$5 Bedside Table Makeover

Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday to my sweet Mama!

I don't know about you, but I just get tired of looking at the same old decor and I have to change it up every now and again.  I've been like that ever since I can remember.  I was always moving things around in my room when I was a kid.

Since I needed a change, I decided to create myself a new bedside table.  I bought this little table at a yard sale about a year ago for $5 and then it just sat in our shop waiting for me to get around to making it look pretty again.

It needed some repairs but I wasn't worried because my honey can fix anything.  The whole top was loose and in several pieces.  It was even missing two pieces that my honey had to recreate the best he could.  Above its all back together with clamps holding it all together while the glue dried.

After all the glue had dried I lightly sanded the top because there was some nail polish spilled/painted on it.  You can now better see the two side pieces he fashioned to complete the top.

I'm not going to go into great detail on the process I used to paint it because its really the same technique I've used several times before.  You can see more on that right here.  First I cleaned the whole piece really good before I started, it was so dirty!  Basically I painted the whole thing with the above paint that I got a few years ago at Lowe's.  The color is Dust Bunny.  It's a very light beige color that has a tinge of pink to it.  Pretty!

After the paint dried really well I smeared some of this antiquing glaze on and then wiped most of it off until I got the look I wanted.  Its a personal preference and you certainly don't have to use this step but I like my furniture to look old and well loved.
TIP: If you live in Texas and its a million degrees outside on the day you are painting and the glaze dries too fast, just wet an old rag and wipe off what you don't want on there.

Lastly after everything dries and it'll be fast if you are in Texas in million degree weather, you will want to apply a sealer like this one to seal in all your hard work.  Now, before I applied this step I used our mouse sander and distressed the whole thing to make it look old and used.  I like it better that way.

When you distress a piece you will be able to see the base color underneath all the paint.  This is may favorite!

Luckily it came with these great brass knobs that I just cleaned up and put back on after everything dried good.

I carried my "new" bedside table into my bedroom and started decorating it and since my last table didn't have drawers to stash things in I was excited to put all my goodies in their little hiding spots.....BUT.....this is what I saw every time I opened the drawers. NOPE!  I had to do something about that!

How about some gorgeous blue chalk paint to cover all that up? YES!  I bought this paint at Walmart almost a year ago for another project that I ended up using something else on.  I started out using a sponge brush to paint in on but quickly decided I needed my trusty  paint brush to make it look smooth.

Tah-Dah! Much better!  It was drying here, but I already thought it looked much better than a bunch of marker scribbles did.

Yes, I like this view much better!  I know you're wondering where we got our lovely "multi shades of blue" carpet, aren't you?  Well, keep drooling because it came from the 80s and I don't think you can purchase it anymore! lol!  Some day we will get to change it out.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
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Roasted Veggies and Sausage

Yall, summer is finally here and the days are getting longer!  Summer is my favorite season. Yes, we live in Texas and we have brutal summers, but I love the warm/hot weather the best.  I could sit in the sun for hours.

Anyway, my little run about summer was actually inspired by this recipe.  It makes me think of summer when I see it.  Fresh roasted veggies with yummy sausage roasted up in the oven for a bit and you have got yourself an awesome meal your family will absolutely love!  I found the original recipe here and tweaked it for my family.

Roasted Veggies and Sausage

Baby Carrots
Red Potatoes
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Skinless Smoked Sausage (Beef)

Seasonings:

1/2 TBLSP each: dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder
1/2 TSP each: onion powder, dried thyme
1/8 TSP red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
4 and 1/2 TBLSP olive oil
Pinch of fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with foil for an easier clean up. Cut up everything into bite sized chunks. Place ALL ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Pour all the veggies and sausage on the foil lined cookie sheet and spread evenly. Place in the heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove and toss around the veggies/sausage and return to the oven for another 10-20 minutes or until veggies are tender.

WARNING: Your house will smell amazing and may just bring out all the hungry people in your neighborhood! lol! 

 It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
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Homemade Ranch Butter

I've got another recipe for you today, Ranch Butter!  If you've been visiting my blog for a while, then you know I'm all about easy recipes and this one is about as easy as it gets.  You may see lots of recipes for a bit because we've had another financial life change and we are on one tight budget for a while, so not much home renovations will be happening here for a stretch. Anyway, we will still be eating here so lets get on to this recipe!

My Mama always made this butter using the store bought Ranch mix you buy in the big canister at Sam's, which is what I always did, but now I make mine using my homemade Ranch Mix which turns out is way more healthy for you.  Another healthier ingredient I use is Country Crock Light because its way less calories and it taste just as good as the regular one.  You can use any butter or margarine of your choice, but this one is good yall!

Ranch Butter

1/2 cup Country Crock Light Butter (or butter or margarine of your choice)
1 tablespoon Ranch Mix (Find my recipe HERE)

Mix the two ingredients well.  This is always better after it mingles for a while, but don't worry if you need to use it right away, its still going to be good!  You can use this Ranch Butter on many things.  Try it on anything you'd use butter on like french bread, mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc.  Store the unused portion in the fridge to use another time.

I like to slather this on french bread, sprinkle on a little cheese and toast it in the oven till golden, Oh My Goodness!

Here are a few more recipes I use my homemade Ranch Mix in:

Roasted Ranch Carrots - click HERE.
Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing - click HERE. 
Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili - click HERE.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
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Between Naps on the Porch

Strawberry Honey Overnight Oats

We had never tried overnight oats but I kept seeing them on Instagram and figured we might as well try them.  I found a yummy recipe from The Rising Spoon for overnight oats, we tried it and loved it.  Thanks Elaina!  We were hooked!

As we sat and ate our oats we (the guys and me) were all just saying out loud different things that would be good in an overnight oat recipe and this is just one idea we came up with.  We have lots more to try.

Although we named it Strawberry Honey, it has lots more goodness in there too!

You will need these ingredients to remake my recipe:

Old Fashioned Oats
2% Milk
Banana Berry Blend Frozen Fruit
Honey Strawberry Greek Yogurt
Ground Cinnamon
Honey
Optional: Flax Seeds, mixed nuts, granola

I use pint jars with a wide mouth so its easly made, stored and eaten all with one container.

To make your overnight oats, layer the ingredients in the following order.  This is just how I do it, if you feel there is a better way, please do so.

1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Yogurt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tblsp Honey
1/2 cup Milk
2 tsp Flax Seed
1/2 cup Frozen Fruit

Seal jar tightly and store in fridge until morning.  When you're ready to eat your oats, carefully stir to mix ingredients and add your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

The guys really had high praise for this recipe and now we can't wait to try more of the recipes we came up with.

Want to see more yummy breakfast recipes?

Banana Blackberry Breakfast Smoothie
Egg-less Pancakes

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
I'm Linking to:
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Between Naps on the Porch

Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar

Do you have your hummingbird feeder out yet?  We live in Texas and we've had ours out for a little over a month now.  I always get ours out at the first signs that the little hummers are back.  What normally happens is that I'm working in the flower beds or out in the yard somewhere and I hear one zoom by, then I go and retrieve the feeders and get them ready.

NO RED FOOD COLOR!  Yes, the feeder in the picture above has nectar with 2 drops of food coloring added to it.  I didn't know then, but I know now! Sorry little hummingbirds!

You can buy the premixed nectars at the stores so that all you have to do is add water, but as you probably already know, most of them have a red or pink color to them and they tend to be spendy.

I've been making my own nectar for years because my Granny and my Mama always made their own.  This year, I was looking on Pinterest to see how others made their own nectar and found out that the red coloring is not good for the birds.  I always added a few drops of red food color to mine in previous years, but now I have stopped doing that.  As long as your feeder has some red on it, they will be attracted to it.  Good to know!

No, this is not a pet hummingbird, but one we found that was too weak to fly away.  He was very welcoming to our help and did even try to escape us.  See how puffed out his feathers look?  He was feeling really bad!

My honey nursed him back to strength with some sugar water on a Qtip.  He gladly excepted the gift.

See, his feathers are getting smoother now.  He's feeling better.  He could stand on the feeder perch and get his own drink now.  Weird thing is, he never seemed scared of us at all, he just welcomed the help.

We got him a box with a towel and his very own personal feeder and he stayed there on the patio until he felt better and flew away on his own.  We tried to see if we could pick him out among the others when they visited to feed, but we never could.  This was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced with hummingbirds.  As you know they are amazing and oh so interesting little things to watch, but never in a million years did I think we would ever get this close to one or actually hold it.  Amazing experience for sure!

DIY Hummingbird Nectar

4 cups water
1 cup sugar

1. Bring water to a boil
2. Remove from heat, add sugar and stir
3. Let cool completely
4. Serve to your hummers

Just in case you have a small feeder, the ratio is normally about 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of boiled water.  Be sure to boil your water for at least a few minutes to get rid of all the yucky stuff they add to our drinking water.  Please let the mixture cool before serving to the birds.

You may need to change out the nectar more often when the weather heats up.  If your hummingbird water looks cloudy, please change it.  Here in Texas it gets HOT!  The nectar water will grow "green stuff" real fast if you don't watch it.  Don't let your feeder get dirty, clean feeders help keep the birds healthy.  I have learned from my own personal experience that a glass feeder tends to keep the nectar better than a plastic feeder. 

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
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Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Washtub Sink for the Shop

Our blog has been neglected lately and I apologize for that. I'm back at work now and since we've been back from being away for 6 months, we've been catching up on home stuff that is just not blog worthy and if it is, I have tried to capture it in pictures to share here at a later time.  This is one project that my honey did that I thought was pretty cool!  Good job honey!

He's always wanted a sink in the shop so that he'd have a place to wash his hands and other "too dirty" items to bring into the house. 

We already had this work bench in the shop.  My honey found it on 5 mile for $25.  No, it didn't come with a whole in it, but my honey beat me to taking a proper before picture of it before he cut the hole.  That's what happens when I'm running in and out and not "helping" Lol!

He was at Tractor Supply the other day and saw this small (17") galvanized washtub and thought he's give it a whirl.  Find tub HERE.

He used the tub to make the guide line for cutting the hole.  He then measured how far he wanted the tub to sit down in the hole and allowed for that by adding to the first circle he made.

I missed the actual hole cutting.  I was running in and out, remember? lol!  He sanded the top just to get it kind of smooth for the coating he was going to spray it with. The top was really rough due to the previous owner actually using it for a work bench.  Imagine that!

He used a truck bed liner in black to spray on the top to help protect the wood from water damage.  He sprayed on two even thin coats.

Then he decided he wanted a manly design on it so he grabbed a piece of expanded metal he had in his stash an placed it on top of the bench.

He used a blue metallic spray paint we had in our spray paint collection to lightly spray over top of the metal for this design.  Pretty cool huh?

Now, the faucet he totally installed while I was at work so I didn't get to see what he did.  He used copper pipe we already had from another project, but he did have to buy a few connections and a valve for the off and on of the water supply.  All supplies were from Lowe's.

He used a hole saw and cut a hole in the center of the tub for the drain, then installed the drain which we got at Lowe's.

I also did not get to see the drain pipes being install, so no pictures, but it was a kit he got at Lowe's.

Then he had to test it!  His water supply is simply a water hose running from the outside water faucet to a water hose fitting he installed under the bench with all the other plumbing fittings he used for the drainage.

He made a backsplash out of pallet wood and then used his torch to add the burned wood look to it.  Then he decorated it with some old license plates he had.  Now he has a place to wash his "too dirty for in the house" hands out in his shop! YAY!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch

Lucky Shamrock Banner

Do you decorate for St. Patrick's Day? Me too, but to be honest, I only do when Easter falls later on. This year it turned out that I could keep the green stuff up a bit longer and enjoy it.

This little banner was so easy to put together.  I used my Cricut to cut everything out, but you could also just find the shapes online and cut it out by hand as well.

Here's what I used:
Cricut Expressions Machine

Paper Doll Dress Up - I cut the Shamrock at 3" five (5) times using Kraft card stock.

Cuttin' Up - I cut the letters out on the cartoon shadow @ 1 1/2" - L-U-C-K-Y using some green glitter paper.

Tags Bags Boxes & More - I cut using the blackout feature @ 7" five (5) times using old book pages.

First I glued all the pieces together and then folded my tag over towards the back so I had a space to run the cord through for hanging.  I used a piece of jute twine.  I made a loop on each end for hanging.

I hung mine on my chalk board in the kitchen.  So cute!  If you're interested, I have these for sale in my Etsy shop HERE.  I offer FREE shipping!

Here are a few more St. Patrick Day ideas for you:

An Easy Fun Rag Shamrock - HERE
St. Patrick's Day Yarn Wreath - HERE
Easy Pot Full of Shamrocks - HERE

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch