Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
For everybody’s there’s a one-a-day.
There are many 365 days projects floating around the internet these days. People are doing amazing things every single day. Here are a few examples:
1. New Dress a Day: This creative chickie is creating a new dress (or top) every day for this year….and only spending $365 for the entire year! As of right now, she is on day 335 and I must say she has made quite a few great pieces.
2. A Year of Slow Cooking: This momma is cooking up meals everyday in her crockpot and has been going at it since 2008. Guess that just goes to show that one year does not have to be the limit. She is even cooking gluten free to accommodate her daughter (*hint*hint* good recipe source). There are a variety of recipes that she has worked through and many look might tasty! I will be stopping back here for inspiration.
3. 2010 at a Glance: This young lady is taking a photo each day for the whole year….mostly of nature and food (yum!). I could get in to that.
Those a just a few examples of what many people have been doing over the past (few) year(s). A quick online search will bring up many other projects that bloggers and the like have been creating.
It leaves me to think about starting my own one-a-day project. Now I just need to come up with a concept…
1. New Dress a Day: This creative chickie is creating a new dress (or top) every day for this year….and only spending $365 for the entire year! As of right now, she is on day 335 and I must say she has made quite a few great pieces.
2. A Year of Slow Cooking: This momma is cooking up meals everyday in her crockpot and has been going at it since 2008. Guess that just goes to show that one year does not have to be the limit. She is even cooking gluten free to accommodate her daughter (*hint*hint* good recipe source). There are a variety of recipes that she has worked through and many look might tasty! I will be stopping back here for inspiration.
3. 2010 at a Glance: This young lady is taking a photo each day for the whole year….mostly of nature and food (yum!). I could get in to that.
Those a just a few examples of what many people have been doing over the past (few) year(s). A quick online search will bring up many other projects that bloggers and the like have been creating.
It leaves me to think about starting my own one-a-day project. Now I just need to come up with a concept…
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Goodbye Summer…
Hello cold weather!
With colder weather comes those heating bills that we all wish we could decrease. There are many things that can be done to help reduce costs. One simple and affordable modification is to our wall outlets and switch plate covers. Outlets and switches along the exterior walls of a home can allow in a draft. The good news is that a simple fix is possible. Many stores sell kits to insulate outlets and switches like this:
Then you can also add in child safety outlet covers for extra draft protection:
Last winter we insulated our outlets. We were fortunate to pick up a free sample kit of the foam pieces (3 outlets, 3 switch plates) from a local power company. From there we simply saved up egg cartons (yes, you read that right) to make the rest of the pieces we needed for our home:
We simply traced the sample pieces on to the cartons and made the rest that we needed. We were able to make two covers per carton. Then we picked up a set of outlet plugs:
We took our outlets from this:
to this:
Granted, you probably could have visualized the outcome, but I really just wanted to show off my paint job. If you remember, continuing painting the house was on my summer to-do list. Plus, as you can see, no one is any wiser of the changes you just made.
Another option to help you stay warm this winter would be to find a furry friend to snuggle with. From past experience, furry friends like these are good choices:
Man, that is some nice looking paint.... :)
With colder weather comes those heating bills that we all wish we could decrease. There are many things that can be done to help reduce costs. One simple and affordable modification is to our wall outlets and switch plate covers. Outlets and switches along the exterior walls of a home can allow in a draft. The good news is that a simple fix is possible. Many stores sell kits to insulate outlets and switches like this:
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Then you can also add in child safety outlet covers for extra draft protection:
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Last winter we insulated our outlets. We were fortunate to pick up a free sample kit of the foam pieces (3 outlets, 3 switch plates) from a local power company. From there we simply saved up egg cartons (yes, you read that right) to make the rest of the pieces we needed for our home:
We simply traced the sample pieces on to the cartons and made the rest that we needed. We were able to make two covers per carton. Then we picked up a set of outlet plugs:
We took our outlets from this:
to this:
Granted, you probably could have visualized the outcome, but I really just wanted to show off my paint job. If you remember, continuing painting the house was on my summer to-do list. Plus, as you can see, no one is any wiser of the changes you just made.
Another option to help you stay warm this winter would be to find a furry friend to snuggle with. From past experience, furry friends like these are good choices:
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Day dreaming
Lately I have been dreaming a lot of our next home. Ideally I would love us to be able to build exactly what we dream of. Here is what I hope for one day...
Photo courtesy of hookedonhouses.net
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