Hot Mess

Every time I watch an interior decorating show I am amazed by the outfits that people wear while they are painting. I mean, I know that they want to look nice for tv but who really wears a brand new outfit to paint the living room? TV personalities aren't the only people who do this, either. I have even seen bloggers who do it too! As if we don't already feel inadequate enough while looking at these picture-perfect homes; now they have to go and take pictures of themselves working on these projects while looking like a GAP ad.

I don't know about you but THIS is what I look like when I am painting.

Basement Remodel Part Two: Seal and Paint Walls

More progress has been made on the basement remodel! I sealed and primed all of the walls!

Basement Remodel Part One: Ceiling & Lights

I started talking about our basement remodel on Facebook about a week and a half ago and I figured it was time to start sharing some of the details here. I usually like to wait until a room is complete before I post it here and then go back and explain how I did it. I don't really know why. I guess it makes the big reveal seem more impressive or something. This one is going to take awhile before it is really finished though so I decided to share as we go along instead!

Customized Navigation Bar Using Pages

Would you like to put a navigation bar on your blog like mine in the picture above? When I started blogging a couple of years ago this required lots of html code and even creating picture links if you wanted a funky font. However, in the last year Blogger has made huge improvements with their customization options. It is super easy to do now. Seriously, anyone can do this!

DIY Moon Sand

I haven't been able to do any crafting lately and if you follow me on Facebook you know why. I felt the need to make something though and when I saw the recipe for moon sand on Play Based Learning I had to try it out. I tweaked the recipe a bit and this is what I came up with:

How To: Remove a Ring From a Swollen Finger

Have you ever woken up with a swollen ring finger for whatever reason and then had a major tiny freak out when you couldn't get your ring off? Yep. Happened to me a few days ago.

Apparently I got a mosquito bite on my knuckle one night and when I woke up a couple of days later half of my hand was swollen including my ring finger. You can't see it very well in that photo but it was really bad! My engagement ring came off with a little soap and some tugging but my wedding ring refused to come off. I tried ice, soap, lotion, everything I could think of and it wouldn't budge.

The Cut

The garage sale is finally over! We ended up making $750!!! Okay so $500 of it was for our car but still! $250 isn't too bad and how often are you able to sell a car at a garage sale?! We put most of the items that didn't sell by the curb with a free sign and it was all gone within a couple of hours. There are still some bigger items that we had to put on craigslist. I love how effective craigslist is for making money off of unused items but it can definitely be a pain in the butt so I am hoping that everything sells quickly. Anyone in the twin cities need an upright freezer? We have two! :)

Anyway, since I rambled on and on about my long hair I thought that I would show you the pics of my new cut!

BEFORE:

Brenda's Kitchen Transformation

Brenda from Indiana found my Kitchen Makeover at the Today's Creative Blog link up and decided to try it out in her own kitchen! Check out her amazing before and afters: BEFORE:

Sweet Sixteen.....Wait...WHAT?!?!

Funny thing happened today....I was mistaken for a teenager...AGAIN!!! This has been happening a lot the last few months. The first was when I had to go to the Minute Clinic and the guy apparently didn't look at my form closely enough because he told me that if I was under 18 then my dad needed to come in with me (he was mistakenly referring to my husband). When I told him how old I was he said that he thought for sure that I was sixteen.

Peppercorn Shredded Beef Sandwiches

This shredded beef recipe is really easy to make and it is so full of flavor that it became an instant family favorite! It is a slow cooker recipe and it makes 16 servings so it's a great meal to make for company.