Garden Grow: Chandelier

The dollar store had some solar lights for.... a dollar...duh... I painted them, popped the heads off the stands and then used poster putty to stick them inside the "candle sticks" of this chandelier I got from the thrift store for $8. Has a cool effect :) Tricky to get a photo of though.

Garden Grow: Dresser to Kitchenette

I found this dresser for $8 

I painted it. 

Then my aunt had a good idea about turning that spot with the missing drawer into a fire pit or something but we already had an idea for that, but it inspired me to do a spot for drinks! So my hubby used his power tools and cut the top off, flipped it, nailed it back down and I painted over the whole thing. Add a bin and you've got a place to plop some ice and beverages for your backyard party.  

Garden Grow: Outdoor Fountain

I found a marble lamp stand at the thrift store: 

And so basically if you remove the wiring, there is already anice hole drilled down the middle for water to flow up, making a great pedestal for the base. So my first attempt, I used a plastic container painted copper, punched a hole in it and screwed it to the top. It looked good!

But as soon as you turned on the water, the weight was too much and it drooped. So sad. 

So I got a new top, a jello mold. My hubby had to drill it and then we filed some grooves around the edge so the flow would go the way we wanted. Also, adding some rocks to the inside eased the pumping a bit. Success!

Garden Grow: Watering With Wine Bottles

You probably noticed the wine bottles in my last post and are wondering what the heck those are there for. Well I saw the idea on pinterest, which led me to this site that talks about using a wine bottle for water plants. Simple and rather ingenius. It is so dry here and I have loads of wine bottles not being used. There is no quick way to recycle them around here so this method turned out to be a great use for them AND it worked! I still water once a day but if I notice a plant needing a little help or if one is naturally more thirsty, this helps keep the balance. It keeps my plants pretty happy. All I did was fill the bottle with water and then plunge it into the dirt, it stayed up just fine on it's own. I thought it might look trashy with all those wine bottles but wine bottles seem to be intrinsically classy lend a fun touch to the box. 

Garden Grow: Firepit

My husband the ham helped me do this one :) 

What a buff and helpful fella! Basically i got this big ole hunk of rusty pipe for free after making friends with a junk collector. We dug a hole in the ground and buried it partially in that, filled it with the dirt we had removed, stuck a bunch of rocks in the bottom and called it good. We'd like to eventually decorate it a little more than that but for now, it's functional :) Which is great because we have a LOT of debris to burn off in this yard. 

Garden Grow: Mosaic

This thing was the biggest pain in the arse to do. I didn't enjoy doing it a bit and in the end I didn't get what a wanted, which was a table top. 

I ran out of both time and supplies so I did the best with what I had and its now a pretty piece in the yard. Which I won't complain on at all, a lot of people seem to really like it. That or they don't want to hear me whine about how annoying it was to make >. > could be.... Meh, it's pretty. Nuff said. 

"Tea by the Sea" Fabulous Food

Well...I had every intention of typing up the recipes but with all the crazy redecorating and organizing going on in the house, and then my computer crashing I lost the recipes. They weren't mine, so I don't really know what else to tell you. I am tired and don't care that much ;) So just look at the pretty food LOL

Harry Potter Movie Marathon!

So I wrote a bunch of stuff...it got deleted...because technology suuuuuuucks sometimes...and I have been waiting for the gumption to rewrite this. And it hasn't come. It's not even May anymore, which is when this ACTUALLY happened (for the Battle of Hogwarts, of course) and so I am just all grumpy about the timing being ruined. lame sauce. And my photos keep disappearing! AUGH. 

So have a look at all our fun budget decorations and my cousins yummy themed treats! There were chocolate frogs, crunchy cockroaches, white chocolate wands, every flavor beans, lemon drops, all kinds of yumminess! 

Garden Grow: Plant Box

Our first new addition to the backyard! The plant box for the garden. We found a tutorial online (pretty easy, it is just a box after all) chose the paint and put it together. I wanted a bit of a shabby chic thing so I sanded down the painting (first a coat of white, then a coat of blue and then a final coat of spring green) we did and then painted it over with a clear topcoat for protection. 

This is me attempting some moss graffiti but it never worked out, the air is just too dry to keep up with here, especially during the summer. But it was worth a shot!

It's got tomatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts and cucumber in there as seedlings and then I planted the seeds of leek, carrots, basil and broccoli. I have never done this before so I am eager to see how it turns out!

Dinner and a Movie: The Goonies

“I will never betray my goon dock friends,
We will stick together until the whole world ends,
Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war,
Good pals like us, will stick like tar,
In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies,
I am proudly declared a fellow Goonie!”

— The Goonie Pledge

My cousin has set up a theatre in her basement and it's pretty fun I have to say. Put that together with our mutual geekiness and I think you can expect a few more Dinner Movie things to come along. 

Sorry the photo is not the best, it was dark down there! :) 

We didn't get very elaborate with our dinner and a movie this time. Since pizza played the main food role in the movie, that was an easy decision (and we helped celebrate the anniversary of a local pizza place, its a win-win). The "Brown Water" the boys get served in the movie was incorporated via some iced tea. I tried out a new popcorn recipe (it's a movie, there has to be popcorn!) and then of course Baby Ruth had to be worked in. My cousin made some very tasty Gooey Baby Ruth Brownies (which were dubbed Goonie Baby Ruth Brownies instead!). 

One Eyed Willie Pirate Popcorn

Coconut Oil
Popcorn Seeds


1 tsp Bragg's Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning 
*(grind it down more if you can) 
1/2 tsp Turmeric (to make it golden like treasure!)
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp Sea Salt


Butter


Cook the popcorn over the stove using a heavy metal pot. First, place the oil in the pot and let it melt down, then pour in as many seeds as you need depending on your party size (About 1/2 a cup for two people, if this new for you entirely). Because the flavors are pretty powerful, I'd say start off minimal and work up, trying some and seeing how it strick you. Because this was new, I set aside half the popcorn, flavored it (ended up over flavoring because I had to keep tweaking it) and then combined it with the other half and it came out perfect!

This (I believe) is the recipe for the brownies...they sure look the same! They were super good!:

Gooey Baby Ruth Brownies

Estimated Times

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 35 mins
Cooling Time: 20 mins cooling

Servings: 24 brownies

Ingredients

1 package (18.25 ounces) chocolate brownie mix 

3 (2.1 ounces each) NESTLÉ BABY RUTH Candy Bars, chopped 

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 large egg 

2 teaspoons milk 

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

PREPARE brownie batter according to package directions; stir in chopped Baby Ruth. Pour into prepared pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in small mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and milk. Using knife or spatula, swirl cream cheese mixture into brownie batter to create a marbling effect.

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars using wet knife