We like Pirates

We like pirates, not just on Talk like a Pirate day, but everyday.  I know that Pirate day is not until November, but we like to celebrate during the summer.  Yo, Ho, and a bottle of rum.  Check out this great iphone wallpaper pack.  If you are going to talk like a Pirate you should have this on your iphone!!!!

Let the Clean up Begin

It was a beautiful day at the gulf side beach.  People were out, the water was amazingly blue, and the sand as white as always.  The umbrellas were out, but not all occupied, a little strange for a fantastic blue June morning.  Just opposite of these lounge chairs was another site.  The clean up site.  The workers dressed in long pants were picking up tar balls off the pristine sand.  Thank you to them for making the beach clean.  I almost felt like I should be picking up to, and not just sitting around in the sand.  
The water was still nice so we took a swim in the gulf.  It was warm, and calm.  I just hope that we are not going to get a lot more from the oil spill.

We will keep going back until they tell us not to.  If you are planning a trip down to the gulf, we don't have any oil yet.  The businesses are open, and they want you to visit.  Support local businesses now, before it is too late.

Beauty for your Kitchen

In the kitchen I love natural materials that contrast highly with stainless steel.  Our kitchen is modern meets rustic, and that is the way I like it.  Heavy wood goes well with the modern stainless appliances that grace our cozy kitchen.  I like the JK Adams cutting boards for their deep rich wood.  There are a variety of styles to fit any decorating needs.  They look great, and are functional, what could be better than that. My pots and pans would look great dangling from JK Adams pot rack, but unfortunately I don't have enough room for that.  There are many things that I have found on the JK Adams web page that are calling my name, it is just nice to have such beauty in the kitchen.  While I stand around making dinner after dinner I like to have some nice pieces to look at.  Makes me want to stay home and make great food.  Nothing goes better with great food, than great wine.  A JK Adams wine rack is the perfect storage set up for those precious bottles.  From big to small, floor or hanging you can find something to capture your eye!  Keep cooking, eating and drinking!

File this under "what was I thinking"

Well it was for father's day.  I bought these StarWars cookie cutters from William Sonoma, and made sugar cookies with them.  I have to say first of all the cookie cutters are amazing.  They work great and how cool these cookies look!  No kidding they were easy.  I used the recipe for sugar cookies that came in the box, and it was easy to follow and taste great.  You will notice that I don't have a picture of the "after" when I iced them.  That is because they looked sort of ridiculous!  I could have used better equipment, like a pastry bag and some fancy tips, but well, I did not.  And you could certainly tell.  From a distance they did look vaguely like the characters that they were suppose to be.  I would have liked to have some instructions on how to mix the icing for the colors of boba fett, and Yoda.  I made due with the pictures on the box, but mine were not going to look that good.  Boba Fett turned out looking a lot like he was from the set of Miami Vice, with turquoise and pink, instead of the green/blue and red that they pictured on the box.  The deserving dad did like the cookies though, so that is good.  What is that saying... "it's the thought that counts".  I do like the cookie cutters, and they were totally worth the price.  Now I just have to perfect those decorating skills with the royal icing!

New items

I just got around to putting a new item in my Etsy shop!  Since it is one of the best places to sell your goods, I figured I needed to update Threadbeaur's store.  Today I posted a great new shopping bag.  Check it out, make grocery shopping a fashion statement with a great cloth bag that screams "GREEN" in a fashionable way.  When you love your cloth bag, you will never leave home with out it.

Where to sell.

I just saw this post on lifehacker.com
best places online to have a shop? Any guesses?! Etsy landed in the top five!
I think Etsy is the best and I'm glad that so many people know about it.
The other day I was at the library, and was chatting with a few people, when Etsy came up.
They love etsy and shop online all the time!  It is so fun to find people that love to shop on Etsy.
Wow!

Crispy Flat bread. Make this today

Smitten Kitchen is awesome.  I just made the crispy flatbread recipe that she posted and it is amazing.  I made it while the baby was napping.  That just goes to show that the recipe is easy and fast!  Check out the full recipe over at Smitten Kitchen, and enjoy some crispy flatbread!

You can whip this up for a party on short notice, or plan to have it with any dinner.  I used mine for lunch with a great tomato and mozzarella salad!  Wonderful, and wonderfully easy.

We Love Sesame Street

This guest post was written by Kyle Betson

Sesame Street is a show that has been around since I was a child. I love that we can still watch it on our cable tv. This show just gets better with time. Our children really enjoy watching it everyday when it is on the television.

Elmo is my daughters favorite character on this show. He is just an adorable little red puppet. You can't help but love him. He is really nice to all of his friends. This show is always teaching the kids new things. They focus on a different theme for every show. They help the kids to learn their numbers and alphabet. It is great that they can learn so much on one show. Bert and Ernieshow them what a special friendship really is in this world. They have their moments you see that they disagree, but it always shows them working it out for the best. This is one show that I never tell the kids they can't watch. I know if they watch it nothing bad will be on it and they will be learning new things. As a parent, I can't ask for more than that from a television show.

Mailbox Placement

Our neighbor came to us and asked if we could move the box a little closer to the road.  Apparently the mailman had to drive in the grass a little to get to the mailbox, and this was making the grass die.  Being neighborly we said yes we will move it.  I think we should take this opportunity to upgrade to a nice residential mailbox.  The one we have is the old standard white mailbox.  I am thinking that something more attractive is in order.  There is such a variety of mailboxes now, that you can choose from rustic, to modern and everything in between!  Not only would our neighbor be happy that we moved the box, but we would get something really nice out of it!  I say that is a win-win situation!

Green Gear for running!

In the market for some new running shoes?  Check out these I found on Treehugger.com, they have all sorts of novel eco friendly traits!  Very cool!

Yard Decor

Now that my thumb has changed from black to green, I will be spending much more time on my garden.  The tomato plants in the back yard are soaring past the 7 foot mark, and I would not be surprised if they reached 8 feet this season.  They certainly could use a little more support.  A few good quality arbors might be good for those vining tomato plants.  Or maybe since the tomatoes want last year round, a nice wooden arbor as an entrance to a small secret garden would be more satisfying.  I have always wanted a little garden off to the side where I could plant some very fun special plants, and I think a garden arbor would be a perfect way to showcase a special garden.   Then I could put a small chair or bench in the garden and it would be a perfect spot to sit and gaze at all the hard work that goes into starting and maintaining a beautiful yard.  Arbors are a great investment, they will last for years, and give your climbing vines a special home.  I have some great ideas for our yard, now if I could just convince my husband to help with the transformation!

Fabric

So M just brought a bag home from work that was filled to the brim with fabric.  As he plopped it down on the floor he commented "I didn't know they made bags this big".  It is so big that I could probably fit into it, yes, that big.  Anyway a co-worker is a garage sale guru, big time, and she is always on the look out for something good.  We have sort of a deal where she gets fabric, I make her coffee cozies or bags in exchange.  Pretty good deal for me, because One I get free fabric, Two, she uses and gives my coffee sleeves out to friends.  Free advertising!!!  WIN ... WIN!!!
Be on the look out for some new bags, and coffee sleeves at my Threadbeaur Etsy shop.

It's Hot

Summer is in full swing here in the South, they are predicting a heat index of 108 today!  Whew!  I just got back from a brisk stroller walk.  If you want to walk, it has to be early.  After 9am it is WAY to hot for that.
All this heat is great for the tomatoes though, they are growing by the day and I even got to eat my first yellow cherry tomato yesterday.  Today I think one of the black cherry tomatoes will be ready to be plucked and eaten straight off the vine!

Yesterday afternoon I was able to go to the neighbors and pick some delicious Florida blueberries.  Homegrown fruit is so much sweeter, in so many ways.  I went to my favorite recipes and found the one from awhile back.  The Blueberry brownies, oh how delicious.  Just thinking of them makes me want to get up and eat one.  I posted my recipe here!  They are worth a try, even if you don't have homegrown blueberries.

My DVR

Thanks to Taylor Regin for the guest post.

Nearly every show I watch on DVR that I got throughcannonSatellite.com. The DVR allows me to watch my favorite show's like The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement  andHell's Kitchen when ever I want and with out commercial interruption. Because the show is recorded I simply fast forward through the commercials. The other benefit of fast forwarding through the commercials is it cuts out nearly ten minutes of each half hour show. Some times I don't get around to watching a particular program for a few weeks but that is okay because I set my DVR to record the every episode of a show. The DVR also helps me remember shows that I may have other wise have forgotten to watch. When I come across something I want to watch in the future I set the DVR to record it. This allows me to not worry about what day or time it will be aired. When I am ready to sit back and enjoy a good program, I open my list of recorded shows and choose what I am in the mood for.

Homemade Finger paints!

Yes. This is fantastic! Quick and easy. While the baby was napping I whipped up some of these easy to make finger paints. This is just cornstarch and sugar and water!  Imagine that, no chemicals and if some happens to get in baby's mouth, no big deal!
So here is what you will need:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
muffin tin
food coloring

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a pot, over low to med heat stir in the water, cook until thick.  This took about 7-10 minutes, don't cook too long, you don't want it to be too thick.
Separate into the muffin tin, add food coloring of your choice!

I know that is so easy.  I can't wait until he wakes up so that we can play!  I have the painting area all set up with newspaper, paper for painting, and the most important water bowl for quick clean up!  More pictures later.

Window Replacement is simple

This is a guest post from Stella Dartly

Replacing windows can be an easy process if you have the right tools and accurate knowledge. When I remodeled my home windows I first began the process by looking up information online on replacement windows . With the instructions read and understood I then went to my windows I was looking to replace and made measurements for the replacements. Once the measurements were made I took a trip to my local hardware store where I purchased the new windows and frames, and prepared myself for the process. The process of removal was the first step, to which I accomplished with the aid of a crowbar. I got the crowbar under the frame of the original window and pried it out of place until the frame was completely removed. I next popped the old worn down window out of its area and began prepping the gap for a new window installment. I replaced the framing with a newer higher end waterproofing framing material and sealed up all worn down gaps with caulking paste. With the window area prepped the next step was just to pop the window into place and begin attaching the frame. The whole process lasted about a couple hours and helped me completely remodel the look of the window of the living room area. Overall replacing a window was a simple process for me that was made easy through following internet instructions step by step and budgeting for the correct amount of materials

Custom Frames

I found this great frame just lying around in the house. The frame needed a new picture, and a new mat. I printed a picture on my epson photo printer, the one that prints 13 x 19 prints, and found some fabric from my stash. This stripe is a fabric my sister sent me. It is pretty awesome. I cut some cardboard from a box I got in the mail, and wrapped the cardboard with the fabric. I ironed it, attached it to the cardboard, and put the picture and the new custom mat in the frame. I had the perfect spot over my desk for the picture. This project was from all recycled materials.

The frame, already had it.

The mat, cut from cardboard that was going to be thrown away.

The fabric, purchased at a garage sale.

The print, well that I printed on new paper.

The scrap from this project is what I used to make the trash bag for my cigarette lighter in my car. (see earlier post).

Columbus Crew Soccer

This post is by Louie Vito.

The best Spring sport to watch from our cable provideris Major League Soccer, the Columbus Crew to be exact. The best part about watching MLS is that you can do it from the comforts of your own home so no more worrying about if you will have a good seat or waiting in line at the restroom or snack counter to hurry back in and find your seat before the game resumes. The Crew has an awesome line-up but the best player on the team has to be Hesmer, the goalie. Hesmer's other evening performance against the New York Red Bullswas fantastic. The Red Bulls weren't shooting very well since they hit the goal post on three different occasions but with the numerous corner kicks they had Hesmer stepped up and was able to stop them from scoring. New York's only goal against Hesmer was one that was his fault, since he came out too far and they took advantage of the situation.

Need a use for the cigarette lighter?

Finally a use for the cigarette lighter in the car! After getting my car back from the shop, were it was for 27 days, I realized how much I missed it. The loaner car was a very compact car, with no bells or whistles. The dealer gave my car a nice detail, and washed it. So when I got it back it was like getting a new car, inside and out. At that time only days ago I vowed that I would not let it get messy inside. I have a tendency to have scraps of paper all about, so I decided to make a trash receptacle that would collect all those little papers, and make it easy to empty it out when it was full. This is a totally recycled project. The fabric was left over from another project this weekend, and the cork, well, we all know where they come from, and the small elastic piece was from a tag on something we purchased. So now, the cigarette lighter is being occupied by a cork with a small elastic string around it tied to the sporty trash bag that I made. It looks good, it is functional, and nobody else has one just like it.

I made a second one (not pictured) for M. His was made from old military uniforms. I will have to photograph it later to post. IF you want one just let me know, I would be glad to whip up another. I can post them in my etsy shop if there is interest for them.