Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 346

I am trying to knock out as many spray paint projects as I can until it becomes too cold to spray paint. I can't tell you how many clothes I've ruined with paint because I didn't take the time to change into my painting clothes.

There is an answer for that.

It is called an apron.

If you have a sloppy crafting, paint, DIY, or cooking habit you can protect your clothes and buy my This is how I roll apron in my shop LNW Creative Gifts! It features pockets to hold everything that gets lost during a project or recipe and makes a great gift for you or someone you love.

Funny This is How I Roll Paint Roller Apron
by LNWCreativeGifts

I showed you my latest project. Now you show me yours!

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

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Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

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Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

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Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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Amazon Echo Dot Birthday Giveaway!

Today is my birthday!

Yay!

I'm throwing a reverse birthday party and you are invited. What is a reverse birthday party you ask? It is a birthday party where I give YOU gifts! 

One of the things on my vacation shopping list a few years ago was to bring back either a Minion or a House Elf from Universal Studios. Husband thought I wanted a toy. No. I wanted a REAL one to help around the house. Sadly, they are fictional but flash forward to right now this minute in time and there IS a real live way to make your life easier - The Amazon Echo Dot! Best of all it doesn't need feeding, or clothes, or has a nasty habit of punching things.

And I am giving one Amazon Echo Dot away on Condo Blues!!!

How to Make Pallet Storage Shelves with Side Rails

I have a DIY power tool battery station hanging on the wall on my workbench and little else. All of my tools, hardware, and empty tool cases are stored low to the ground – like me! –  in my DIY kitchen cabinet workbench where I can easily put everything away after I finish a project in my shop.

Short girl problems, yo.

But man, those empty molded plastic power tool cases are taking up some variable storage real estate in the workbench. I don’t want to keep shuffling them around the workbench to get to things I needs but I don’t want to get rid of them either. The cases are nice for those occasions I Handy Ma'am it at someone else’s house.

A dead space the wall over my workbench is the perfect place to store my power tool cases. I put my recycled pallet wood stash to good use and built a storage shelf with built in bookends (for lack of a better term) so my tool cases won’t fall off the end of the shelf.

Pin this idea for later!

How to Build a Simple Shelf with Built in Bookends

 

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 345

Oh friends, I have a confession. I have a new obsession.

Antique crystal glasses.

It started innocently enough. I bought these sweet and versatile Bubble Champagne Coupe glasses  (aff link) as a wedding present last spring and I've been going back and forth about how useful owning coupe glasses would be ever since.   Which is somewhat silly yet somewhat practical given my lack of extra storage space in our condo.

The coupe hunger got worse after seeing a friend's recent antique mid century modern chair purchase followed by seeing cut glass coupes while thrift shopping for Halloween costume pieces. The clouds parted from the sky, a rainbow appeared, a unicorn slide down it and encouraged me to poke around one of my favorite thrift stores instead of just turning around in their parking lot.

And this happened.

Cocktails anyone? Vintage crystal glassware is my new obsession! Can you believes I scored 4 of these cut crystal gems for 2 bucks? #thriftshop #thriftstorefinds #vintage #crystal #glassware #antique #antiques #cocktails #coupe #greatgatsby #downtonabbey

A photo posted by Lisa (@condoblues) on Nov 2, 2016 at 1:10pm PDT

If you follow me @condoblues on Instagram you might have seen this in real time! 

I love them and already tested them out. Swoon!

I showed you mine, now you show me yours!

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Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin

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Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

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Pumpkin Spice Pumpkin Juice Recipe

Halloween is almost here!!!

Husband and I have a tradition with our next door neighbors to sit on our front porches and chat, candy bowls and food allergy treats at the ready for the neighborhood trick or treaters.

It's nice to have a festive drink with us to fill the lull in between Beggar's Night groups and there is no better option than a big glass of Harry Potter inspired Pumpkin Juice!

As all Harry Potter fans know, pumpkin juice is a non alcoholic treat served hot or cold in the wizarding world.

It was one of many things Husband and I couldn't wait to try in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of both Universal Studios Florida parks.  Universal set up a test kitchen in England so JK Rowling could select what she imagined when she created pumpkin juice and all of the other fantastic wizard food and drinks that appear in the series.

When I read the Harry Potter books I imagined pumpkin juice to taste like pumpkin spice. Unfortuantely, JK Rowling's recipe is full of apricot juice adn waaaaaay too sweet.

So I decided to create a pumpkin spice pumpkin juice recipe myself! Pop on over to my food blog Lazy Budget Chef to read the recipe:

Spicy Harry Potter Inspired Pumpkin Juice Recipe

Your taste buds will be glad you did! 

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Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 344

 We had so many fantastic projects and recipes added to our Linky Party last Friday, it was hard to pick a favorite to feature!

So let's just dive in, shall we?

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Christine at Light and Savvy - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Jen at Creatively Homemade - Twitter | G+ | Pin

Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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New Orleans French Quarter Fall Porch Decor

Decorating the outside of a duplex for holidays is usually more miss than hit since neither side coordinates with the other (at least in my experience.)

What can I say? I like symmetry in my outdoor holiday décor.

That’s why I stopped in my tracks when Husband and I passed this sweet yellow duplex in New Orleans last November and took it all in.

Pin this Fall outdoor porch decorating idea for later!

First of all, even undecorated, it is a lovely double shotgun style home. One of many that fills the French Quarter with architectural charm.

Fall Wine Cork Porch Decoration Ideas

I have this visually dead corner on my front porch. Trying to find something either practical or pretty to fill it gives me fits.

Storage space for new autumn decorations is practically nonexistent in our condo. So I did a little summer and fall decoration shuffle from backyard fall patio decorations (take the fall patio decorating tour here on Condo Blues) to the front porch now that it is too chilly to eat dinner outside on the regular.

Killing one of the mums I bought for the backyard actually worked in my favor. I used the pot of dirt in the metal planter to anchor the wood flagpole I used to hang the quilted scarecrow I made forever ago and haven’t found a good use for until now.
 
I traced the metal container and cut a circle to fit inside the metal planter with a hole in it for the scarecrow pole to keep it centered in the planter. The flower pot isn’t as deep as the metal planter so I chucked a couple of Husband’s empty protein powder containers in the pot to keep the cardboard from sinking into the planter so I can cover it with decorations and hide the cardboard lid.

Keep reading for more decorating ideas and pin this post for later!

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 343

Halloween is almost here and as much as I hate to rush holidays, it is time to start thinking about Thanksgiving.

Dinner is the star of the Thanksgiving show and with a house full of hungry relatives with clashing opinions sometimes things can get slightly less thankful. Or is that only some of the nameless Thanksgiving dinners I've attended? Am I alone in this?

I have the answer to ensuring your holiday guests behave themselves from the tiniest toddler to the grandest grandparent.  I just added to my shop LNW Creative Gifts the Don't Make Me Poison Your Dinner Apron. Buy it for someone you love! (That includes yourself!)

It looks sweet and innocent until you get up close and realize 

it is a warning not to antagonize the cook!

 

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

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Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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DIY Victorian Skeleton Halloween Decoration

I have a thing for gazebos. Like a deep down serious love.  I’m not sure why, maybe it is wrapped up in some romantic notion in the books I devoured as a kid about Victorian England. The history is fascinating and so are the clothes!  Fantastic gigantic hats, dangerous and deadly small waists, dresses with flowing trains – it is perfect Halloween attire!

Or in this case, the perfect Halloween decoration.

I can't tell you how much I love this Victorian skeleton couple enjoying the holiday in an iron gazebo

I met this dashing couple in Hotel Breakers when I went to this year’s Bloggy Conference at Cedar Point (you can read about how I spend last year at Cedar Point Halloweekends looking for park Easter eggs on Condo Blues here.)