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HOW TO UPDATE A WREATH IN A MINUTE

October 10, 2020

Who has a wreath habit? Just like dishes from HomeGoods I am a bit of wreath hoarder. My first blog post when I blogged under another name, was a garage sale wreath refresh. But, this wreath update is with a brand new wreath from HomeGoods. I know why would I mess with something new? But it is just the touch I wanted on our new dutch door that leads to the backyard. So here is how to update a wreath in a minute.

ONE MINUTE WREATH UPDATE

Any wreath. In a minute-ish.

It will add a little personality to what is already a beautiful seasonal wreath.

Any guesses? Skip to the comments to guess.

HOW TO UPDATE A WREATH IN A MINUTE

Bells. Bells are my new obsession to add a touch of whimsy to any wreath. My family would call it a touch of something else. #wink

No matter how young or old, bells add a little sassy to a wreath.

Here’s the backstory:

I love bells, chimes and more bells. Bells make a frequent appearance on my interior doors during the holidays. And, then when I refreshed my front door I added a bell.

With the dutch door leading to the back yard and patio, I thought a bell would be a nice little chime when Chloe or Elliott come barreling through their new favorite door.

To begin, I simply pulled the leaves back to expose the grapevine wreath. With my new favorite craft accessory, from a dollar store. They sell this jute-wrapped wire at Hobby Lobby, but I found it a dollar store and thought I would give it a try.

I attached the bells to the wreath. I intentionally offset them to the side. For this closeup, I pulled the branches back, but I usually hide the jute with the leaves.

That’s it! It took about a minute to add the bells. It took longer to hang the wreath because I did not account for the upper half of the door to swish the top of the wreath.

I am on my 2nd nail in the new dutch door.

What do you think? I chose some bells that were not as clangy as the bell on the front door. At this rate, I might end up like the little old lady who hoards wreaths, dishes and bells oh and Bernese Mountain dogs.

Would love a fresh pin!

THE EASIEST WAY TO HANG A FRAME

October 8, 2020

My brain tilts right. A few years ago, my sister and I decided to hang wall art behind my son’s bed. After 40 minutes we had a dozen nail holes in the drywall. We used the “let’s eyeball technique” favored by people like us who are not fans of the more accurate math and measurement technique.

Why do you think we tilted the banner and called it good? I love a banner they are way more forgiving than the frames with all the fancy hardware on the back.

So when I wanted to hang photo frames that had the two mounting brackets on opposite ends of the frame, I started to sweat.

The thought of measuring the width and distance of the frame AND the distance between the brackets and the top of the frame made my head spin.

My instinct is to default to the lean it and leave it technique that I used here.

Here is the easiest way to hang a frame if you turn a frame over and see multiple brackets on opposite ends of the frame.

It is a workaround until I figure out the math. #don’tjudge

I try and buy frames based on the mounting hardware. When the mounting brackets are on opposite sides of the frame it means I will be patching a wall. Trying to hang a level frame usually means a math problem and measuring tape. Now I may go that route with a heavy or really nice piece of artwork. But, for almost every other photo or print, I discovered the easiest way to hang a frame without taking out half the wall with nail holes.

THE EASIEST WAY TO HANG A FRAME

Next time you find yourself with the mounting brackets on opposite sides and you need an easy fix. Try this:

Grab ribbon or twine thin enough to thread through the mounting bracket’s hook.
Cut the length of the ribbon or twine to be able to thread the ribbon through the mounting bracket holes on opposite sides.
By threading the ribbon through both brackets on the back of the frames eliminates the 2nd nail in the drywall. The ribbon becomes the one-stop hanging apparatus. Tip: The professionally framed artwork includes the wire apparatus to accommodate the weight. You can buy the wire mounting hardware, but this is a cheap hack when you want to get this frame on the wall before the next episode of “insert Top 10 Netflix show.”

Before you leave, check out how I repurposed a shipping frame here. It is one of my favorite repurpose projects.

Would love a pin!

Ombre Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

October 5, 2020

Growing up sugar cookies were a holiday tradition at our house. The only difference is when I discovered these sugar cookie bars. This recipe for sugar cookie bars reduced a three-hour commitment down to like 20 minutes. It was a baking epiphany in my kitchen.

Frosted sugar cookie bars are a modern-day twist on the classic cookie cutter sugar cookie. I still love cookie cutouts, but these cookie bars are perfect when you want a homemade cookie without the long term kitchen commitment.

The recipe is below, along with credit to the blog who inspired me by his charm.

The only thing that takes a little practice is the length of time in the oven.

I set my timer for 12 minutes and watched over these cookies for another two minutes.

That was the only tricky detail with these sugar cookie bars.

For the frosting, I made an ombre frosting trio, like when I made these spring bars. The ombre frosted sugar cookie bars took my skills up a notch..

kinda/sorta.

I was going for a fall seasonal ombre effect, but let’s just say orange is a finicky color to tint icing.

FROSTED SUGAR COOKIE BARS

adapted from Inspired by Charm

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Line baking sheet with foil (for thicker bar use a smaller baking sheet).
In a large bowl: sift flour, baking powder & salt.
In separate bowl cream butter, sugar for about 3 minutes.
Add egg, sour cream and vanilla
Slowly add the flour mixture
Press the dough onto the baking sheet, bake for about 14 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup half and half or whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Food Coloring & sprinkles
Once cookie bars are cool spread the frosting on the cookie bar.Frost as desired the flour mixture
Press the dough onto the baking sheet, bake for 14-17 minutes until edges are lightly golden.FrostingOnce cookie bars are cool spread the frosting on the cookie bar.Frost as desired

I love everything about these sugar cookie bars; the frosting, the simplicity and the taste! They still taste and smell like the traditional frosted sugar cookie!

I tried the ombre effect with frosted sugar cookie bars with pink icing here.

7 UNEXPECTED COSTCO FINDS

October 4, 2020

Unexpected finds and deals at Costco

Costco bots know our age and stage of life, based on our purchase history. I spent over a decade at Costco on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. I call it the decade of snack-size cookies, chips, fruit snacks and oranges for the endless sliced oranges on game day. Oh, and cases of Capri Suns. Now? Our cart is filled with the 3 pack of Kim Crawford for $33.00 and a 16 oz. a container of mixed nuts. With online shopping, I found a world of unexpected finds at Costco.

7 UNEXPECTED COSTCO FINDS

1. RECIPES. Costco has it’s on cooking and recipe section online. Who knew? I never thought to peruse recipes at Costco. Online, you can find recipes and videos on how to pair their recipes with seasonal or year-round department favorites. You can take a look HERE.

2. LOUNGEWEAR. Costco was ahead of the loungewear trend years ago. I bought the comfiest sweats for my daughter for a stocking stuffer. I may have picked up a pair for me too. But, what I am loving right now is this sleep lounger.

This is basically an oversized, knee-length sweatshirt. It was under $20.00 and I love it.

You should have seen my husband’s face when I tossed this into the cart.

3. FLOWER DELIVERY I had no idea Costco offers flower deliveries. I love their seasonal flowers, but they offer delivery HERE.

unexpected-Costco-finds-everydayeditsblog

Source: Costco

4. PHOTO CENTER I discovered the fun of the photo center when I created custom stickers and notecards with one of my boys’ unfortunate class photos. His grandma loved, loved, loved the custom stationery. And, she laughed every time she sent a note with Evan’s class photo.

Tip: The photo center requires a separate login account.

5. RUGS If you have followed me for a minute you know I love to find Made in USA products. Costco offers USA made rugs HERE. And, you don’t have to try and fit an 8×10 rug into the back of your car.

HOLIDAY & SEASONAL FINDS AT COSTCO

6. HOLIDAY SECTION is one way to spend hundreds of dollars in minutes. Shop wisely. Did you know you can many of the holiday favorites online at Costco? Delivery will save you the haul to the car and house.

7. SEASONAL FINDS Every year, the weekend before Thanksgiving, I make a trip to Costco for the fresh greenery. Historically arrives the week before the pumpkin pie filled holiday. Since I am already there I make sure to grab their fresh-baked pies. This spring, their buckets of flowers and planters sold out in a weekend at our Costco.

What are your favorite finds at Costco? Please share in the comments. I am so excited about the rugs at Costco.com.

Take a look at my unexpected finds at HomeGoods. My sister can’t believe I buy this at HomeGoods. I found my living room furniture here too.

FALL KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS IN AN HOUR

October 2, 2020

It has been almost a year since we remodeled our kitchen. This time last year we returned from dropping our son off at college. We packed the contents of the kitchen and moved everything to the pool table to the basement. My coffee station was in the bathroom and the toaster was on a ping pong table. What a difference a year makes. Very excited to share a little fall kitchen decor ideas with you. And, if you only have an hour… then let’s roll!

And, now this year? I am so excited to share my fall kitchen decor ideas. These are easy and affordable ideas. I made a commitment this year to invest in pumpkins. I love real pumpkins, but by the end of September, the squirrels have had a buffet on my front porch. And, the bears.

FALL KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS

Sink Space

If you have a corner kitchen sink you have valuable real estate around the faucet. I snagged a few stems from Hobby Lobby and used this hack to add some height around the sink.

Counters & Ledges

There is no such thing as too many pumpkins this time of year. I plan to add a few extra pumpkins to the windows to make them their own little corner pumpkin patch.

If you have a small window above your sink plop a pumpkin on the windows sill.

Instant smiles.

Quiet Corners

I love these glass pumpkins. Yes, these white pumpkins are glass. I painted them a few years ago and never looked back.

Glass makes me nervous so I tucked this into a quiet corner next to the pantry.

It’s not as busy so the pumpkins should be safe.

Kitchen Island or Mobile Cart

No matter how big or small your kitchen, islands, or a mobile “island” cart takes center stage in the kitchen.

I go back and forth with really tall arrangements and shorter ones. Right now I have something that is smaller to take advantage of the views into the backyard.