Someone Help Me!

I am in love with all this reclaiming aka refinishing old furniture.  I usually don't bother doing stuff myself but as prices sky rocket and quailty goes down old furniture is the really the way to go if you can find it. Luckily we have KSL place in Utah to buy stuff people are trying to get rid.  I have so many projects I start yet never complete.  That will be my goal this summer to get them done.  

The bad thing is I run across all these cute DIY ideas and I seriously want to do all of them but know that it is not realistic.  Check out these adorable ideas from Faded Charm Cottage and Chipping with Charm.  But BEWARE this stuff is super cute and you may become addicted!  

So why not do some crafty stuff for our store?  Come by Secretly Spoiled and check out all the projects.  If you are not in Utah check out all these fun designs we will keep the goodness coming.  

Enjoy!

Need Activities to Keep the Kids Entertained This Summer

Love it when I run across blogs that have adorable DIY projects.  Grab your little girl and enjoy this fun Summer Craft.  Its a perfect piece to add your girls bedroom, living room or really would look good anywhere.  

What you will need:

Old Lamp Shade

Buttons

String

How to make the masterpiece:

1.  Take an old Lamp Shade and Gut it :)  

2.  String your buttons on on strand of string.  Make sure you leave enough string at the top and bottom.  

3.  Tie the strand on the top and then bottom.  

4.  Repeat and enjoy your new shade!

Love her or hate her you have to admit she has great style.  

Swedish denim entrepreneur turned photographer Johan Lindeberg shot his pal GISELE over an easy-breezy two hour period not for a billboard, not for the big bucks, but really, as it turns out, for the love of jeans. "She called me," he said. And it comes as no surprise: everyone from Daria Werbowy to Carolyn Murphy (who turned us on to the ultra-high-waisted, ankle-zippered Jeans 8 last summer) stockpile skinnies, straight-legs, and leggings at his SoHo boutique. We swung by this week to catch up with the Brazilian supermodel, whose derrière is front and center in a guerrilla campaign currently being plastered around lower Manhattan, and get her denim rules of attraction. 

What do you look for in jeans?

"I like when they make a nice shape on my booty. I like that. But they have to be very comfortable, as well. I need to be able to move in them, you know? They can’t be too stiff. I like tight but they have to be comfortable. I have to be free and flexible."

Denim shorts or denim pants?

"Both. I love shorts baggy, but really short. But, I also love pants… Jeans are pretty much all I wear. I’m not a dress person. I’m more of a tomboy."

High-waisted or low-waisted?

"It depends. Right now, I like high-waisted. It’s chic. For jean shorts, I like both high and low, it depends, but mainly higher. I’m going for high-waisted lately. It makes the legs look longer."

Black or blue?

"I have jeans in every color: black is always basic and it’s the easiest color to wear but I love white, too. And gray—I love gray."

Your own jeans, or your man's jeans?

"My husband’s would be impossible! They wouldn’t fit me. I do like baggy jeans for the summer. In the summer, you wear things that are easier on top… I like easy, simple shapes on top and then something looser on the bottom I think is cool.  In the winter, you’re already so bulky on top so it’s nice to have something tighter on the bottom."

Makeup or au natural?

"I really don’t wear makeup that much, unless I have to go somewhere. I feel that it’s better for my skin to breathe. Anything I do is very basic; I like RMS makeup. But I think the best thing to do is to find a really great natural sunblock."

Tan or no tan?

"I usually go on the beach from, like, 7 to 8:30 or 9 AM, then again from 4:30 to 6 PM. I never go in the sun ever, under any circumstances, between 9 AM and 3 PM. I just don’t. It’s too hot."

—as told to ITG

Gisele Bündchen photographed by Emily Weiss at BLK DNM in New York on May 22, 2013.

Need some last minute Holiday Dish Ideas?  

Patriotic Watermelon & Feta Flag

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut and cube half of a seedless watermelon.
2. Cube 8 ounces of feta.
3. Rinse off 1 pint of fresh blueberries.
4. Pour blueberries into a bowl, preferably square and place in the top left corner of a rectangle (or oval) platter.
5. Assemble watermelon and feta into rows, starting with the watermelon.

Serve with a side of toothpicks for easy and healthy handling of the food.

Enjoy!

Love holidays becuase it gives me a reason to make yummy dishes.  Have a great memorial day!

Ingredients:

10 oz angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes*
2 pints strawberries, sliced
2 pints blueberries


For the cream filling:

6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used Borden Eagle)
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 package sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix
12 oz fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed


Directions:

Whisk the condensed milk and water in a bowl. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.

Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread (I piped it using a plastic bag and cut the corner off). Top with a layer of strawberries. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern. Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour.

6 quick and easy tips for cleaning your kitchen

Make a Cleaning Plan

Get organized by making a cleaning plan. Put together a list of the daily, weekly and monthly tasks to keep your kitchen in tip-top shape. Daily tasks could include wiping down counters, backsplash, stovetop and sink, and sweeping. Weekly tasks could include quick mopping floors and wiping underneath appliances. Monthly tasks could include a good floor scrub, cleaning the inside of the garbage can, and cleaning out the toaster oven and microwave.

Clean Counters Naturally

It’s easy to keep your counters clean and disinfected, and you don’t even need to use chemicals! Put a solution of 50/50 water and vinegar in a spray bottle and keep it handy. Wipe down the counters each night after dinner to get things shiny clean and kill germs at the same time.

Happy Kitchen Drain

  Whenever you feel like your sink is getting a little funky, fill it with hot water and 1 cup of lemon juice. (You can use bleach if you like, but lemon juice is more natural and smells nicer!). Let the hot water sit for one hour, drain, then scrub down the sink for a few minutes with Bon Ami cleaner.  Once a week, pour some vinegar and baking soda down your drain, let it sit for 5 minutes, then run hot water and the disposal. Quick and easy and keeps your drain clean and smell-free! Also, if you ever have orange or lemon peels to throw away, throw them in the disposal instead!

Easy Microwave Cleaning

Microwave coated in food and grime? It’s easy to wipe that gunk away! Fill a microwave-safe bowl with water, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then run microwave on high with the bowl inside for 3-5 minutes. Grab a papertowel or dish towel and easily wipe away the dirt!

Baking Soda: Magical Grease Fighter!

Have something greasy that just won’t scrub clean? Grab the box of baking soda and a scrubby sponge and get scrubbing! Works great on pans with cooked on grease or burners that need a little love.

Quickly Clean Stove Burners and Drip Pans

Regularly wiping down your stovetop and drips pans goes a long way to keeping them clean, but if you cook a lot, sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of it! If you find yourself with especially dirty burners, it’s simple to get them clean. Place your stovetop burner or drip pan in a sealable plastic bag then pour ¼ cup ammonia into the bag over the sink. Seal the bag and let sit for 1 hour (or a couple hours if burner is especially dirty). Open bag over the sink, away from your face, while wearing gloves. Pour ammonia down the drain then rinse and dispose of bag. Wipe down burner with a sponge and rinse with water. Voila!

Things and Change

As a nurse working with the geriatric population, I have had a front row seat to some major life changes in the lives of my patients and the view has been even more profound in my work as a hospice nurse.  Many times I have had opportunities to help patients and families with their final transition from this world to the next. I have always considered it a sacred time. Of the many lessons I have learned through this process, I have learned that things are just ‘things’ and that no matter how old you are, things always change.

Countless times I have seen the same scenario play out and it goes a little something like this: grandma falls and breaks her hip, and she goes to the hospital for surgery and treatment. After her hospital stay, she is then transferred to a skilled nursing facility for a lengthy rehabilitation. Just when there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for her, grandma gets a sock to the gut when she is told she can't go home. Why can't she go home? It's no longer safe for her to be on her own. There are too many stairs at home and she lives alone. So instead of going home grandma gets to go live permanently in an assisted living facility, residing in a one bedroom apartment about 500 square feet in size.

Don't get me wrong. An assisted living center can be a pretty great place, but put yourself in grandma’s shoes. You went into the hospital to fix your hip, and in that process, you lost your house and independent living. The house you worked so hard to pay off for 30 years, the location you raised your kids in and the place that holds all your memories of your deceased husband. You might as well have told grandma that a tornado came through and life in the place she knew and loved is gone. The blow is equally devastating, and at 90 years of age, grandma suddenly realizes that no one is ever immune to change.

Isn’t it ironic that we spend our lives striving for the accumulation of things? We want for a bigger house and then we fill it up with furniture, toys, clothes, plates, glasses, art, decorations, books and the list could go on and on — only to one day have to box it all up or give it away so that we can fit into a 500-square-foot apartment where we have room for a bed, a dresser, a couple of chairs and some clothes. Depressed yet? I hope not because my goal isn't to depress you. Instead, it's to give you a bigger view that no matter how much we try to line things up in our lives and get it just the way we want it to be to feel comfortable, we can always count on life to throw us a change.

While I have observed the same scenario play out many times, I have also seen the different responses and reactions of those experiencing the major life change. Those who have learned to adapt to change and let go of the attachment to things, adjust to their new life much better than those who haven’t. There is nothing wrong with having a house for 30 years and raising your children in it, but the key is to know that the house is just a ‘thing,’ not a symbol of certainty and stability. What becomes the true symbol of certainty and stability is your living legacy and who you were while you were here. More importantly, that you valued people over things and because of that, you not only made room for change — you embraced it.

 Until Next Time

Holly

One of the hottest Spring accessories trends is the blazer. There are so many great ways to wear them and they are perfect for the not too hot, not too cold weather.  Plus a blazer can pretty much go with anything in your closet. 

It’s time to move on from those cooped up Winter activities to the fun outdoor activities! Here are some great Spring activities for kids that they’ll will love!

Help your kids make this bird feeder to hang and enjoy the birds returning after winter.

 

Egg Carton Garden

Let them make their own little garden using an egg carton. So cute.

 

Bubble Station

Spring means bubbles! Come up with a fun bubble station for the kids to play with for hours. Free refills!

 

Bulb Growth Chart

Help them measure the growth of their bulbs with a cute chart. They will love seeing the progress.

 

Ribbon Wands

Little ones love these! Ribbon wands are great for boys and girls alike and are pretty to look at for mom.

 

Sidewalk Chalk

Make your own sidewalk chalk in custom colors. So pretty and fun!

 

Stick Painting

Go on a walk and collect some sticks to bring back and paint. It would be fun to make a wind chime of sorts out of them.