My Redneck Mailbox...

I waited until after I had it fixed to post.... but I had to share my 'jimmy-rigged" mailbox.

Yes, folks, that is gorilla tape and bungee cords holding that bad boy together. Who says I cannot be 'handy'???

I'm not sure if some kid baseballed it or if the hardware just rusted out... but I was left with this for several days until the handyman could come fix it.


Now here is our new mailbox... Ready for some numbers.

Looky What I Found!!!

Can you say room divider?? Thank you Habitat Store! :)

Ok... So Lemme Prefix this...

My deck was in bad shape... very bad shape. I had the choice of starting on the stuff for the deck and enjoying it a bit this summer or redoing the deck boarding and skirting first and probably not getting any enjoyment until 2012. So, I did the stuff first.

I don't really have a before picture for my deck. It was just a big brown area with nothing on it. Now though.... now its brilliant!!


I have to admit, everything that was done, was done on a budget. :D


Except for this :D This was the biggest expense of the whole thing. But as I received $250 for my birthday the expense of this wasn't bad. It was a Walmart purchase. The cost $189.00


These chairs were my first purchase. They were $5.50 for the pair at Goodwill. I will admit they looked about $5.50 worth at the time. But 2 cans of Krylon Textured Shimmer in Hammered Metal later, and now they look like a million bucks... or at least $15.00 each :D The pillow were also a Goodwill purchase at $1.00 each, then covered with a $1.00 flannel back outdoor tablecloth. The table between was a $3 handmade planter from Habitat for Humanity, which i simply turned upside down and Gorilla Glued on a platter which I purchased at Goodwill for 50 cents. The platter I painted with my left over spray paint to match the chairs.


Next came my $25.00 firepit from Craig's List. It is a mosaic tiled firepit which weighs more than I. It has a black mesh topper for when you wish to use the fire, or this tiled top for when you'd like to use as a table.

Also directly behind the firepit are two pallet seating areas. They are made from 2 pallets each, strapped together, then covered with a piece of particle board for the top, and treated lumber sides. I painted both out with Krylon outdoor paint (LOVELY STUFF). I got the idea for the pallet seating here, but took off in my own direction a bit.


Here is another picture which captures the pallet bottoms better. I didn't do any fancy mitering on the boards (cause I do not have the tools to do it!) but I like the look nonetheless.


I bought 2 crib mattresses (who knew they were the exact length of a pallet??)and 2 canvas drop clothes to make padded seating for my pallets. The mattresses were $10 and $15 off Craigs List and the drop cloths $9 each at Walmart. I simply mitered the corners (here I DID have the tools) and added a bit of cording to make it look better.


I also did the monogram painting... For some reason I am into monogramming things! Only one side is monogrammed, so if I do become tired, I can just turn them over!!

Also on the pallets, as the width of the mattress and the width of the pallets are different by 6 inches, I added brown planter boxes filled with marigolds. There is also some space left at the end of each of the planter boxes for another project later, you know, when I have extra cash again!!


If you look straight back you'll see two pretty wooden shutters I picked up for $1 each at Habitat for Humanity. I spray painted them a pretty blue for some color. Why did I put them up? Here is your reason....


For the most part, you won't see the ugly mess needed for cable, phone and electricity... :) this makes me happy!


This is a little something I made to add another pop of color to the deck. :) I had everything to make this, except for the monogram which I picked up at Michael's for $1.00


So all in all I spent my $250 plus about $100 for the whole deck area... You know, paint, some rocks, lighting, etc. Not too shabby I believe! :)


Now all that is left is to redo the skirting all the way around, power wash (which hopefully removes that paint that some bonehead got on the deck before us) and restain/protect the deck this fall! :P

Ooooh!! I Forgot to Share!

Back in May I (finally) started working on the outside of my house. Its been a long time coming, and to be honest, not my favorite sort of DIY to do. Working outside is just fraught with hazards for me as I prove over and over again how I lack grace in yard projects and maintenance. But I warriored through and now I shall share during the next couple days what I have slowly been putting together and fixing. :)

I still have more to do, but with a 10 day vacation in Florida coming up, I have had to curtail my spending in favor of more pleasurable things!!

A few weeks ago I found this lovely thing next to the trash. I know, right? It has great bones, just needed some love... Ok, LOTS of love.


But look at how it turned out!! :D


I found the pillows at Goodwill... total of $2. :) They are not water proof, but I am always cautious to put them out only during days that bad weather isn't in the forecast. But honestly, at $2 I can afford to let them be thrown away and purchase more. But ultimately I love the colors as they go well with my shutters, and I am a super cheapskate, so I am conscious of the weather so I don't have to spend more on new pillows!!


I still have many plans for the front area, but as I said funds are at a minimum. So until August, this is how my front area will stay. Although for a total of $2 for pillows, as I had the stain, black spray paint and the sanding materials on hand already, this was a VERY inexpensive addition to my house. Now perhaps another neighbor has a bird bath? wooden shutters? trellis? Just stick it in my yard so I don't have to go through your trash if you'd like!!

But wait until you see what I did with my back area tomorrow!!

Best Roast Beef Sandwiches EV-AH

I do not cook a lot during the summer. Well, I cook because we have to eat, but it is terribly boring to post about. My menu consists of things grilled with a side. Blah... I would rather enjoy the sun and fun of summer than be stuck in a kitchen for hours. Come the colder days of late fall you will see the recipes and tons of crafts pop back up on my blog.

That being said, I made an old recipe last night and just had to share. Its easy and takes no time to prepare. :) I served it with a Ramen Noodle salad and chips! My type of meal... Enjoy!

Best Roast Beef Sandwiches
Sandwiches:
6 Sandwich Rolls (white, wheat, whole grain all work well)
1 pound of thinly sliced deli roast beef
6 slices of Swiss Cheese

Sauce:
2 Tbsp melted margarine or butter
6 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp each Poppy seed and Sesame Seed

Cut the rolls, if needed, as layer your roast beef and swiss cheese on each roll. Place completed sandwiches in a foil lined 9x13 pan.

Mix the sauce together. Brush on the liberally on the rolls and pour the remainder into the bottom of the pan.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes at 400F.

Woven Bracelet

I found this post and knew I had to try this out. You'd never believe how easy this project was... I honestly put it together in less than 10 minutes. :)

I found the necklace at Goodwill for 25 cents. Yes, a necklace... I couldn't find a thick bracelet like that so I found the next best thing. I simply opened the links with my key-nosed pliers, took out the necessary links to make it my length and closed it back up again.

Off last night to Joann's fabric for some embroidery thread; this project took 4 of the little skeins of thread. Then this morning I cut my thread, braided the bracelet and had in on my arm in 10 minutes. :)

Now gold isn't my favorite color to wear, but I couldn't find anything silver.... This gives me great knowledge of how to do them so I can certainly whip up a bunch of them for friends and family should a surprise get together happen.

You gotta try it... for less than $2.00 I have a brilliant looking bracelet which is eye catching for sure!

Budget Cooking

As many of you know I am definitely a girl with budgeting in mind! I love to save pennies whenever and however I can. And, even in my weekly planning of food I will plan and carry out as best I can to make my small amount of cash go its farthest.

I am not a huge coupon shopper. The only places that will use computer printed coupons is Meijer and Kroger, and oftentimes the savings is not worth the travel to those stores. So I get around my budget in other ways.

When I do go shopping with coupons I get them from Coupons.com. They have coupons for those major chain, major company items which I cannot do without.

Instead of purchasing ready made mixes, I will make mine from scratch using recipes I have found at Mom Advise. ie why buy Bisquick when you can make it cheaper at home? Another great site for make at home items is Budget101.com.

Sign-up for Kraft First Taste, which will allow you to try never been seen before Kraft items, often free or with a huge discount.

But my number one thing is to stock my pantry with basic staples which will help you down the road when shopping. I have all of the things that Paula Deen says are 'necessities' and a few more of my own to suit my family's taste buds. Then when you go shopping, you really only need to pick up any special meats or veggies and any pantry basic on which you are running low.

Another great thing is to shop at Aldi. Aldi is an off shoot, with low prices, of Trade Joe's. Their foods are fantastic, and they offer a Double Guarantee... they will replace the product AND refund your money. I have never taken them up on this, as everything I have purchased is wonderful! Just take your own bags and load up on the savings!

These are my means of saving money each week...

This is my way of stretching my food dollar...