Storing Left-Over Paint

Hubs and I have been slowly-but-surely getting our home organized this summer. (We're late to the Spring Cleaning party) 


One of the tasks on our list has been to organize all of our leftover paint from our DIY home projects. There was the foyer, the master bath, the hall bath, the master bath again, the basement, both daughter's rooms, the basement again, the girls' bathroom, the basement bathroom... that's a lot of leftover paint!


Back in the fall, I had read a blog post by Leslie over at Goodbye, House. Hello, Home! where she had stored all of her paint in canning jars. Her before and after pictures were amazing... so clean and organized. I wanted that for our house home!


She even included a link to download labels free of charge. Cool!

This summer I re-visited the blog post, printed a sheet of labels, and bought some Better Homes and Gardens quart-size canning jars and funnels from Wal-Mart.

Here's a look at what the storage room in our basement has looked like for about a week. This weekend we got busy and checked this off our list!

(Notice the cedar chest on the left? I've had it since I was a teenager. It's on my to-do list for a makeover!)


Some of the lids were not sealed very good (Hubs must have done those), and some of the paint was from a previous project or colors that are about to be painted over again. We didn't save every color, only the ones that are in our house now. 


We left all the primers and whites in their cans, and we used the funnels to put the leftover paint in the canning jars. 


Take a look now:

Better, huh?? Now they take up less space and look a lot neater than those darn cans.


We did notice a theme in our paint colors... Seashell Gray, Sea Salt Blue, Drifting Dunes...  The beach is calling us! :) 


On another note, I also worked on a few projects on Sunday while we organized and planted new plants outside (getting ready for that special birthday party on Tuesday).


Here's a peek at a garage sale find... I've started it's transformation, but I don't want to reveal it until it's finished. 

I was pretty excited to find this for only $3! I hope it turns out like I hope it will!


Here's one more that's almost finished... I'll be sharing more about it soon, too. 

Hope your weekend was terrific!

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Kicking the sugar habit

Source: Uploaded by user via Judi on Pinterest

Each month, through Facebook or word-of-mouth, I facilitate a "10-Day Health & Wellness Challenge." 


It always starts on the 10th day of the month, and participants commit to 5 things:
     1) Exercise each day (participants' choice)     
     2) Journal all food and drink     
     3) Eliminate added sugar     
     4) Eat a green vegetable each day     
     5) Let me know what the green veggie and exercise is each day



Here's what I commit to:
I send a daily email with affirmations and health & fitness tips. (I am not a nutritionist, and this does not replace advice from such a professional nor advice from a medical doctor. I am a former personal trainer, a fitness advocate for more than 20 years, and my information has been collected over the years from research and from personal experience.)

I also create a Facebook accountability group each month. Participants can "report in" in this group, share tips, recipes, etc. and support each other.

Source: strongmothers.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

When most people consider or accept the challenge, the most frequent statement I hear is, "Eliminating sugar is going to be the hardest." BUT, once we start the challenge, this is what I hear from those same participants, "The hardest thing is eating a green vegetable each day." Does that surprise you? It surprised me when we started. Growing up, my mom always had a green vegetable at dinner time... it seemed it was a meat, starch, green vegetable, and usually another vegetable. 

For the "added sugar" part, I tell participants to take baby steps. "Added sugar" means stay away from pastries, desserts, pies, cakes, candy, etc. I also suggest a "Pantry Rehab."

Pantry Rehab

1. Go through all canned, boxed, bottled foods/spices/dressings... check expiration date. Throw away is expired!

2. Check all foods, including soups and broths for MSG (monosodium glutamate). Throw or give away if you find it!

3. Check for products with SUGAR listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. Don't eat it! Throw or give away, or when it is gone, replace it with a healthier choice.

4. Check product labels for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Throw or give away, or when it is gone, replace it with a healthier choice.

5. Survey your whole/raw foods. (Foods that walk, crawl, swim, or otherwise are found in their natural state as they have grown from the ground.) Stock up on fresh, raw, organic, unprocessed, gluten-free, HFCS-free, and sugar-free.

Source: strongmothers.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I'd love to hear from you if you try my Pantry Rehab! And... if you want to try the 10-day challenge, shoot me an email at jenniferhogan@charter.net! August 10th is right around the corner!

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Planning a Birthday Party! {Mom's Cool Idea!}

This week has gotten busier and has reminded me of the pace of the school year. We've been doing registration at school, had several other meetings, a zillion emails (about registration and scheduling), pitching lessons after work... even though we don't start school until August 20, it really feels like summer is winding down!

What else have I been up to? Planning my daughter's 15th birthday party! Her birthday is July 31st, and in the past when we've tried to have a party... it seems as though everyone is out of town! I really don't think she's had a party since she was very young. This year she asked if she could have about 8 friends over to go to dinner and then spend the night. Cool. 


That was our plan until about a week ago. We met some friends at a local restaurant for dinner and to hear a former student (where my friend and I previously worked together ), Trey Thomason, perform. My daughter loves country music, and Trey was terrific!


Click on his picture below to hear one of his songs, "The Desert Loves the Rain."

On the way home that night, I said, "Wouldn't it be cool if Trey could come and play for your birthday?" My daughter thought that that was so cool! (Hard to believe that a 15-year-old thought something her mother said was a cool idea, huh?!)

So I sent Trey a message through Facebook to see if he did stuff like that, if he was in our budget, if he was available..  Yes, Yes, and Yes! Score!

Once I found out Trey would come and perform, I started looking for party ideas. I want to decorate, so I went to my favorite decorating source... Pinterest!

Here are some of the ideas I've pinned... tell me what you think!

Source: chickabug.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Thought this would be cute on the front door to greet guests. I can use the Dollar Store trick to create this easy wreath. Just need to pick up a letter "K" at Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

Source: countryliving.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Love the "flags" in this one! Would be cute on the deck or in the basement where the girls will be.

Source: little-inspirations.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Cute idea to line baskets with bandanas for serving the chips. I also love the white flowers... would be cute in some mason jars, too!

Source: someecards.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I thought the girls would find this cute! I could print on cardstock, attach to a skewer and use at the food table.

Source: country-life.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Another cute sign to use with decorating food table!

Source: countryliving.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Great idea for party favors! I'll either ask Trey to bring his CD's or I'll create a mix of favorite country songs and personalize them for the party guests.

Source: blog.amyatlas.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Need some peach baskets....

Source: eventolistas.com.br via Jennifer on Pinterest

It's supposed to be 100 degrees next week, so having a fire to make s'mores is out. But these are perfect and so cute! 



So, that's where I'm at so far in planning this soon-to-be-15-but-sometimes-think-I'm-20-year-old's birthday party. Would love to hear your ideas! And if you come across a pin that you think I could use, just "tag" me in the comments of the pin... I'm @jenniferhogan.




Hugs!

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My new "go to" dip... Easy Salsa Spinach Dip!

This is the most ridiculously easy dip... and it is soooo good!

I'm trying to finish a book I started a few weeks ago, it's called Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith. 

Frugalista that I am, I was looking for free e-books to download to my iPad (Kindle app). This was offered on the day that I was looking, and it's been a pretty good book! 

And while I'm reading, I like to snack! (Are you that way? Certain times make you want to snack?)

Here's my new favorite "go to" dip. It's easy and tasty, with the right amount of "kick" and creaminess. Perfect.

I use 2 products from Costco. I imagine you could use these products from anywhere, I just happen to like Costco.

The salsa and spinach dip are found in the refrigerated section near the fresh fruits and veggies. They come in pretty large sizes... so that means more days to make this fantastic dip before I run out!

This is about how much I put in a bowl... about 2 parts spinach dip and 1 part salsa. 

Mix.  {I know. Complicated stuff... right?}

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Thank me.

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Today is Hammock Day. Seriously!

Today, July 22, is Hammock Day. Seriously! I saw it on my Earth Fare flyer, then I had to Google it. It's true!


So today, slow down, relax, and enjoy these terrific pictures of hammocks! 



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Happy Summer!