Sweet Daffodils to Sit On

So today I took on my first painting project for a free awesome find!  I found these wood folding chairs outside by the dumpster in Cougar Village.  

That is right - by the dumpster.  

Now lets just kick off our stilettos and get serious - Drop your fear of checking out your neighbors junk.  If you have a fear of picking up awesome things next to...or sometimes inside....a dumpster you are really missing out!  I wasn't sure what to think the first time Sweet Husband pulled out a huge pillar from a dumpster filled with demolition stuff.  This thing was huge, white, and filled with nails.  But my heart skipped a beat after I saw it all cleaned up and painted the most luscious red.  It now stands in our living room forever reminding me of how someone's trash is truly your treasure  =)  

OK so on to these lovely chairs!  I found them by the dumpster and they have been our porch chairs for about a year but I never painted them.  A few weeks ago I was in Aledo, IL, Sweet Husband's hometown, and saw similar chairs painted yellow.  

That was it - I went to Home Depot and hunted down the perfect yellow:  

Dazzling Daffodil.  

This is the Before shot.  One of the chairs was worn down to the wood.  The other chair (on the right) had paint and some lacquer still in tact.  I used some sand paper to lightly rough up the wood/lacquer and also to remove flaking paint.  

Now here is a key product that you need when painting on wood that has lacquer on it (you can also use this for many other surfaces!)  You need:  Glidden Gripper Primer. This primer helps the new paint stick to the wood/lacquer.  If I didn't use this primer the paint would not have 'stuck' well to the chair.  This primer is amazing and I highly recommend it!!!

 

Next Step:  Start Painting!!!!!

Next Step:  Take a break and take a pic of how hard you are working!!!

It took me about a half hour to prime and then a half hour to paint each chair.  

And then they were D-O-N-E

Lovely porch chairs for Sweet Husband and I

A Lovely Day

I spent the afternoon with Laura sipping on tea while I learned how to make a yummy Mediterranean meal for Sweet Husband and I.  Laura talked about ways we can make dinner beautiful - not just putting a good meal on the table but how you can make it look really beautiful with garnishes and pretty dishes - and fresh flowers! My mom and dad always made yummy meals and made them look beautiful too.  Dinner was always a wonderful time for my family to get together and just talk and enjoy one another and some yummy food.  

When I got home that night I put some fresh cut strawberries and apples on a pretty plate so Sweet Husband would have a healthy snack when he got home from a 14 hour work day.  I don't really do appetizers because I am trying to finish the main course up.  But I like to have something for Sweet Husband to eat as dinner finishes up.  So Laura suggested fresh fruit and veggies as an appetizer.  She said you might have fruit and veggies in the fridge but it takes time to cut them up - if you already have them sliced and laid out nice on a plate you can just dig right in until diner is ready =)

This was our dinner table - Water with clementine slices and a garnish for the glasses (Sweet Husband's glass is missing because he was drinking out of it!) Lilacs on the table and then in the middle I had the fruit.  I also put the flowers that Laura gave me from her garden on our ottoman in the living room - I just love fresh flowers! 

On the Menu:

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Chicken Breasts, Salt/Pepper, Olive Oil, 

Lemon Pepper, Lemon Juice, Fresh Rosemary

Bake for about 40 min on 400 degrees

Tabbouleh 

See Recipe Below

This is DELISH you will want to make this!!

2 ¾ c. water

1 1/2 C. bulgar (cracked wheat) or couscous (we used couscous)

½ tsp. salt

Bring water to boil and put in the grain.  Turn off heat, cover and let sit on burner for 10 min until liquid is absorbed.  Cool and place in large bowl.

Add to grain in large bowl: 

1 medium cucumber, diced

3 medium green onions, coarsely chopped

1 - 2 (15 oz) cans of kidney beans, rinsed, drained (You can make this without beans if you choose)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup chopped parsley

½ cup chopped basil

¼ - 1/3 C. fresh dill, finely chopped, (or 1 tsp. dried dill weed)

1/3 - ½ cup lemon juice (2 – 3 lemons)

¼ cup olive oil, (start with less and add more as needed)

freshly ground pepper to taste

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped, (add just before serving so that tomatoes stay fresh)

Chill in fridge for a few hours and let herbs meld together for most flavor.

 

Vote Yes for Pig Cake

I just love The Pioneer Woman's Blog.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your dedication to snapping photos every step of the way to show me exactly what ingredients I need and what to do with them! OK, back to the Pig Cake - I got the recipe for Pig Cake from The Pioneer Woman's Blog.   I am going to love this cake! You are going to love this cake!!!   

I say we make it this weekend =)

10 Reasons to L-O-V-E- Aldi's

1.  Pina Colada fruit bars - cool and refreshing for summer

2.  Yummy Guacamole in individual packets - In a rush? Just pop some in a pretty dish and it looks like you sliced and smashed your own homemade guac! 

3. Shopping at Aldi cuts your grocery bill in half....seriously. 

4. The cart system - Attention all Grocery Stores:  You should use the Quarter Cart System - put in your quarter, take a cart, shop till you drop, fill up your car, return your cart, get your quarter back.  Genius.

5. Older folks tend to shop at Aldi - and lets face it older married couples are the sweetest thing  =) 

6. Spinach is .99 a bag!

7. Juicy pears and pineapples!

8. The hodgepodge of kitchen, home, office, outdoor, and camping equipment that you can find at the end of this one aisle.

9. Delish take and bake pizza in the deli section

10. There is no choice for paper or plastic - so be Green and bring your reusable bags

http://www.aldifoods.com/index_ENU_HTML.htm