Condo Blues: October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Highball Halloween Party!

Happy Halloween!

Today is one our favorite holidays because it is all about frivolous fun. I got my costumer on and made a rare set of matching costumes for Husband and I to wear to this year’s Highball Halloween party. We were Raving Rabbids!


RavingRabbidscostumes
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!

I’m glad I made our full length Rabbid suits from fleece. It was freezing that night!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Have You Tried Slow Cooking without Electricity?

For the most part my emergency storm blackout supplies include a bottle of red wine,a manual corkscrew, (you will understand why if you read what happened during our last multiday blackout) and a whole bunch of candles.

We got a grill shortly after that so at least we could cook something that is melting in the freezer and avoid standing in very long lines at area restaurants with all of our neighbors who can’t cook in their all-electric kitchens either.

While I appreciate being able to cook on a grill on my patio during a summer blackout, standing knee-deep in snow is something I’d like to avoid during a winter blackout if I can. And I will with my new eco non-electric slow cooker the Wonderbag.


How can this big pillow cook food without fire or electricity?

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Covered Kitchen Storage Boxes

My kitchen is shrinking.

Not really but it feels that way.

We have one cupboard we use to store food. The rest of the cupboards hold dishes, cups, and stuff we want  to keep but don’t use often. In my dream kitchen all of these special dishes and things would live on the tippy top shelves of cupboards that go all the way to the ceiling so they are accessible but not in the every day way.

A kitchen remodel isn’t in the plan this year. Moving to a bigger house is too much work. I need to find some space in the kitchen I have.

I found it!

Kitchencabinetstoragebox




I know I’m supposed to like having a decorating space on top of my kitchen cabinets. I tried hanging plates on the wall because that is what you are supposed to do in a kitchen, right? I didn’t like it. I tried groupings of doodads on top of the cabinets - meh. I just can’t make it work.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Topsy Turvey Bookcases

I was beyond happy when we bought our house and replaced our mish mosh of overflowing bookshelves with one wall of matching bookshelves in our computer room.  Seeing all of our books in one place made me giddy.

Then we bought more books.

And a few more.

And a few more.

We could use more shelves.

I started poking around for arty book shelves because it is way more fun than sorting through and donating our old and outdated books. Yes, yes. I’ll get to it. It is on the punch list for our computer room revamp project.

In the meantime, let’s have some fun and check out some crazy fun bookshelves. For what they don’t hold in the amount of stuff, they make up for in the amount of whimsy they add to a room.

I can’t help but look at the Woodcurve Curved Bookshelf  and smile. This piece was inspired by the Dr. Seuss books as are several of the pieces in Woodcurve’s Etsy shop.


Woodcurvebookcase
Warning: Curves Ahead!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

21 Ways to Decorate Real Halloween Pumpkins

Husband suggested I bump up my Halloween décor for Lacey since it is her first Halloween with us.

pumpkinlacey
ALL of these are for me to eat?!


That’s right. He said for Lacey.

It’s not like the guy likes Halloween or pumpkins or manipulating me into doing something he wants for Lacey (and I certainly do not do this on him because it works 100% of the time on both of us.)


I usually keep the pumpkins plain because I bake, puree, and freeze our pumpkins after Halloween. Cute but not as festive.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

How to Make Outdoor Flying Bat Halloween Decorations #HalloweenMP

Husband and I are decorating the house for Lacey’s first Halloween.

I asked Lacey what type of  Halloween decorations she wante on the front porch she asked for a swarm of 3D flying bats she can chase. Typical spaniel. Lacey loves to “hunt” anything that flies.

howtomakeflyingbatdecorations



I knew how I wanted Lacey's bats to look but I wasn't sure what materials I could make them from. I can shape paper but it won't hold up outdoors in damp weather (is was drizzling when I took the outdoor photos for this post.)

Hm…think, think, thinkidy, think.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

How to Fake Crown Molding with Paint

This post brought to you by FrogTape brand painter’s tape. All opinions are 100% mine.

I knew I picked the right wall color in my guest room/craft room the minute I moved my antique black and white table into the room. It it popped against the yellow wall. I am smitten with color scheme!

However, I'm not smitten with the closet.

I never liked the doors or oak stain on the molding at the top. I know I'm supposed to like wood molding but the oak stain makes it look cheap. I tried to hide the molding by painting it the same color as the wall. It is not as awful but it still use a little something while I'm thinking about what to do with the closet doors.

how to fake crown molding with paint



Thursday, October 10, 2013

One Eco Dress, Three Looks, and a $75 Giveaway!

Happy news! I met my weight loss goal! I am now back into what is considered thedressyOasisdress healthy range of my Body Mass Index (BMI.) I realize BMI measurements and numbers aren’t a perfect indication of health because there are other factors in play such as muscle mass that can skew BMI numbers to the overweight range of a perfectly healthy and fit person.

I’m using BMI as a healthier target range for my height instead of  picking an arbitrary weight or saying that I want be a size 2 like I was in high school. Not realistic and probably unhealthy skinny for my only slightly older than high school body. (I may not lie about my weight but age is fair game!)

Eating a whole foods, no trans fat, no hydrogenated oil, no processed food from a box diet to lose the weight wasn’t difficult. In fact, I’m following the same no bad stuff diet that made me gain the extra 25 pounds I had to lose. I’m proof that if you eat too much of anything, even very good for you things, and get little to no exercise you will gain weight.

Thanks to my trainer and high energy exercise buddy Lacey, I lost the last of those 25 extra pounds. I feel better (especially now that my waist is no longer larger than Husband’s.) I also have a new problem. My clothes don’t fit! I need new duds.


Sunday, October 6, 2013

How to Make Halloween Zombie Skull Bath Bombs

Fall brings corn mazes, jumping in leaf piles, hay rides, and other good dirty fall fun.

Why not extend it into bath time and give your little monsters an incentive to scrub a dub dub in the tub with a Halloween bath bomb?





Don't worry, your tub won't really explode after you plunk them in water. We are making Halloween bath fizzies!

How to Make Exploding Skull Bath Bombs for Halloween


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Tank Girl and Captain Hammer Costumes

My inner costumer came out to play last year when Husband and I went to a comic convention. I took a ton of pictures of the cosplayers (the people who dress up in comic book character costumes) while Husband met and talked to some of the comic book artists he collected as a kid.

I'll admit it. I'm a costume geek. I have a Pinterest costume board to prove it. Give me a follow, won't you?

This year, Husband wanted to go to the Ohio Comic Con because his childhood hero, Stan Lee, was going to be there. For those of you who did not spend all of your paper route money on comic books, Stan Lee created Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and most of The Avengers. I had to learn this to stay married.

Since Husband took the opportunity to do something he's wanted to do since we was a kid, I took the opportunity to do something I wanted to do too. I gingerly dipped my toe into the cosplay water.

I pulled last year's Halloween costume out and went as Tank Girl!

Apparently good poses are part of the cosplay gig.