Part II of Transforming a Goodwill Dresser

Last time I posted about this little dresser from Goodwill, I left off at having spray-painted the dresser. But I hadn't gotten to the handles.

I laid out a bunch of newspapers on the table so that Thing 2 and I could decorate the dresser pulls. We started by taking the pulls apart and swabbing them off with rubbing alcohol to get all the dirt off. Then we each coated a pull in a nice layer of mod podge.

Handkerchief Dolls Craft

Here's an activity that I did with my girls at the end of July. I took all the pictures while we were doing it together, I just never got the time to post about it. 

My girls at the time were 3 years old and 5 years old. Both of them were able to do the activity and still sleep with their dolls. :) 

     This would be a great stuck-indoors-day activity. Or even a good sick-day activity since it gives the little ones something to do without getting themselves overtired. And then they have something to cuddle up with after.

Handkerchief Dolls

To get started:
- a handkerchief or square piece of fabric
- small styrofoam ball or tennis ball
- 3 or 5 rubber bands
- ribbon
- fabric paint and/or sharpies
- glue
- different colored yarns cut into pieces for hair

Daily Dinners

Thursday was Two Squashed Soup....well, originally it was called simply Butternut Squash soup but I added an acorn squash to the butternut squash.

Okay, first up, the butternut squash needs to be peeled and chopped. Then it gets tossed in the steamer. (I have a really small steamer basket that sits on top of my rice cooker, so I had to steam the squash in 2 batches. If you have a bigger steam, save yourself some time and steam it all at once.) While this is steaming, I peel and chop the acorn squash. Then set it aside.

Dice up about a third of a cubanelle pepper. Toss it in a pot with 2 Tbsp of melted butter and stir it up. Mince up about 5 cloves of garlic and stir it in the pot.

I grabbed out the baggie of shredded carrots left over from Mexican night and added that to the pot. Stir this often to keep it from burning. We are trying to brown the garlic and coax as much flavor as possible from the pepper and carrot.

Transforming a Goodwill Dresser Part 1

After tackling my bathroom and the hall closet, it was time to move onto bigger things. Remember the dresser I found at Goodwill for $30? I took the drawers out of it and moved it onto the patio. I slid some newspapers underneath it and grabbed my can of spray paint and started spraying.

With the first spray, I was bummed. The color that came out was a lot darker than the color of the cap. It was supposed to be a pretty blue-green sea color. What came out was a dark blue. And it was taking quite a few passes before any of the color seemed to stick. I kept going because I didn’t want to go back out or stop mid-project. (Hah, wait and see how that worked out for me. ::rolls eyes::) It’s not that it was an ugly color, but I just didn’t see how well it was going to work in a little girl’s light purple room without being too overwhelmingly dark. But hey, I could make this work….right?

HomeMade Cleaners

HomeMade Cleaner #1: Magic Shower Cleaner

Life's a Picnic

     Today, the girls and I went and took Nate away from work for a bit for a picnic lunch. There is a place at the airport (which is less than 5 minutes from Nate's office) where you can have a picnic and watch the planes take off and land. There is an observation deck that has speakers that allow you to listen to the people in the control tower talking to the pilots in the planes. I find it really cool. And it's a nice place for a picnic away from the office.

     So I've got the 'who' and the 'where' and the 'what' and the 'when' all covered, but then there's the 'how' of it all. I wanted to be able to do some sub sandwiches, but I didn't want them to be all mushy by the time we sat down to eat...because first I'd have to construct all the sandwiches, then get the girls ready to go, then drive the 30 minutes to Nate's work, pick him up, then drive to our spot and then finally unpack the food to eat...so you can see how the sandwiches would be kind of yucky by then. So here is what I came up with. :)

Eggs Benedict Mini-Series--Week 4

This is it! The culmination of the first mini series! Hard to believe this is the fourth week already. 


So let's rewind a bit.


    The first week we learned that eggs Benedict is a specialty dish served for breakfast, or lunch, or even brunch. The dish starts with a toasted English muffin half that is then topped with a slice of ham, or Canadian bacon, followed by a poached egg, and finally topped with a healthy dollop of hollandaise sauce. 
    While the construction of the dish is pretty straightforward, the history behind it is not. And we'll leave it at that for the "sum up". 


    After learning about the components that make up the dish, it became time to examine the pieces. The second week we delved into the poached egg layer. We discovered a few different approaches, but all-in-all, it boiled (no pun intended, seriously) down to the same way. 

There were a few missteps but my egg poaching will improve the more I do it--as is the truth with anything. 

Eggs Benedict Mini Series--Week 2 Poaching

I would say 'Ah, Thursday already' but it's one of those weeks where it is almost shocking that it is only Thursday.  

During this last week, I've been compiling egg poaching recipes, how-to's, tips, and techniques. 

Then I tried them out, took pictures, and noted the result of each. May seem tedious, but I've actually had a lot of fun--I ever mention I'm a closet nerdy-type? I totally love learning new things and learning to poach an egg is no exception. 

I've got my steno pad, eggs, small bowls, vinegar and a tablespoon. 

Bring 'em on!