Cleaning Oxidized and Moldy Aluminum Window Frames

I've been meaning to clean the window frames in my bedroom since August of 2012. Shame on me. They are aluminum and covered in white crud (oxidized) spots and mold. Now that I am getting around to painting the bedroom in the near future, I was determined to take care of as many details as possible, and this really needed to be done.

I was cleaning out my laundry room (part of the total house overhaul) and realized that I had an S.O.S. pad in there. I figured it was worth a shot because it is course and might scrape of some of the crud and mold on the aluminum. I had no clue it would take off all of it! I didn't even have to wet the S.O.S. pad! I was like "Holy Wow!" I accomplished this with just a few swipes.

I have a lot more of the frames that need this treatment, but this discovery needed to be shared with the world.

So if you have aluminum window frames, just go out and get yourself some S.O.S. pads and just wipe off the nasty stuff.

It's seriously that easy.

Filling a Picture Frame With Magazine Pages

This might be a temporary fix. I just really needed something to put in the frame!

I recently put a bookshelf in Willow's room, because after two years of living in this house she still didn't have one. On the same day I did that project I ran across a frame that I got at a yard sale. I figured it was perfect because now I can make the bookshelf project feel more complete by adding something fancy and fun at the same time.

I didn't have any family pictures to put in the frame, so I thought for a second...then i realized I had a bunch of magazines that have tons of pictures in them. So I grabbed a stack and started going through them.

I found some really fun pages, with funky stuff on them, but I decided to go with a theme. I ended up choosing flowers.

I tried a couple different combinations...

Ultimately, I chose three kinds of flowers.

I trimmed the pages down, and used scotch tape to set them in place in the frame. I replaced the back of the frame, and ended up with this:

I am trying to decide whether I want to hang the frame vertically or horizontally.

I can easily replace the pictures whenever I want to. I know I will find better pictures to put in this frame, but it's better than it being empty!

Willow was very pleased with her new bookshelf and pretty pictures. I'm glad I could do something to make her books more accessible and to make her feel like Mama truly cares about her books and her bedroom.

A Bookshelf for Willow

With baby Josiah's due date fast approaching I have been in super nesting mode. This is a good thing considering I still hadn't gone through all of the previous homeowner's belongings that were left behind when we moved in two years ago! It's time for changes.

We did a lot of work on Willow's room, but she was still lacking some storage. One thing that was definitely not functional was a basket full of books. I mean, how can you find the book you want to read when you have to dig through a basket? 

I love this sturdy basket that I got at Ross, but I will probably use it for a toy box for Josiah. It was time to give Willow a bookshelf. I really wanted to do a cool pallet wood project and get all "Pinteresty", but unfortunately I don't have a sawzall to cut the pallets up with. So I'm working with what I have on hand.

This is the shelf that is going into Willow's room because I don't care for it in my room, it's the perfect size for the space, and I need to get Josiah's nursery ready and this shelf is taking up space on his nursery wall. I don't like the dark color of the shelf, but it was Chris's grandparent's and I won't paint it because of that.

Here's what the corner in her room looked like before I realized that I had a bookshelf for her to use! Total "Duh!" moment for me last night. Yeah, and total kid's room picture...

We went through all the books, and Willow is donating all of the ones stacked in front of her. The rest go on the shelf. Very proud Mama!

It took me a little while, between getting supper made, grocery shopping and chores, but I got the books on the shelf and just added some of her cute things real quick. I also put some pictures in a pretty frame to put on top of the shelf, or I might hang it on the wall above the shelf. I'm just not sure yet.

It's 9:10pm, and I am DONE working for the night! These projects take a lot out of me, so I'm wiped!...but I do have a small post coming up about the picture frame project.

                                 

Being Poor, Feeling Blessed

This holiday season we celebrated Yule in our own way, and Willow went to a birthday party for a friend of hers that is 4 years old....Willow is 5 now. This Christmas is very tough. I don't have any income, and we are struggling with house payments. I feel awful for only having one big-(ish) item for Willow. I got her an easy bake oven and an extra pack of whoopie pie mix. That's what she wanted. I got some candy for stocking stuffers and $11 worth of mostly art supplies from the Dollar Tree.

My significant other gave her two angry bird plush toys, one makes sounds, and a couple stocking stuffers. He is spending the holidays in his home country, and I miss him dearly.

I just feel like I wish I could have done more, but I know that family will be giving her gifts on Christmas Eve when we all get together. I also know that Christmas morning Santa will have a bike and helmet waiting at her grandparent's house! I believe it has the Disney character from the movie Brave on it. One of our all time favorites. I just hope she isn't disappointed by what's under our tree.

My heart sinks a little.

When I think about this self pity, I get mad at myself. There are people out there that literally have NOTHING. People are struggling all over the world and I am blessed enough to have this laptop in front one and a warm kitchen to sit in as I type. I have enough food to fill my belly today and tomorrow, and clean water to drink. My eyes tear up, and I am so very thankful for this. Even with all of my problems I know there is a greater power watching over me, and guiding me. I realize my life will always be difficult, but I have more than a lot of people if you think globally.

I am so very blessed...even if we only have a couple presents under our Charlie Brown tree.
(See that HERE).

~Amanda Star~

Our Yule Tree, 2013

We are having an extremely low income holiday season! I wasn't going to live without a tree, so I went outside and pulled a big branch from the burn pile. Chris and I put it in a bucket filled with gravel, strung it with lights, Willow and I decorated it, and I put a silver tree skirt over the bucket portion. Weirdest tree I have ever had! ...but it's ours, and it's fun and colorful. Willow is thoroughly impressed. That's what really matters...her being happy and families doing things together. I know it's totally weird, but it was done with love. The things we do to get through tough times...

When Chris's grandmother passed away, just recently, we inherited this beautiful creation. It's made with all kinds of brooches and other pieces of jewelry. It has lights that actually work (I was surprised) and I am very proud to be displaying something like this in our home. So I guess we are blessed with two non-traditional trees!

I hope your Yule is wonderful, no matter how much money you have. There are always ways to get by...

~Amanda Star~

My Customer Review on Better Homes and Gardens Posies Plaid Comforter Set

This is my review on the Better Homes and Gardens Posies Plaid Comforter Set that I bought at Walmart.

This is a common "in-store" product.

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This bedding set is stunning. We bought it yesterday. I've been thinking about trying it in our bedroom for quite some time. The colors are pretty and embroidery is very romantic. We bought orange sheets to go with it, because my husband really loves orange. I love the color of the bedskirt, and the orange ribbon detail on the comforter and pillow shams.

The downfalls: This morning my husband woke up and said the comforter is very warm. Pretty much, it is too warm for him. He's a warm sleeper. I love it because I am a cold sleeper. He woke up sweating! The material that holds the bedskirt under the mattress is very cheap looking and feeling. It's possible that it could rip while we do "mattress flipping". I've purchased other BH&G bedding sets, and that material in that part of the set was better quality in the other sets. Another MAJOR downfall is that if you do any sitting on the comforter the embroidery does come apart. It's even worse if you have kids that like to sit on the bed with you. My five year old has already loosened up a lot of the threads. Remember, we just bought this set yesterday!

If I were a single woman with no husband, kids, or animals...I would keep it. It's perfect for me. Although, I haven't washed it yet. If I did wash it, it would probably loosen up the embroidery threads pretty bad. It would have to go in a really large machine on a very gentle cycle...or be washed by hand in the tub and line dried.

I'm sad that it's going back. I really think it's beautiful.

Better Homes and Gardens; Posies Plaid Comforter Set

House Progress

We are getting a new kitchen sink, faucet, and countertop installed next week! I'm pretty excited because the kitchen we have is original to the house, minus the primer on the walls. The countertops are stained and the sink is a nasty porcelain sink from hell...which also gets stained very badly. For a while the sink was leaking pretty bad, and the sprayer doesn't work at all. The sink is also only 5 inches deep, and I need a deeper one.

UPDATE: This is the new sink right before it got installed.

Willow's room is STILL not painted, but tomorrow I will be using the cattle prod on the hubby to get him moving along.

UPDATE: Progress has been made on Willow's bedroom. You can see that HERE.

We've been trying to find curtains for our bedroom and living room, but the ones I got for the living room are not working out. I got the crazy idea to try Willow's royal purple sheers in the living room, complete with a swag on top, and it turns out they are really beautiful with the light shining through. I promise I will give them back to Willow when her room is ready. ;)

We are also looking for a bright jewel toned comforter set for our bedroom to go with pictures in ornate gold frames and our buddha statue. We're also considering bamboo shades with pretty colored sheer curtains on top. This old house is a lot of work!