A Cheap Christmas Centerpiece
First and foremost, I’d like to point out that although this centerpiece is cheap in price, it is not cheap-looking. I’d put that in the headline, but I hate long headlines (except for this one).
Christmas this year will be a little different from last year, for several reasons:
- We didn’t have a house last year – so we didn’t have that little thing called a mortgage and all the joy that brings.
- Since we didn’t have a house, and we didn’t know how long it would take to get a house, we stayed with ManFiancé’s parents, rent-free. Our bank accounts were ballin’ … Now, not so much.
- We celebrated Christmas with ManFiancé’s family, which is somewhat smaller than mine. Meaning: less presents to buy. This year, both families are coming to our house for Christmas. Holy Griswolds!
- We’re saving for a wedding now. {Is anyone else tired of always saving for something?}
It’s pretty safe to say, money is tight around here (like it is everywhere else), so I’ve had to get creative with my Christmas decorations. Since we never really had a place to call our own, I basically had to start from scratch when it came to decorating the house – especially holiday decorating.
I went to Walmart (the mecca of cheap things) to see what I could find. I found fake Christmas flowers ($3), 2 simple but pretty vases ($2 each), 2 white and unscented candles ($2 each), and a Christmas table runner for $10. In case you can’t add, that’s a whopping total of $21. {don’t worry math-challenged people, I had to use my fingers to count}
Next, I took the fake flowers and pulled them apart. I pulled the fake cranberries off (but left them in bunches), and cut up the fake greenery. I placed the candles in the vases, and stuffed the fake cranberries and fake greenery into the vases – right up against the candle. Everything in the vase was positioned so that it not only looked attractive, but also kept everything tight and in place.
FYI – I chose unscented candles for the table because you don’t want scented candles while eating your Christmas dinner – it takes away from the flavor of the food. (oh hell no!)
I must say, the best time to shop for any type of holiday decoration is right after the holiday has ended. So I will admit that I did buy a few things last year to save extra money.
As you may or may not know, I am officially addicted to the Goodwill near my house. Not only did I score a complete gold China set for $25 there, but that store in particular sells new items at a discounted price. And it’s the nicest, cleanest, awesomest thrift store I have ever been to. Period.
I bought a gold Santa’s Sleigh and cheap ornaments for $5.
Amazingness.
$26 total and I’ve got me a pretty kewl Christmas centerpiece.
Martha, eat your heart out.
White Walls
I can safely say no house is ever perfect. The reason I know this is because my mom was a Realtor, so I saw a lot of houses when I was younger, and also because the ManFiancé and I looked at about 100 houses before finding The One. And even though The One was near-perfection, it still had its not-so-perfect characteristics. One was this, and the other was this:
Bad wallpaper in the guest bathroom – the kind of wallpaper that looks like it belongs to a 70-year old lady. Sorry, but it had to go.
We’ve been pulling off little pieces here and there since we moved in, and I never really got around to getting the equipment to fully finish the job. Ok fine, I was just procrastinating. It finally got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore – the point where the walls looked like they were literally melting. Not to mention, we have about 20 people coming for Christmas dinner. I had procrastinated long enough.
So I did some research and decided I’d go to Home Depot to rent a steamer to remove the wallpaper.
Well, that didn’t happen. Have you ever had one of those days where you don’t feel like getting out of your pajamas, don’t feel like leaving the house, and you especially don’t feel like driving 10 miles to Home Depot to rent a steamer?
So instead, I went to Pinterest.
Being that I’m pretty much the laziest person alive, I decided to search for the easiest way to remove wallpaper. Double whammy: the easiest way to remove wallpaper with stuff I already had. You see, if I didn’t want to go out to rent a steamer, I definitely wasn’t going out to buy chemical wallpaper-remover.
Luckily, I found this: how to remove wallpaper with vinegar and water. Glorious!
I had vinegar!
I had water!
I didn’t have to get out of my pajamas!
It started out easy enough…
At first I tried removing the wallpaper with a screwdriver (?!), but I quickly gave that up because I was putting holes in the wall. Yeah, not that great. Lucky for me, I found a paint scraper and that worked well enough.
Here’s how to do it:
- Mix 1/3 cup of white vinegar with 4 cups of hot water in a spray bottle
- Spray the mixture onto the walls and let sit for 5 minutes
- Take the paint scraper and gently scratch the wallpaper
- If it’s strippable wallpaper, not only are you lucky like me, but it’ll come off in strips
- Depending on how the wallpaper was put on (meaning: how much adhesive was used), it’ll either peel right off in large sheets, or tediously in small pieces
For me, the sheets were coming off easy and fast. I thought to myself, “Easy peasy. I’ll be done in no time!”
As you can see – I had both large sheets and small pieces. Apparently the wallpaper was put on with a lot of adhesive in some spots, and then little-to-none in other parts. About halfway through I realized that I was too far along to quit – even though I was going on 4 hours.
Two stuffed trash bags and 6 hours later, I finally finished. And although it didn’t go as quickly as I would’ve liked, the white walls are way better than the old lady wallpaper that was once there before it.
Even if the slight smell of vinegar still remains…
It looks whiter, brighter, and a whole lot better. Don’t you agree?
Scenes from a salted chocolate Thanksgiving
I woke up at 5:45 a.m. today to attempt to work off at least 1/100,000th of the calories I consumed just on Thanksgiving day alone. I don’t even want to start thinking about working off the entirety of last week. I’m pretty sure I’ll die if I do that.
Needless to say, this year’s Thanksgiving was a success.I actually sat down Thanksgiving night to write a blog post, but I could hardly see over my double chin, so I gave up. Here I am on Monday though, and I can finally breathe again.
Yes, Thanksgiving was indeed a success.
And although I didn’t get to see my side of the family this year, they’ll be coming up for the first Christmas in our new house, so at least I have that to cry about look forward to!
Ladies, take note: This is where a man should be … in the kitchen!
This is like the best ad campaign for alcohol and fried turkey – ever.
Don’t show this to PETA.
Deviled Eggs are always a necessity. And so is a 3-ingredient Pumpkin Butter Cake.
Recipe here.
{I added the chocolate – Duh.}
This Caramel Apple Cake is a killer.
Recipe here.
Ah, yes. The inevitable.
She may or may not have had too much turkey…
Do you have any great Thanksgiving pics to share? I’d lurve to see them!
Post them on my Facebook page – it’ll be like re-living Thanksgiving all over again!
Lord, help us…
Thanksgiving Pin-spiration
Are you on Pinterest? Well, if not, you should be. Warning: You WILL get addicted.
I joined about a week ago, and I just reached my 200th re-pin. I don’t know whether to celebrate, or hide my face in shame for my obsessive behavior.
Regardless, Pinterest is a website filled with a collection of images for DIY crafts, recipes, home decorating ideas, wedding ideas (!), fashion and more. You can follow my pin-spiration boards here.
Most of you probably have a great deal of work already completed for Thanksgiving, since it is tomorrow. However, if you are like me and you just LOVE to procrastinate, I have compiled some last-minute Thanksgiving ideas from my finds at Pinterest.
Don’t worry, everything here is easy, quick and cheap…
Decorations & Crafts
Candles in Pumpkins via ***
Flowers in Pumpkins via ***
Fall Vegetable Candles via ***
Monogram Wreath via ***
{bonus: you can leave this up for Christmas!}
Easy Tablescape via ***
Elaborate but Easy Tablescape via ***
Recipes
Health”ier” Sweet Potato Casserole via ***
Turkey Cookies via ***
Mini Crescents with Goat Cheese & Herbs via ***
Oven-Baked Zucchini Chips via ***
Goat Cheese with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries via ***
4-Ingredient Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt via ***
What to Wear – Casual
Slouchy Shirt Dress and Rider Boots via ***
Mustard Wrap Dress via ***
{bonus: it’s in my color of the year!}
Long Sweater, Leggings and Rider Boots via ***
What to Wear – Formal
Elastic Waisted Dress with Lace via ***
Black & Gold via ***
Ruched Holiday Dress via ***
I hope you all have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
By the way, I’m utterly thankful for you, my readers. Just wanted to let you know… :)
Happy Weekend
We’re going to the lake house this weekend. Usually this is a time to relax, but this weekend is going to be a little different. We have 11 people going – which wouldn’t be too bad if it were a big house – but it’s got 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. This, is going to be very interesting… but nevertheless, fun I’m sure.
My brother’s girlfriend sent me this recipe under the title – “We Need to Make These” – and make them we shall, especially since I got 2 bags of oranges on sale at Publix, and I don’t know what to do with them.
Hello, jello shots!
And although we won’t be able to go swimming this weekend (it’s supposed to be in the lower 50s), there will be plenty of bonfires, dancing, and maybe some karaoke-singing at the good ol Liar’s Lair Bar.
Hole-in-the-Wall Bar + Polk County = A GREAT Time.
Every time we go to the lake house, I think of this song. It’s the epitome of the place, and it’s the pick for today’s My Favorite Song Friday.
Have a great weekend!
salted chocolate | life with a dash of flavor 