mizlandry's Profile

i did this for my entry wall and it took about an hour to do (it's a tiny wall) and has worked for about two years. I'm getting ready to paint them, but they did not ruin the wall as stated here. Maybe it's the type of wall I have, not sure. But, it doesn't take long to do, cost next to nothing and is easily changed out if you want different colors. The best: my snootiest friends thought it was paint until I told them.

I am with the_asp. One thing good thing about the crappy economy, realized how much crap I was collecting. I have managed to purge our family down to about 50% of what we had three years ago and I haven't missed anything I've given away. I only buy what I need. I serve dinner to friends on mismatched plates, in the wrong glasses and no one seems to care. I do, however, wash my towels more often because our bathroom is so tiny, we can't hang up four towels to dry.

Vacuum coils behind the fridge and empty the drip pan underneath. The water can get stinky and if you get the dust off the coils, the fridge works more efficiently.

I have wondered when brass and pastel colors were going to make their way back into home decor. I thought those 80s era touches were used so well in this space. Will make me look at some of the garage sale items I see around in a different light.

We also don't allow any electronics upstairs (no TV, no phones, nothing). We do have alarm clocks, but I haven't set mine in over seven years. In the latter part of last year however, I experienced terrible night-owlness (nothing wrong with that except when you have to be up early the next day, which I did). I realized that what changed was more screen time. I'd stay downstairs with the TV on, messing on the computer or playing games on my phone. I decided my New Year's resolution would be to go back to turning the TV off at 10pm, then reading in bed and then asleep by 11. It's made a world of difference in how quickly I get to sleep and I can wake up at 6am without an alarm and with enough sleep.

I'm afraid I'll be stealing the idea of the suitcase shadow boxes! Got my vote as a favorite small space, especially because of the originality.

I have to say, I practice the same philosophy as you outlined here. I cook all the time, love food...all sorts of food. I never serve my kids special meals. And yet, still, they are picky. I was also a picky kid and my parents never served me special kids. It wasn't until COLLEGE that I suddenly was willing to eat all sorts of things and now I have a very broad culinary appreciation. I decided that I will just do the same thing and eventually they will come around. But it's so frustrating to know that I'm offering all these good things and they are just horrified by its presence. I remember being grossed out by my mother's gumbo. Freaking out at artichokes. Gagging on sausage. Now, it's all good. Are my kids hungry sometimes? Yup. But they are rarely sick and are very healthy, so I figure if I get a few nutritious things in them a few times a week they'll be fine.