A Fun and Frugal Summer Table with Dollar Tree #DTSummerFun #ad

 I’m thrilled to be partnering with Dollar Tree to share their Summer Fun products with you. This did not influence my opinion in any way because all opinions are 100% my own. 

Summer is my favorite season of the year. We have lots of impromptu gatherings with friends and family. The warm weather and sunny days allow Husband and I to host some of the events with his large family because we can move the party outside. To make sure our guests can tell which house is ours in a neighborhood of small lookalike houses, I hang something cute, like paper lanterns, on the front porch.

 Striped LED hanging paper lanterns? Yes Please! 

16 Easy DIY Projects for Beginners

I think the best gift you can give someone lacking self confidence is a hammer.

No. Not to make themselves feel better by hitting other people with it, but to use it to build or fix something.
Completing a project is a shot in the arm to the self esteem.

 It might have taken me all afternoon, but I held my head a little higher for the rest of the day after completing my first DIY project. Who knew changing a deadbolt door lock can change your world? (Beyond the added security that no one can come in your house uninvited and take your stuff.)

12 Natural Gardening Tips for Beginners

Now that I have a house with a yard, I’ve been forced into this gardening thing. Some days I like it. Other days, my fails remind me why I named this blog Condo Blues!

I want to keep our gardening habits as green and eco-friendly as possible because Lacey likes to run into our flower beds even though she knows she shouldn’t. The last thing I want is for her to be covered with or ingest some chemical concoction of unknown origin we put on our plants or in our soil. Frankly, I’m not crazy about Husband and I doing that either.

Husband and I need to rework the front yard a bit after a series of windstorms pelted our bushes and plants. I asked a bunch of blogger friends if they had any green gardening tips that I can learn from and share with you.

Down and Dirty DIY Spray Paint Booth

Happy May Day!

And Beltane!

Or as I like to call it Spray Paint Weather!

Whoo hoo! Back flips and the happy dance!

My leg hasn't healed and I'm still in a boot, so the the back flips and happy dance are only happening in my mind right now.

But now that it is over 40 degrees (F) and even with my foot in a boot,  the spray painting will commence!

I like to spray paint outside because of the fumes. The paint dries more quickly too. I can't do that if it is a windy day. Spray painting in the wind is just as successful as spitting into the wind. Guess how I know?

A windy day was just another factor in this hot mess of a painted headboard.

I fixed it by resanding the bumpy, uneven, crackled areas smooth and repainting the headboard inside the garage.