Stained Mirror

When My Grandfather passed away about 3 years ago, 

I received his dresser and an old mirror.

  The dresser is in the boys room 

and will probably get stained next because the mirror ended up looking so good!!!

I had wanted to stain this since I received it,

 but life always gets in the way, until this past weekend that is...

I love the simple touches on the corners...

It looked good after one coat,

 but I went ahead and did two coats to make sure it was thoroughly stained.

I then had to let it dry for 48 hours.

Taking the tape off, as always, is my FAVORITE part,

 because it reveals the final product and the beautiful clean edge!!!

Oil Bottle Creation

I recently bought some Olive Oil and I really liked the bottle that it came in. 

So, when the oil was gone,

 I soaked it in warm soapy water until the label came off with ease.

. 

Then, I purchased a bottle top pouring insert for like $4 at the grocery store.

After letting the bottle dry I refilled it and added the pouring insert.

During a visit from family we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine, 

on the bottle was this little stick around the neck,

 

I saved it as a lovely memory ☺

I love reusing beautiful bottles...

Chili ~ Jamie Leigh Style

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Cloves of Garlic Minced

1 Large Onion Diced

1 Cup Minced Carrots

   (I used my handy dandy chopper)

1 Red New Potato Diced

Sautee all in Olive Oil for 4 minutes.

Then add:

2 cans Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce

2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 can of water

1 Teaspoon Basil

1/4 tsp Pepper

AND THEN, LOTS OF BEANS!!!

Dark Red Kidney, Light Red Kidney,

Canellini, Black & Tri Color Beans and Corn.

Rinse and drain beans in colander in the sink,
 before adding to the pot.

Combine all and stir, 

turn heat to extremely low and let simmer for as long as you can.

After it has been simmering for at least 2 hours,

 get a potato masher and mash around in the chili for a minute,

mushing up the tomatoes and the beans a little to help the sauce thicken, 

mmmmm.  Enjoy!!!

I will be making a green chili cornbread to go with our Chili,  what do you eat with yours?!

Starting Something New: Cleaning, something that was overlooked...

Ok, most of you that know me, know that I clean all the time :) 

I LOVE the feeling of knowing that everything is tidy, in order and in it's place. 

It helps me to relax knowing I don't have something to clean up, fold or put away. 

So, as my husband says, when my feet hit the floor I am moving 90 miles a minute...

Straightening up the kitchen and living room,  making sure the kids have done their chores and made their beds, laundry...you know the drill.

As I was saying this one is about cleaning,  during the day to day busy~ness that is life with three kids...

SOME things get overlooked, like the kitchen sink handles.....

This is the lid...

and this is the handle.

...and this is the underneath and inside of the handle.

I had to make the pics small, because they were THAT GROSS!!!

YIKES!!!!!  Really?!!,  How did I let it get that bad?!!!?

Honestly, I can't believe I am blogging about this,
but again most of you that know me,
 know that I would just want to help you out ☺

Some major cleaning was in order...so I got to work.

 Here it is after I cleaned it, FINALLY!!!!! 

I will NEVER wait this long again!!!

It just makes me wonder what else I am overlooking in my day to day cleaning routine, 

I looked under the fridge...OH DEAR!!!!!

What have you overlooked?!

Lemon Meringue Pie

My sweet little girl turned 7 yesterday and for her birthday

asked for a Lemon Meringue Pie.

She had never had it before and wanted to try it. 

My mother and I used to bake it together for my dads birthday sometimes. 

As I was making it I remembered back through the years when we would make it perfectly

or when we forgot to put the cornstarch in and ended up with Lemon soup pie :)

 It's all the mistakes and successes in life that help us in the long run...

we learned from this Pie experience that she likes the lemon part,

but isn't a fan of the meringue. 

My middle child,

who is normally the picky one, 

LOVED it all and asked for more ☺ 

New Short Aprons with Ruffles

I love to see what I am able to create with leftover fabrics from other projects I have done or fabrics from something that was once something else. 

For example a friend of mine moved to Colorado and gave me her shower curtain, 

I loved it and thought it was beautiful,

 but it didn't go with the decor of my guest bathroom, 

 so I decided not to put it in the closet, and let it collect fold marks.

I made some aprons out of it.

No Longer Available

Then I sent one to her as a memory of her home here in Georgia ♥

She said that she didn't have an apron

 and LOVED receiving one that was so special!!

I had some leftover camo fabric from a previous project...

Camo Short Apron w/ Ruffles ~ $25

My sister had me make her baby's crib skirt and bumper, 

then she gave me the  leftover fabric,  here is another one ☺

No Longer Available

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these aprons.