Welcome to our home!

Recently I have noticed some cute decals on front doors welcoming you to their home. Here is an example from amazon.com:

I decided to take some scrapbook chipboard letters to use as stencils and trace them on the door...

Then I simply painted the printed letters with black acrylic paint. I think it turned out very nice!

Now one of my next projects is to make a pool noodle wreath! I got one from Dollar General for (you guessed it) $1. =) Excited about frugal ideas for making our home pretty.

Did you have a fun weekend? We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs, played on the slip-n-slide, and tried to save our potato plants from the satanic potato beetles. Okay, maybe not satanic, but definitely a major annoyance. =)

Two of My Favorite Fieldhands

Garden 2012

When we started our house hunt one of my major requirements was to have enough room for a garden. It's been a dream of mine for a while. Granted, I always pictured myself reaping the fruits of my labor while wearing a floral cotton dress on a windy day. That part actually hasn't happened yet. Still waiting on that dress. I digress. 

We have 5 glorious rows in our vegetable/flower garden. Wanna see?

 Row #1

Garlic & Potatoes 

Row #2

Onions & Garlic

Row #3

Watermelon, Lettuce, & Corn

Row #4 

Watermelon

Row #5 

Pumpkins, Flowers

The garden has grown quite a bit since I took these pics. My hubby has already tilled it for me, too. My oldest son has to plant some cucumbers and I've yet to plant my tomato and pepper seedlings. I'm so excited about my garden! 

My New $5 Headboard!

On a recent trip to a "big box" home improvement store, I got inspired. I have been wanting an inexpensive solution for our lack of a headboard. I've considered painting, looked at buying a conventional headboard (not happening at this point), and even looked at some wall decals. I never decided on anything and so our bed just sat pushed against the bare wall. But I digress...back to the inspiration.

I have seen pictures of headboards made from various non-traditional materials, like doors and picket fences. I decided to look at small garden fences to see if I could make something work. I ended up scoring a 10ft section of brown metal fencing for $7 and some change. With some snipping and some nails from my increasingly handy husband, our formerly bare wall now looks like this:

I know this is a simple solution, but for <$5 you can't beat it! (We had 3 sections of the fence left) I am very pleased with it. The wall still looks a little blank, but I also got this paint to do some stripes for an accent wall. 

Martha Stewart's "Love-In-A-Mist"

I'm quite happy with how it turned out...and I look forward to continuing our frugal home improvements in our simple, country home!

Psalm 34:10

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good [thing].

Waste Not, Want Not / 1-Banana Banana Bread

My husband and I are currently trying to get out of debt. (daveramsey.com) We also are trying to waste less food and generally be more careful in our consumption. We have not always tried to live this way, and have often thrown away food that still could have been used. Call it a generational thing, laziness, or just carelessness. Either way, we are now moving in the right direction.
My Grandmothers didn't waste food as much as my generation. They didn't waste much of anything, as they tended the field they'd been given. They used what God had given them. (I have a quilt that my great-grandmother made out of scraps from her husband's worn out shirts.) You didn't just throw everything away back then.
And that brings me to present day.
Please, for all you who already waste less and who carefully plan meals, have mercy on me...But we usually throw away bananas after they start turning black. My husband is the only one who'll eat them, so it doesn't hurt my feelings too much.
But the other day as I noticed a poor, lone banana that was turning black, I started thinking...do I have to throw this away? Isn't there something I could do with it?

Hmmmm....

When you don't have a clue,
What do you do?
YOU GOOGLE IT!

It went something like this:
"Banana bread recipe with 1 banana"

(I'm not great at working the search engine system...but I still found something!)

http://mjpuzzlemom.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/one-banana-banana-bread/

One Banana Banana Bread

1 Large Very Ripe Banana (or two small ones)
1 Egg with enough milk to make One Cup liquid
1 Stick butter/margarine (softened) ( 1 stick = 1/2 cup )
1 tsp Vanilla
1-1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
Nuts (optional)

Put all ingredients in a large bowl together (don’t need to sift or
mix anything beforehand). Use mixer on slow to medium to mix until
lumps are pretty well gone (not too long or bread will be too firm).

Pam-Spray® bread pans (do not flour).

Fill pans 2/3 full

Bake 55 Minutes @ 350 Degree until Golden Brown. Toothpick test for
doneness. This bread comes out quite moist and quite a lot of banana
flavor (with only the one banana)!"

My oldest son (who is homeschooled) decided to give the recipe a try with a little help from Mama.

And you'll never guess...My husband actually liked it!

So, if you have a black banana laying around and you're tempted to throw it away, try this recipe and make someone happy. Someone who likes banana bread.

But don't give it to me.

I don't eat bananas. I just heroically save them from the trashcan.

Yep.

That's me.

Banana Rescue Hero.