salvaging furniture

A couple weeks ago I was out for my morning run on Sunday and as I was running by a house nearby there was an old bench on the side of the road waiting to be trashed.  I got an idea!  Maybe I could salvage it up and fix it up?!  So when I got home I dragged Rollin with me to carry it back.  The bench was extremely wobbly and Rollin thought it was a lost cause.  I still had hope!

A couple weeks later my parents visited and I asked my dad if he could help me sturdy it up!  We got brackets from the store and strengthened the joints so the bench was almost as good as new!  At this point I didn't know what I was going to do next, but spontaneously decided I wanted to paint it.  I tend to like neutral colors because it goes with everything, but I wanted to be different this time and go bold so I got a paint color called "bold sangria."  Yup, it sure is bold.  I painted the bench the color and ended up bringing it inside and threw gray pillows on it.  I think it looks pretty good.  What do you think?

 Before doing anything to it.  It was a dark brown and a purple color.  Gross!

 Mmmm....paint!

 Painting with my dad!

 Done!

Brought it inside and put some gray pillows on it!

Oh, and I had leftover paint so I painted an unfinished bookshelf I had too!

 Before painting the bookshelf

 After painting the bookshelf

The finished product!

cleaning the fridge

I've been inspired to do various sorts of cleaning, organizing and crafting projects thanks to Pinterest.  Yesterday I deep cleaned our refrigerator.  They are really dirtier than they seem!

I took out ALL of the shelves and compartments, filled the tub with hot water and dish soap and vinegar, and soaked all the compartments in it for a while.  I also soaked our trash can to clean it too.  It works REALLY well.  While the shelves and compartments were soaking I wiped down the fridge.  Then I dried off the shelves and compartments and put them back in place.  I bought some storage baskets to organize the food.  I have one basket for all our cheese!  Another for our creams, one for our meats, and two more for fruits and veggies.

My Cooking Accomplishment: Lasagna

Since we've been married, Rollin's actually been doing most of the cooking.  He loves it!  And he has more time than me.  But I've sort of been feeling a little insecure because I'm the WIFE!  This past year I started getting a little creative and doing more cooking and making things.  But last night, I made the all-time meal: lasagna.  To me, if I can make lasagna, then I can definitely cook!  And it was tasty too!!!  

Accommodating for my gluten sensitivity!

Lots of cheese!

Tada!!