma Kilner's birthday-  I still think about her and what she taught me as I grew up. Gavin and I read the book The Little Red Hen and I tell him this is all about his great Grandma Kilner that would have loved to known him.

Today I will wear hot coral #712 in honor of her and we will read The Little Red Hen before bed tonight.

Pinterest trial number 2

This past weekend we made hambugers and used the "best hamburger seasoning" pin from budget savvy diva. I didn't realize until later after we ate them and my husband pointed out that it was the same seasoning that Fuddruckers used on their hamburgers. We both agreed that they were pretty darn good and we would use the recipe again when we make bugers.

source

What you need:

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar (we used light)

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

What to do:

Combine all ingredients together. Sprinkle seasoning on burgers before cooking.

Anyone else trying anything that you have pined on pinterest?



 

pinterest inspired... laundry room

I'm going to try to post once a week a pinterest inspired project. When we bought our new house I was happy to have a laundry room on the first level. As the first year came and gone I realized that this room was just not a good use of space. We looked into having the washer and dryer moved to the basement and turning this room into a real mudroom. After two attempts this was out of our price range for now.

Pinterest has become my new obsession and I love that I can file all these great ideas in one place. So I collected some ideas and we had a friend help us on a much cheaper level make this room a tad more usable.Below is the "before" picture- I realize this is not the best "before" picture to share but I forgot to take one before the project got started.





BEFORE



AFTER

 

Here are my ideas I pined on pinterest to help me design.

father's day brunch

I held father's day brunch at my house this weekend with both my family and my husbands. We had an egg casserole, fruit salad, banana bread, and buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. I found the blueberry cake recipe on pinterest and I have to say its so good I could eat the whole thing myself. This is the second time I've made it and love it even more the next time- if that is possible. The recipe is below and I recommend trying it yourself and I have to agree with the source that buttermilk does turn everything into gold!

source

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Serves 6-8
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

This is a picture of me and my dad- I think I was in 8th grade!

racing....

I feel like the world is racing around me these days and I can't catch it! This is typical for the time of year as we are in our "busy season" at work... BUT since the beginning of 2012 I've had this feeling. I know it will go away and I know i have to stay positive and keep going.

I'd like to run away from all this crazy and see if i can catch up with the world- maybe the second half of this year I will find a way.