The SoCal Social - What $35 bucks will get ya...

The more and more involved in blogging I become, the more I appreciate the sense of community that can be found there.
Last May, I flew from L.A. to Austin to meet up with 5 other women for a long weekend....  Just for fun.

courtesy of The Texas Darlings

Keep in mind that I had never actually met these women.  I loved them and every single second I spent with them. (Just like I knew I would.)   My non-blogger friends (I now call them civilians) don't necessarily get it.

That being said, Bev from Flamingo Toes, Holly from 504 Main and I thought it would be fun to organize an  event for Southern California bloggers.

No plane trip involved!  We are so excited to see it coming together!

We are going to be hanging out in historic Old Towne Orange and going on a Swag Walk to pick up fabulous goodies and gifts that have been provided by our amazing sponsors...

then we're going to have a late lunch at The Filling Station Cafe.

While we're enjoying a delicious lunch and amazing cupcakes, we'll all have a chance to win fabulous items in giveaway raffles, play around with a DIY photo booth, and have a Q&A session with Mark Montano (who, by the way, will be hanging out with us on the Swag Walk too!)

But wait!  There's more! We've just added an After Party.  Yep! Martini Madness and a chance to win more cool stuff.
All of that, PLUS meeting your blogging neighbors AND making new friends for just $35!!???

Dude! Sign me up!  As of this posting there are less than 15 tickets left..

Click Here To Get Your Ticket!

See you there!

Why I expect a lot of work out of my kids. (And why I don't pay them all that much for doing it.)

I have four boys.
I want my future daughters-in-law to like me.

Therefore, my boys need to be fairly self sufficient and need to know how to clean up after themselves.  That requires training.  Training is not fun. (But it's worth it in the long run.)

My sons need to grow up to be self-reliant, conscientious and tidy.  They will set better examples as fathers and have happier wives.  (And because, dang it, once they move out, I do not want them moving back in! I am turning their bedrooms into craft rooms!)

My guys earn a weekly allowance... not because I feel they should be compensated for helping out around their house, but because you're never to young to start learning about financial responsibility.  I also think it is important that my children grow up knowing that there is no material object on this earth that they are entitled to.

A household is a team effort.  Everyone, no matter what age, is capable of doing a little something to help out.
They do not earn an allowance for taking care of their own things.  The following are tasks they don't get paid for, but are expected to do every day:

• make their beds
• bring their dirty clothes to the laundry area 
• put away their clean clothes
• keep their rooms neat and tidy
• keep their bathroom from looking like a gas station restroom
• keep up with their school work
• clean up after themselves in the kitchen

What they do earn a small (age appropriate) allowance for:

• taking out the garbage
• feeding and cleaning up after the pets
• misc light yard work
• working with  each other to clean up the kitchen after dinner every night
• helping with any small, miscellaneous task that I ask for help with

They also have opportunities to earn "extra" money by helping out with big projects.  (These big projects usually involve dirt, yard debris or heavy lifting.)

We have had many comments over the years that are along the lines of "Gee! How did you get your boys to do the dishes?" etc.  I'll let you in on the secret:  It was never a request for help, it was an order.  My husband and I told them that going forward, it was their job.  We started off with us working alongside them to teach them how to do the tasks properly.  Then we backed off and just watched to make sure they were doing it correctly.  I will inspect the job every now and then and on occasion we will call them back to do re-do a sloppy job.

We never, ever acted like they were doing us a favor, but instead we treated it as part of life in this family, with everyone helping at dinnertime.  It is now second nature for them and they promptly pitch in to help when they are at other people's homes. 

As a mom, I am proud of them. 

As someone's future mother-in-law, I'm feeling ahead of the curve.

Want to hand over cleaning to the experts? Tell us how you have taught and encouraged your kids to clean and be entered to win one of two prizes!

• First Prize:  House Cleaner for a day plus $100 in product from GreatCleaners.com.
• Second Prize: A Copy of the Book Over 100 Helpful Household Hints

With GreatCleaners.comClean Club, you'll never have to shop for cleaning products again. With the simplicity of automatic shipments that fit your schedule and free shipping on every order, plus 25% off your first order, you'll never have to be without your favorite, essential cleaning products. Click here to join the Clean Club today!

WamnWWantWant to hand over cleaning to the experts? Tell us how you have taught your kids to clean for a chance to win one of two prizes!

•First Prize: house cleaner for a day plus $100 in product from Greatcleaners.com.

•Second Prize: A copy of the book 101 Uses for Baking Soda With Greatcleaners.com Clean Club, you’ll never have to shop for cleaning products again. With the simplicity of automatic shipments that fit your schedule and free shipping on every order, plus 25% off your first order, you’ll never have to be without your favorite, essential cleaning products. Click here to join Clean Club today!Want to hand over cleaning to the experts? Tell us how you have taught your kids to clean for a chance to win one of two prizes!

•First Prize: house cleaner for a day plus $100 in product from Greatcleaners.com.

•Second Prize: A copy of the book 101 Uses for Baking Soda With Greatcleaners.com Clean Club, you’ll never have to shop for cleaning products again. With the simplicity of automatic shipments that fit your schedule and free shipping on every order, plus 25% off your first order, you’ll never have to be without your favorite, essential cleaning products. Click here to join Clean Club today!Want to hand over cleaning to the experts? Tell us how you have taught your kids to clean for a chance to win one of two prizes!

•First Prize: house cleaner for a day plus $100 in product from Greatcleaners.com.

•Second Prize: A copy of the book 101 Uses for Baking Soda

Want to hand over cleaning to the experts? Tell us how you have taught your kids to clean for a chance to win one of two prizes!

•First Prize: house cleaner for a day plus $100 in product from Greatcleaners.com.

•Second Prize: A copy of the book 101 Uses for Baking Soda With Greatcleaners.com Clean Club, you’ll never have to shop for cleaning products again. With the simplicity of automatic shipments that fit your schedule and free shipping on every order, plus 25% off your first order, you’ll never have to be without your favorite, essential cleaning products. Click here to join Clean Club today!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GreatCleaners.  The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Arm & Hammer Brand.

The one where the dog messes up my "After" photos.

There is no need to hit the garden center to change up your flower pots.  Just give them a quick coat of paint!
I have two flower pots that have layer upon layer of spray paint on them.  I dump the plants, paint the pots a new color for the new season, then replant them.

I always start out painting the items upside down.  That way you can hit the hard to reach places first.  When you flip it right side up, it can dry in peace.

I used Rustoleum's Painter's Touch in Paprika.

Precision and a perfectly prepped surface are not an issue for me on this project.  Clearly.

Let the pot dry and replant with seasonal flowers.

I am darn lucky to have gotten this simple picture of this pot.

Want to know why?
My canine photographer's assistant.  My nosy neighbor.  She knew she was getting in the way too, which is why she's smiling like that.  You can see her guilty dog video here.

It's OK...  I'll have killed the Mums within two weeks, but good dogs are hard to come by.

A zebra-stripe-duct-tape pumpkin.

OK, I told ya I was on a pumpkin binge right now. I made a flannel covered pumpkin, a punker pumpkin, some pumpkin house numbers and now...  a Zebra Pumpkin.
I may, in fact, have a bit of a pumpkin problem.

Thanks to zebra print duct tape, this entire process took me about 3 minutes.  I had a fake Dollar Tree pumpkin which I sprayed silver, but then changed my mind and decided to cover it.

I tore the duct tape into short strips, then tore those strips in half, length-wise.  I tried to match up the stripes, but didn't get too twisty if I couldn't make it work.  I'm working on several other black and white pumpkins and will group them all together for Halloween.

Less than 3 minutes for less than $3. Good grief, I am cheap and easy.  Sad.

****UPDATED 9/28/11: This zebra stripe is from Duck Brand.  They just released some new patterns for Halloween, one of which has skulls all over it! They are even having a pumpkin decorating contest called Stick or Treat, which I am totally going to check out!*****

See the bottom of this blog to see parties where I will be linking this project 
also linked to Savvy Southern Style  Home Stories A2Z

And you know where I'm going to go to confess that I took duct tape and slapped together a Halloween decoration while I watched SNL...?  Here:


Whatever you've got to talk about, these girls will listen! :)

And also? Happy Anniversary to Handsome Hubby. I've loved him all my life and I am so dang blessed that I get to share his.


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My mantel and I have agreed to a cease-fire.

I haven't been too quiet about how much I dislike my mantel.  It's a challenge... all asymmetrical and weird and I am never sure what to do with it.  I got a lot of suggestions to just put something giant up there to create more of a focal point.

I think I found it.

I went to my local Habitat Restore and found this pair of humongo shutters for $5.

(I would have paid $10 if they had cleaned off the cobwebs and Daddy Long Leg carcasses for me.)

I primed it with a gray primer and then lightly sprayed with Krylon Brushed Metallic paint in Satin Nickel.  It has a little bit of sheen to it, but not too much.

I'm certainly not done with the mantel, but this big shutter is a start.

The one where I realize the little guy sees, hears and retains everything his big brothers say and do.

Saturday Night Live is a favorite in our household... the Andy Samberg Digital Shorts in particular.

Scene: the dinner table.  One of the boys is talking about how cool it would be to have a camera mounted on a remote control car, and all the things it would be good for.  (The things it would be good for sound pretty lame.)

Devin: (joking) "...and it would be good for bombing the Russians..."
Mitch: (laughing) "Why are you always talking about bombing the Russians?"
Dad: "Mitch, saying it once isn't the same as always."
Devin: "Actually, no, I say it quite a bit."
Dad: "Oh. Never mind then..."
Grant: "Also? It's in Like a Boss."

OK, this is the "clean version" that Saturday Night Live originally aired, but I don't necessarily think it's "safe for work" even so.  It certainly doesn't seem "safe" that my 7 year old has it memorized.



Momma is not amused.

Make temporary pedestal plates.

I've mentioned many times that I love, love, love Museum Putty, and that it keeps my knick-knacks in place and makes sure they don't crack me on the head during earthquakes.

It's also handy to make temporary pedestal plates.

Why make a temporary pedestal plate?  Well, they can be expensive to buy, difficult to store and there are times I just need one for a day or two.  Making a temporary one just makes sense, especially as we go into the holiday season with big dinners, buffet tables and lots of treats to set out....  What I need in November and December is a pain to store come January.

Take a sturdy pillar style candle stick and place four wads of Museum Putty around the edge of the candle holder.

 Flip over the candlestick, center it on the bottom of your plate and press it firmly to secure.  In this case, I actually used one of my everyday dishes.

 Toss a cloche on top. (Preferably a cloche you picked up at Goodwill for $2...)

Maybe add a bunch of pears that need to ripen.

Ta-Da.  It's kind of pretty, it's cheap, it's food-safe, and it's temporary.

Check the bottom of the blog to see where I link this up.

Also linking to Addicted 2 Decorating  Home Stories A2Z  Savvy Southern Style

Pumpkin Round Up

I got a few questions about the pumpkins that I used in yesterday's post about the fall decor on a window ledge. A few readers asked me if they were real.

Two years ago I did a tutorial on how to paint the obviously fake pumpkins to get them looking a bit better.

 Once painted, you can do just about anything to them.

You can read the tutorial on how to paint them to get the aged copper effect here

Last year I took these same 4 pumpkins and painted them white and cream.

I think this is recycling at its best. I sprayed a white primer on these to help cover the copper color.  Then, working quickly, slop on heavy layers of acrylic paint in various whites, creams and taupes.  While the paint is still wet, spray a heavy coat of a clear gloss sealer on these.  The paint will run a bit and once it dries, there is a ceramic effect.

I am on a pumpkin roll right now, so more pumpkin posts are coming.
If you missed them, be sure to check out how to make my Edward Scissorhands style Punk-In

Or how to make a Plaid Flannel Pumpkin from a thrift store shirt.

(If you're using real pumpkins and gourds be sure to check out this tip  to keep them from getting all gross & moldy.)

These pumpkins also caught my eye around the blogosphere and I am loving them!

This awesome pumpkin pie dip from Scissors & Spatulas

Beautiful thumbtack covered pumpkins from Madigan Made

This gorgeous lace covered pumpkin from Better Homes & Gardens

I love these blue crackle pumpkins from Home Stories A 2 Z

There are so many fab examples out there!  Happy Fall y'all!

Linking up to some of the parties at the bottom of this blog.

Home Stories A@Z

Please ignore the ugly flower bed and just look at the cute pumpkins, m-kay?

We ripped out a whole bunch of hedges underneath our bedroom window.  There is a strange window "shelf" there that has been difficult to get to or to do anything with.

When I found this tall hurricane lantern at Home Goods I had to snap it up.

  

The fact that it was on clearance for $10 because all of the glass had been busted out made it perfect.

I knew immediately that I was going to shove a bunch of pumpkins and a bird in it and set it on that weird shelf.

 While nothing is going to totally distract from the fact that we have a bare flower bed right outside our front door, at least the shelf looks a bit better.

I stacked pumpkins in varying heights and colors, then wedged a Dollar Tree crow onto the largest one.

 Then I just piled up more pumpkins and berries and autumn what-nots around the hurricane.

As I said, it won't distract people from the bare dirt underneath is, but at least it looks a little bit better.

Right?  Please tell me it looks at least a little better than dirt. Please...

Check the bottom of the blog to see where I link this project.

Also linking to Savvy Southern Style

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