Posts from Michelle

Adventures with Michelle, Mom’s Six Pack

November 20, 2013 by Michelle

I am not a fan of beer. This is not a revelation to people who know me. Not to say that I won’t drink one, I do, but it’s not my first choice. I’m a gin n’ tonic girl who’s had to give up the tonic (cause I think it’s eaten a hole in my stomach…but good news, I’ll never get malaria!).

These days I’ve been more into vodka mixed with, well, most anything. This isn’t a big deal if I’m at home or at a restaurant or an afternoon/evening at Perfect (always the best bar – and there’s always a driver…or a sofa). There are time’s, however, when a bottled drink is choice. Something I like even less than beer are the ‘malt-beverage drinks’ that are out. That’s everything other than beer. Now that Zima’s off the market, I’m out of luck. Now I have a choice of expensive, overly sweet and super high calorie bottled ‘lady drinks’ (ugh), or a manly ‘hard lemonades’ which I’m sure has the same level of acid content as my car’s battery. I’d bother to try them all, but just reading the labels I can narrow it down to maybe 2 or 3 versions on the shelf that seem even moderately appetizing. How ‘bout a bottled Sangria? Sounds good, since it probably contains some actual fruit juice and wine, right? Not! It’s tasty, but I’m not sure what’s in it…not rum, or wine, but whatever it is it’s 225 calories worth – per bottle! And who’s going to drink one bottle? Not me! (yet again, not another revelation to those who know me).

So, I’ve had this dilemma for a while, but it hasn’t really been an issue until River Day. Ahhhh, River Day…that’s when the mermaids go and hang out and enjoy one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful gems, the Weeki Wachee river. I’m always so excited that they even invite me. I try to bring something yummy to offer the retired Goddesses of the Deep, to remain favorable in their eyes. They are my favorite sirens. Now, like every God fearing cult, there are rules. (ha ha) Na! But seriously, there’s ’No Glass’ at the river. This is a very good rule, for reasons that are very obvious once you arrive at their little private haven – you must respect the fins – no glass.

The makings of mom's six pack

Here’s my solution to the high-calorie, fruity, malted beverage in a glass bottle problem. DIY! For a long time I’ve been mixing liquor of all sorts with club sodas, flavored mineral and filtered waters. Why can’t I just do that – ok, there’s that whole ‘Open-Container Law’ here in FL. But I’m hoping that if it’s in a cooler and in the trunk, it’s not really ‘open’ is it? (don’t answer that!) Not to say you have to carry it anywhere – maybe you want them at home, waiting patiently at the back of the fridge for when Friday just won’t get here fast enough. So, here’s what you do. Find a bottle for a carbonated soda to reuse. I like Perrier, because I’d drink the mineral water anyway, but mostly cause it had a neat shaped and remarkably heavy plastic bottle. I guess it needs to stand up to a lot of pressure being shipped all the way from France (really, from FRANCE?!) Remove the label and refill. Awesome! I like a mixture of Fruit2O lemon, a trickle of Limoncello, and a bit of vodka. (you can use your best judgement – don’t use mine, or you’ll be drunk!) Some bottles I topped with a bit of San Pellegrino Lemon soda. It’s so good, so lemony and actually has some lemon in it…not so much acid that you could charge your cell phone with it either! The Fruit 2O is a flavored water with a touch of carbonation and 0 calories. You could do this with a raspberry version or even a bit of orange peel with a hint of Cointeau. Hmm, I’m thinking a lo–cal DIY bottled mojito may make it’s way to River Day sometime….but keep it hiding in the cooler,…in the trunk – shhhh! It’s for a good cause – no glass – you must Respect The Fins.

Mom's six pack

Adventures with Michelle, Frugal Fragrance

February 5, 2014November 13, 2013 by Michelle

Here’s a sweet smelling post for my frugal friends. This is an easy one, so I’ll make this short. I love it when my house smells nice…not like oatmeal cookie-nice (that’s just makes me hungry!). No, I mean, like clothes out of the dryer ’nice’,…like my ’non-existent-cleaning-lady’s-been-here’ nice. Newsflash – I am not the worlds best housekeeper! My place is always in a varying state of the lived-in look. Sometimes it’s lived thru a quiet weekend of the guys out fishing,…sometimes it’s lived (or survived) a weekend of the kids in da ‘hood. The carpets always need a steam cleaning, but that means I’d have to vacuum first – ugh. Well, sometimes, I have to just take the place a section at a time and what doesn’t get done will just have to wait. In the meantime, I can at least make sure the clothes are folded, there’s no discernible ‘floor-food’ (you know what I mean), and just make the place smell c-l-e-a-n.

Making the house smell clean usually means lighting a candle (room sprays are for the bathrooms only here). I love my candles. I buy them, I even make them. They smell so nice. Although, there are some that are just too much…too much money and too strong smelling. I mean, I love dryer sheets, but not hung around my neck like a flea collar!

That said, I’ve discovered something that I need to share. One of my dear Pinners posted this little trick, and after the ‘water marble’ hoax, I now test everything. Today, I tested this little gem. OK, who buys those ’scent additives’ for the laundry? Yes, I do too…not that the smell of Gain doesn’t already make your eyes water, but I like some of the new scents to mix. I also confess to loving Mrs. Myers Lemon Verbena (but not in a dish soap – cause there’s nothing foodie smelling about it). Alright, moving on – I know I said I’d be short. So, clean out that oil warmer you’ve got (yes, you may use the engine degreaser from the garage – I do)…no, well go get one – they’re cheap. Warning: Make sure the candle area is very open, not the glass jar type. Why? Well, I had one from that fancy soap store and it had the cutest little glass saucer on top. One day, I put a tea light candle in the bottom of the glass and not long after I lit it the little frosted glass jar was ENGULFED IN FLAMES! Oh, yeah. Turns out that there’s a candle residue that builds up in the glass jar and eventually it’s a enough to be it’s own mini fire pit. Somehow the oil in the saucer never caught. Be careful my friends.

Since this is an experiment, and I’m a lazy housekeeper that doesn’t live to chisel a new chemical concoction from her little metal dish, I opted to reuse the old tea light case and fill it with my favorite laundry smelly bead goodies, Downy Unstoppables. Mmmmm, I can smell it from here. A little, but not too much – I know, I thought there’d be a smell-o-vision app by now.

Downy Meltables, Adventures with Michelle, Frugal Fragrance

Did I mention soooo cheap! When it’s done, and cooled, I’ll toss the little tea light case and not have to look for the engine degreaser again – or have to explain my reasons for needing it. Because I’m sure there’s a lot of guessing going on when 1. The house smells nice. 2. The engine degreaser has been moved 3. The vacuum hose hasn’t been moved.

Michelle Beal

Adventures with Michelle, A Chair Affair

November 6, 2013November 6, 2013 by Michelle

Every DIY’er knows that there comes a time when one has to stand back and call in a professional. In my world that’s usually when there’s fabric involved. Yes, I can do smooth-finish drywall, but I have been known to pay someone to hem a pair of pants! That said, I haven’t always been afraid of fabric. There have been times that I’ve had to be ‘creative’ in a moment of desperation. Like when my sister had bestowed upon me the most comfortable and ugliest swivel chair ever! If you know her, you know her décor taste can run way off the sidelines into a style we call ‘pre-dumpster’. Did I mention that beast was heavy too. I mean, like get two grown men and a six-pack heavy! Ugly, like something tossed off the back lot from a Mad Men set – 1960’s turquoise polyester burlap. But it was a dream to sit in. Now that I think back, I’m sad it was lost along the way. That old thing taught me to not give up on a piece just on it’s looks. Now, if it smells – oh, no – those go to the curb. One day I had a revelation as I tried to cover it with a sheet, “Too bad this doesn’t stretch…” Later on I stumbled upon a piece of dark green thick stretchy knit at a fabric warehouse I used to haunt. Cheap, attractive, and it stretches ( no, it was NOT velveteen! ). Yes, you guess it. I completely recovered that chair with nail-head trim tacks, and my trusty staple gun! It was great for years!! You could sit in it and the knit would just bounce back. Ahhh, the old chair.

Now, mind you that really is the limit for me. OK, I did redo my dining room chairs, but those were just seats that I covered over with some awesome Pottery Barn fabric.

Hmm, I may have to post that redo later. Now, about my affairs with chairs….

Much in the way I’m drawn to old cookie jars, I love a good chair. Seriously. I don’t care where I find it, if it calls to me, I come running. That said, on a stop at my local Salvation Army to drop off a donation (they get big stuff and Goodwill gets the clothes) a few weeks ago, I spotted a lonely chair calling me. The line that I was waiting in was long, and that old guy that just stepped in front of me, put it right in my line of sight. Awww, poor thing. Did that sign say ‘extra 25% off’…who knew the thrift shop had sales?! Wasn’t this stuff already super cheap? That chair was a whopping $25, and it even fit in the car. See, it loves me already. Of course, when I brought it home, my husband was all, “You went in with an old laptop and come back with a chair?!” (hee, hee)

OK, what to cover it with? In previous posts I mentioned redecorating the master bedroom in a Restoration Hardware style and those people have some serious chairs. Naturally, they come with serious price tags. The big trend there is belgian linen. Uh, yeah right – NOT. I thought of numerous ideas, from a lovely ikat with grey tones (that my uber-fashionable auntie gave a thumbs up to), to a crazy thought of either eggplant velvet, or a sexy grayish python print. Yes, I said python. I’m a trend setter – you’ll see! OK, so I chickened out on the wild stuff and went with my original thought. But I can’t afford linen. However, I can afford muslin, which is popular too and super cheap! Yes! Jo-Ann’s here I come with my coupon and measurements. Unfortunately, muslin isn’t exactly upholstery weight fabric, but this isn’t my first rodeo with unexpected material uses.

Before and After Chair upgrade — Before and After

My poor upholstery guys, I’m always bringing them trash and asking for miracles. But Sam and Zolton at Hernando Upholstery already know what they’re in for when I pull up. This time I’d done prep work. Check it out.

Step 1:

Get the old thing in the garage and find out what you’re working with. Before staining the wood, I need to remove the trim because it’s glued in. I’m not pulling off all of the fabric because I want my guys to make it exactly as it was…only pretty.

Step 2:

Keep pulling – oops, it’s stapled too. Be careful.

Step 3:

Well, not really a step, more of a step back. These are my weapons of choice for this adventure. A 5-way (or whatever they call them now) to pry with, some pliers, because I have weak girly hands, a carpenters knife, and blue tape. Also, a sanding block, chip brush, and my old friend Minwax Express Finish.

See how the piping trim is gone, now I can stain the wood and make sure I get all the nook and crannies. I’ve taped off the areas where the wood meets the fabric because I don’t want any of the stain soaking into the stuffing.

Step 4:

See the difference in the wood color? It’s gone from 80’s medium oak to a fashionable 2013 espresso. Did I say wood? I found that the front legs were actually plastic! Yet another reason to use the Minwax product. Now, give it a coat of Polycrylic ( it was late to the photo shoot). Let it dry and off to the upholsterers we go.

Finale:

There it is. Fabulous. It’s not a bright white, it’s a creamy off white with flecks of brown and black. This is why you don’t DIY this one – look at all those buttons! And I love the nailhead trim around the legs…very Resto! I’ll give it a shot of 3M Scotchgard and won’t worry about the cat sleeping on it. I confess, this isn’t the most expensive job, so I do find a few flaws. But honestly, where do you get a chair like that for under $200? Yes, that’s the whole bill – chair, fabric, and recovering.

Maybe I’ll find some of that sexy python fabric and make one of those envelope pillows, that Kathy posted a ‘how to’ not long ago, to put on it. I’m a trendsetter – you’ll see. 😉

Michelle Beal