My First Craigslist Purchase

I should have entitled this post "Why Listening To Your Husband Is The Best Decorating Tip," but honestly, it wouldn't fit on one line.

I am giddy with glee. Not "GLEE," the television show, but the old fashioned glee, happiness if you will.

When I began my search for a headboard, frame and box spring for our six year old daughter, I knew I'd have to get a deal, especially if I wanted to spray paint it. I mean why spend the money if you're only going to change it up? So I did a little math (ouch.)

Here's the thing with "decorating-on-a-next-to-nothing-budget," you really have to spend NEXT TO NOTHING! I'm not talking "I got it at Pottery Barn on clearance" kind of budget. I'm talking dumpster diving. Not really. Well, maybe, in the future. Hmm.

Anyway, so I found a bed (frame, headboard, box spring and mattress) on craigslist. That's right, you heard me. The whole thing was $75! What a steal!

Here's the thing, we didn't need the mattress because we already have one. (Long story short, our youngest went right from the crib to this bed, but the house we currently live in has bunks built into the walls, so we only needed the mattress. Phew.)

Since we're moving, we will now need the rest of the bed. Okay, so would this guy be willing to negotiate without the mattress.

He was. For $50. Plus the 60 minute drive to pick it up. (More math, cost of gas, time, use the minivan instead of the car...)

Husband said uh-uh, call them back and tell them we are only willing to pay $30.

What?!? Are you kidding me? We are going to lose this! Did you see my math? Did I add wrong?

Husband thus began to explain to me his theory in economics (blah blah blah, blah blah blah...) and how when I become a desperate housewife buyer, I will lose in the end.

{I did not raise my hands to my ears and shout "I'm not listening!!" Well, maybe in my mind I did.}

So I called back. And got the wife (yes!) And was willing to leave my name and number just in case (does anyone smell desperation?) And she said...

      "Just a minute, let me talk to my husband..."

There was a smattering of "we haven't gotten any other hits on craigslist..." "I just want to get rid of it..."

And holy-Toledo. We made the sale. And I spent the next two days praising Husband telling him he was right and I was wrong still in shock and thank goodness for his tightness economic prowess, we now have what we need, at a price we could afford.

Why You Should Move

dollarstorage.net

I've been packing for a few weeks now and I've noticed how much stuff we're not living with. (ie. extra sheets, certain dishes, books, toys, games) If we really need this stuff, we don't seem to be missing it one single bit.

Part of me just wants to chuck all our boxes into a ditch.

I mean, we are downsizing after all.

Lots of people have been asking if we are moving to a bigger house. (I guess when you have three kids, people assume you need more room, not less.)

The first house Husband and I ever owned. That was SIX houses ago...

My stock answer is:

"Smaller house, smaller mortgage!"

People seem to like that response, and I don't have to say anything after that.

So I think everyone should move for the following reasons:

• you can get rid of your crap, I mean your stuff.
• you can be content with less.
• you have less to dust (or store, or wash...)
• most importantly you'll realize you're not as materialistic as you thought you were. ;)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Who doesn't have a graduation/birthday/anniversary party to go to these days? Take along these bars which were a hit with my family. If you love chocolate and peanut butter, you'll love this recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

*1 king-sized milk chocolate bar      
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter

1 3/4 cups brown sugar      

2 cups rolled oats

*1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts

1 egg, beaten

14 oz sweetened condensed milk     

*1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

*I used Hershey's Symphony Chocolate, omitted the nuts and substituted creamy peanut butter.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Finely chop the chocolate. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Add the butter to the flour and rub in until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar, oats, and chopped nuts.

Put a quarter of the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Set aside.

Stir, the egg into the remaining mixture, then press into the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Bake the base in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the condensed milk and peanut butter together. Pour the mixture over the base and spread evenly, the sprinkle the reserved chocolate mixture on top and press down lightly.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan, then cut into bars or squares.

Makes 25

Adapted from the "Blissful Brownies" cookbook.

Domesticity As An Art

Moving gets me in the mood to decorate. I'm watching HGTV again, scouring all the DIY books and magazines. I love it!

Then I found this gem of a book at our local library. Ironically the author started out as as a blogger. Her photos are wonderful and it's one of those books that's nice to look at and read. (I finished it while sitting in the dentist office waiting for my kiddos.)

"Domesticity as an art..." The domestic life, the domestic housekeeper, domestic pleasures.

do-mes-tic/ adjective: Of or relating to the running of a home or to family relations.

And isn't that what we mothers do? Aren't we the "domestic engineers" of our homes? Is it not us that keeps the cogs of this well-oiled "machine" (called our household) running?

These days haven't we taken what used to be the mundane and turned it into something we love? There's nothing wrong with loving the walls that we look at or trying to beautify our spaces. How about getting creative with our baking, so it becomes a kid-friendly activity instead of another task on our to-do lists.

I understand that times have changed and many mothers work outside the home now, but we can still turn the menial things we do (that relate to housework) into something we actually like.

In the end whether it's a new recipe or organizing your child's bedroom, if you put your heart into it, it can be meaningful, it can be pleasurable and maybe even artful.

Designing For A Princess

From my mood board on olioboard.com

With all the busyness of moving, I find myself daydreaming when I should be sleeping. Amongst the paperwork of mortgage commitments and appraisal reports, I've secretly been designing our youngest's bedroom in my head.

My inspiration? The web. I've found pieces online that I love (but could never afford,) I've visited paint stores (hoarding their paint swatches) and scoured craigslist for treasures (which I'm still working on.)

It's what motivates me to move, again. Husband cringed when I said "paint the woodwork," but I (lovingly) shushed him, because ALL I ASK FOR IS TO LET ME GO WILD IN THIS ONE ROOM, the rest of the house can wait.

I'm also trying to convince our six-year-old that having her own bedroom will be amazing and wonderful and full of pink (without shocking our senses.) One night I even made up a story about a princess (with her name) moving to a new castle (house.) That's how desperate I am for this transition to be a positive one.

The plan:

- mocha'ish' painted walls
- white woodwork
- a headboard (from craigslist) painted white
- pink curtains
- and pink accents

Elegant, yet still girlish. I might have to live in that room. I love it already.

Really? You Don't Have An SLR?

What's more mundane than clothes pins?

I'm living proof that you don't have to have a fancy-schmancy camera to take great pics.

In fact my Canon point-and-shoot is a hand-me-down from my mom. Not to belittle the power of a Canon, (I happen to still have a manual one that uses film) but if you don't have an SLR, you are capable of taking great pics with great lighting.

The above clothes pins shot was not manipulated at all. I do use a photo editing program (Photoshop Elements) but truth is all you need is good lighting and you can pull off some pretty shots.

I wouldn't compare my pics to those of professionals (or the bloggers with Nikon and Canon SLRs) but I'm pretty proud of photos. In fact blogging made me realize how much I really like photography and how much I  love taking pics of food!

Apple Pie, yummm

Or even those rainy day pics...

I guess even in the blogosphere there can be a feeling of "keeping up with the Joneses," and it really shouldn't be that way. Our blogs are expressions of our creativity! Not how much we spend on gadgets or designers. So enjoy! Love your blog and your little point-and-shoot! :)