Recipes, projects & products that don’t suck.

Several months ago, I decided to paint our entryway. Guess what color? Yup. Valspar Summer Cottage. Same color as the front door, the back of the hutch shelves and the pop of color on the living room wall. Now the entryway is bright and cheery (unlike the former dark olive green color). The only problem was that our entry table (a light blue dry sink cabinet) now blended in with the wall. Oops. Didn’t really think that through. At first, I considered painting it white. But it had never been a perfect fit anyway. It was too deep and not long enough to make efficient use of the space. I had a vision for something better. So I measured the space and drew what I…

I weeded through hundreds of fall decor projects to find these ten chic ideas for you. They made my list because these are projects I would actually make myself and display in my own home. No crap here, remember? ;) BOOK PAGE PUMPKIN tutorial here Last time I made a book page project, I was on my way to a Pinterest Party and forgot to bring my book. I had to stop and get gas and what do ya know, there was a free Trucker’s Bible (only it wasn’t called that – it had some other unassuming title) right by the checkout. It wasn’t until I started ripping the book apart that I realized it was a BIBLE!!!!!!! Yeah. So I have a book page…

Have you been to a Pinterest Party yet? On Saturday, I attended my third one. It’s basically just a designated time and place for girlfriends to gather and actually MAKE a few of the projects they’ve pinned on Pinterest. Each person brings their own project(s) and materials as well as a snack/appetizer that they’ve pinned. I cheated and took Raisinet Cookies (which are on my Vegan Pinterest board, btw). The host inspired two of my projects (actually, she told me what she was going to be doing and I copied her). We both made t-shirt scarves and faux mercury glass (hers was a glass pumpkin, mine were glass votive candle holders). I will be posting those two projects soon. She also made sugar body scrub…

This one has been all over Pinterest. I wonder how many people who pinned it have actually tried making it. Turns out, the recipe is from RealSimple.com. As you would expect, it is easy and uncomplicated. In my opinion, it needed a little more salt and maybe a little cayenne pepper for kick. The lemon juice and chopped garlic noted as optional in the original recipe are a must. Otherwise, it’s a little bland. I used shallots instead of onion, added tomato and served it on whole wheat sandwich thins. Overall, this is a pretty tasty (and very healthy) sandwich! SERVES 4 *** STEP 1 In a medium bowl, combine the following: 2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained* 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp….

Is it just me or are home remedies everywhere right now? I just read a post yesterday about soaking your feet in rice vinegar to heal cracked feet. So I picked up some rice vinegar while grocery shopping today and I’m crossing my fingers that it works. More on that later. Our shower is a beast. It’s huge and has a massive amount of ugly tile and grout, along with a wall of glass. In other words, it is a major pain to clean. We’ve been talking about a bathroom remodel for a while now, but it always ends up on the back burner. So I keep dealing with a beast of a shower and a carpeted bathroom (gross). The house was only four years…