EASY DIY coffee Teacher gift

It has been CRAZY around here! 

Here is an easy last minute DIY Teachers gift! Z mentioned that her wonderful teacher drinks coffee! I picked up an empty Starbucks cup and added a gift card and a small bag of coffee. At the bottom I added fancy holiday color confetti and some yummy Werther's!  Wrap it up and your good to go!! 

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$100 Bath makeover

Yes, It is very possible to completely makeover your bathroom and not break the bank. I went on a total whim for this project. I woke up one day and decided I no longer wanted a white boring blah bath. Which this is actually the children/guest bathroom so I don't really get to enjoy it.

As you can see from the before photo I started from scratch. Boring white walls.
The first thing I did was stained the plain builder grade cabinet. I decided to test out gel stain for the first time. When I say test, I mean I really didn't "test" the stain anywhere else but the cabinet. And when they say "gel stain" they really mean it's like working with pudding.
I choose "java" by General Finishes 
I wasn't sure what end result I was looking for. As you can make it almost black if you keep going. I settled with a rustic-y barn wood looking dark color which took 3 coats and 4 days total with drying time. You should add a clear protective coating on the top of it, though I haven't made it that far yet...

Next the walls I painted them "rushing stream" by Valspar  Hubby calls it sea foam. I L-O-V-E the color!
For the decor I went with the sea side/beach look. The towel hanger I made. I added each of the kids names and 1 extra spot for a guest towel.

Ok, for the break down.

"LIFE" poster, free from The Holstee Manifesto

1 quart Java gel stain by General Finishes, Amazon $19.99

1 gallon Valspar signature “Rushing Stream” Lowes, On sale $24 + $5 off coupon, = $19.00

Floating Shelf, Home depot $12.97

Shower curtain & rings, Ross $12

Soap dispenser, Ross $4

Star fish & glass bottles, Big Lots $16

Shell basket & shells, Dollar Tree, $1

Photo Frame, Dollar Tree $1

Star Fish night light, Bealls $3

Moen Toilet paper & hand towel holder, Home Depot $20 for both (says $20 each online but I paid half that for each in store)

The trash can was $9 at Kmart and I also got new towels at $3 a piece at Bealls. However, those were purchase by my mother when she came to visit, she decided I needed a new trash can since mine didn’t match so much and white towels that I was too cheap to buy at the time! $9 for a trash can that can’t even hold a diaper seemed a bit much to me lol

It was a little over $100 but I did add a few extras. 

Before

New trash can & gel stained cabinet

Linking too
Sugar Bee Crafts
Not just a housewife
Someday Crafts
Creations by Kara
Sew Much Ado
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Keeping it Simple

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DIY flag shorts - 4th of July!

Here is an EASY DIY that takes no time at all! And PERFECT for Independence day.
I seen a few variations of these flag shorts on Pinterest and I decided to make my daughter her own from a small pair of jeans since she was in need of another pair of shorts anyways. After seeing how awesome they turned out I decided to dig in my closet for an old pair of jeans too! 
I used what I had on hand as far as paint went. Which was Krylon spray paint!! Not sure how long they will last for but, I did wash Z's pair again after I sprayed them because I wanted them to frail more and her dye held up very well. I cut the jeans, bleached them in a small amount of 50/50 water & bleach. Then washed. Taped them up and sprayed. Tape well!! I actually used the left over pant legs as an extra cover and I still managed to get some over spray. 

 After painting & before 2nd wash. 

 Peace! 

Z's "hippy" look. lol 

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Desk before & after

A few months back I was on a hunt for a dresser for Z since she was coming home with homework and didn't really have a place to study besides the kitchen table, which would have been fine except little B enjoys stealing her pencils and coloring on her work.

I went into our local furniture store with a small desk in mind.

The desk didn't have to be in the best of shape just some what sturdy. 

 New desks can run pretty expensive and I didn't really want to spend that kind of money knowing I could paint an older one for less then half the price. After looking at 3 options I found one I liked.

The side paneling needed replacing, it was a bit wobbly, the drawers fell out and were broke on the inside, there were some cracks on the legs, the top look like it had bite marks and it had that "old" smell. SOLD! For $15 I bought it, called the hubby up and told him he had something to unload when I got home. 

Here she was......

The lovely hubby replaced the side paneling for me and also sanded the top.

The top was stained and I chose PEACOCK BLUE (such a cute name) for the main color of the desk.

I went with the 2 toned look & the drawer pulls were changed out. I L.O.V.E the way it turned out! Z loves it also. 

click photo to enlarge

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Food Allergies + Homemade Quaker granola bars!

Over the past few weeks there has been some changes in our household. Little B, who will be 2 next month and is not so little anymore, has been diagnosed with multiple food allergies. After a skin test and blood work it was confirmed that he was allergic to the "top 8"  foods in addition to cats and latex. Cats I had already suspected, but the foods was a bit of a shocker to my husband and I. Considering B ate these foods regularly, if not daily. Minus the fish & shellfish.  We have been doing our best at removing all these foods from his diet, and as for cats we luckily do not own one. Good thing since that is one of his highest allergies!

Cooking here as of late has been a bit of a challenge, but one I do not mind taking! I have already been adding more whole foods (unprocessed/unrefined), organic, and trying to completely take out refined sugars. 
Anyways my take on that last bit could take awhile so I just kept it short.

Here is a YUMMY recipe that I have tweaked a bit to my liking, and found that it tastes JUST like the Quaker Oat chocolate chip bars. So here it is a no bake delicious treat! It's not so unhealthy either! BONUS!

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Gluten, dairy, egg & soy free! 
Adapted from laurenslatest


2 Tbs. Coconut oil
2 Tbs. Earths Balance (dairy/soy free "butter") 
1/4 Cup Honey
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 Cups GF quick cooking oats 
1 Cup GF puffed rice cereal or GF Rice Krispies
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla 
2 Tbs Enjoy Life Chocolate chips  


Mix oats and rice cereal together in a large bowl. 

In a small pot melt the earths balance, honey and brown sugar together until it bubbles. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and stir. Pour hot mixture over the oat and rice cereal & mix well. In a lightly greased casserole dish pour the moist mixture and pack down into the dish, press fairly hard so it stays together well!! Sprinkle chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool at room temp for a few hours before cutting into bars.  ENJOY!

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Easter

Happy Easter from my family to yours! 

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Garlic Monkey Bread

I have seen a few versions of the famous monkey breads floating around the web. Some with sugar and cinnamon and others with garlic and different cheeses. After trying a few out I whipped up my own version that I personally thought was delish! Most recipes I found called for 2 cans. You can add 2 with this recipe if you would like. I however enjoy lots of taste and less bread! This combo works well if you are like me :)

Mini Garlic Monkey Bread

1 (7.5 oz) Can Buttermilk Biscuits

4 Tbsp Butter or Margarine

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 Cloves Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Dried Parsley Flakes

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

+ 2 Tbsp cheese for toppings

Chop each biscuit up into 4 or 6's depending on the bite size you want.

A pizza cutter works great for this part!

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl minus the extra 2 Tbsp of parmesan.

Get your hands dirty and toss the mixture up until evenly coated.

In a GREASED regular size muffin tin add 6-8 pieces

per cup. Noticed I have yelled the greased muffin tin part because I failed to do this step and it was not fun getting these little monkeys out after they were cooked!

Sprinkle the additional 2 Tbsp of parmesan and pop in

oven @ 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Grated Parmesan is best but the canned stuff will work also :)

Enjoy!

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