MANIC MONDAY....I SWEAR I have a BLACK thumb y'all

OK, it's STILL cold here in the midwest (in fact 15 degrees below average) and I'm getting SPRING FEVER!!! This year I decided to try my hand at starting my seeds indoors....and I HEART the tropics SO what better way to bring the tropics to me than thru plants!?!?! 

Have y'all seen on Pinterest and youtube how "EASY" it is to grow a pineapple plant?!?!? (I tried 2 years ago and FAILED) so after watching the youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0mhwAJM12U It seemed EASY!!! (maybe his grew because he lives in Key West ...lol).

SO I started with my pineapple top like this (rooting it in water)

2 Weeks later it looks like this....pretty dead and dry looking and 1 root.....

 Do y'all have any experience with this kinda thing?!?!? Should I just pop it in dirt and hope for the best?!?!?

Onto the seeds...last year I had GREAT success with cilantro and basil(top planter)....

June 2013

BUT I sowed the seeds directly outdoors in early May....when I start seedlings indoors they always get wimpy and don't withstand the test of time....So this year I got my potting soil, seed started mix (added about 2 tbsp of ground coffee) and mixed my dirt together....sowed the seeds into 1/8" of the soil as the package suggests....

Covered them with saran wrap to emulate a greenhouse...sprayed with a water bottle so as not to drown the soil...moved them from sunlight spot to sunlight spot all over the house (this is when I start feeling a lil crazy)

 LOOK how wimpy they are!!! Maybe some of you are saying woot woot to green - NOT me....I'm getting FRUSTRATED!! (lil pockets of the dirt are starting to grow mold - probably from the moisture)

SO, to all of you green thumb experts out there - WHAT am I doing wrong?!?!? And what can I do to change the outcome of my sad pitiful plants?!??!

ARM SWAG SUNDAY

 The swag:
Snake - Lauren Conrad for Kohls (this has to be one of my FAVE layering pieces)
Gold Bangle - Michaels
Gold and BLack Bangle - Thrifted
Gold Bangle - Gifted

The Swag:
Spike - Gifted
Watch - Betsy Johnson
Pearl Bangle - Lauren Conrad for Kohl's
Ring - QVC

A DAY IN THE LIFE.....

....Pic's via my iphone for the past week.....

(my parents were here helping out while my daughter was in Washington for her school trip...it was SO AWESOME having them here and I miss them....I indulged in their company vs. blogging and being on line....)

I sent my baby to Washington DC - this was one of the hardest things I've had to do as a mom thus far....letting her go and have independence - YIKES!! BUT it was fab and she had a good time and we grew as a mother/ daughter.

Gorg touch of spring and my FAVEY flower

I decided I could make my own lil yum yum yogurt treats (unsweetened coconut, choc chips and cherry jam) the only problem is I bought PLAIN YOGURT (GAG) instead of plain GREEK yogurt

Found inspiration in April's inStyle....

FUN painted succulents (y'all we are crafty - we can do this ourselves) 

Tried the purple hair color....was scared that my glove was PINK...no worries, the color didn't take at all (I checked the back and it was supposed to take over black)

FUN packaging

Mini WELCOME HOME party for my lil miss....

Scored a few FIERCE pieces at Chico's during their 40% off clearance sale....

GORG sunny Saturday in these here parts! CHEERS!! Have a fab Saturday!!

THRIFTY TUESDAY....My cabinet went blue....

I am a thrift shopper to the core!! 2 year ago I found this cute lil cabinet that I KNEW would be a perfect hall cabinet (thin enough to not clog up the hallway BUT substantial enough to make the statement I wanted.....(you can't see it in the picture but there is caning in the inset of the doors)

 I put the first coat on (I bought the paint with the primer built in SO I didn't have to sand or prime)...now you can see the caning....

 Like the way I paint?!??! Around the hardware....I should've just taken it off form the beginning....

Ok, Now they're off.....I decided to try soaking them in coke...

After about 10 hours they looked like this....

They were ok...so I decided to use my Pandora bracelet buffer to try and clean it up more....

Here she is in all her BEAUTY!!! I adore the new blue color....I haven't styled the top YET (hence the cut off picture). I will post more when I style the top....

I've been a painting fool!! C'mon SPRING I have a few more projects in the garage I want to tackle!!

MANIC Monday....I got nada

For this Manic Monday I got nothing!! SO while wracking my brain I decided to post a re-cap from the week...(Like my day in the life....but I missed last week anyway)

FAB Madden Girl boots

Tried the "new" to me craze....shaving your face....I'll let you know what I think and do a post....

Got some fun mail from a mail swap...and the SWEETEST part....she was the girl I SENT TO...she sent this as a thank you...check her out...Rayna Marlee Design http://raynamarlee.wordpress.com/

 This was the TRUE MANIC part of my post....sent my baby off to Washington DC with her school....the hardest thing I've had to do so far....Letting my lil girl (she's 14 - not so little anymore) spread her wings and be independent.

Made a steak taco dinner and some guac(from my recipe last week on Foodie Friday)

GORG tulips....my favey flower and a lil kick of spring!! 

FOODIE FRIDAY....Avocado Pasta Sauce

I made this LAST Friday and was going to post BUT by the time I finally sat down it was late and I was outta steam!! While perusing Pinterest I found this recipe for an avocado pasta sauce...looked good...oddly I had all the ingredients on hand and my kiddos weren't home for dinner (I GUARANTEE they would not eat this).

I gathered my SIMPLE ingredients (1 ripe avocado, 1/2 lemon, 3 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp olive oil)

 FIRST you put the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in the food processor and blend (while doing this your water should be boiling for the pasta as this dish was recommended served fresh and immediatley) when pasta is cooked, add the avocado a pinch of salt and pepper and fresh basil (I didn't have that on hand so I used dried) and blend until creamy...

and VIOLA!! Dinner's served!! 

The sauce had a DELISH light flavor HOWEVER I just couldn't get into eating it with the pasta...maybe if it were not as thick or I used less on the pasta....at any rate all was NOT lost...it is EXCELLENT with tortilla chips...SO I can totally see this as a guac of sorts!!

While I had the cutting board out I cut up a pineapple (not shown) a mango AND made another batch of pico de gallo....I felt SO domestic!!

Put a lil spring in your step with ModCloth

I was asked by Modcloth http://www.modcloth.com/shop/clothing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=G.SEM.US_BR.X_ModCloth_General&utm_term=odcloth&utm_content=e&kid=054365fd-14da-5228-ebc0-00003d6a8113 to put together a style board using THIS dress (Dinner Party Darling) as a base...ANYONE could simply accessorize a dinner party dress and call it a day....I wanted to show YOU how you can take a FAB dinner dress and work it into your DAILY wardrobe!!! I added fun pops with accessories (to take it down a notch and make it fun for day wear) added a FAB clear pink trimmed umbrella and wedges. A cute lil denim jacket popped over the top would be PERFECT for a chilly spring day!

Put a lil spring in your step by janae-cairns featuring prom dresses

Prom dress
modcloth.com

Polish shoes
modcloth.com

Karma Living diamond jewellery
modcloth.com

Plastic bracelet
modcloth.com

Clear dome umbrella
modcloth.com



Whatcha think?!?! Would YOU wear this?!??! Would YOU take you dinner party dress to the office?!?!?  Check out modcloth http://www.modcloth.com/shop/clothing?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=G.SEM.US_BR.X_ModCloth_General&utm_term=odcloth&utm_content=e&kid=054365fd-14da-5228-ebc0-00003d6a8113 and tell me what YOUR favorite piece is!! 

TRY IT THURSDAY...holla Door mat

Do YOU ever get those ideas that are just a BRAINSTORM!?!?! But take forever to execute even though they're UBER simple?!?!?!? THIS project is one of those!! When I first moved into my place this carpet remnant was in the garage...I used it for multiple spray painting projects (in fact the other side says "happy Birthday in letter silhouettes from when I painted my own birthday banner for my son's bday last year)....anyway, as I sprayed more and more I realized I could actually paint the reverse side of the carpet remnant and make it a front door mat...SO I started spraying the rug itself...it was going to take A LOT of spray paint....so it sat like this in the garage for the next 10 months....

 I was painting another piece of furniture this week and realized I could TOTALLY just use the leftover paint and a roller brush to finish my mat....and thats exactly what I did at 10pm one night...

While this color is more blue and I was going for a REB (Robins Egg Blue) for free it will be PERFECT!!

I knew what I wanted my mat to say (a la #Heather from the #realhousewivesofnewyork) so I found a font I liked and printed out my letters...

No, it's not going to say "hola" 

 I grabbed my gold sharpie and outlined my letters (after cutting out of course)...I chose gold because black was too harsh I thought and gold seemed like the perfect touch of sophistication...and my mat went form "hola" to "holla" (no need to print 2 "l"s since I was just outlining them...

 I have Martha Stewart gold paint BUT I knew that gold was too light for the look I wanted....I bought "copper penny" by Revlon one day at the supermarket because it was on clearance for $1.00. I KNEW I wouldn't use it as a nail polish but figured it could be a great crafting paint...so when I realized Martha's gold was too light the OBVIOUS choice was "copper penny" by Revlon!!

 I painted inside my lines and LOVED how it was coming along...I worried if I would have ENOUGH and figured IF push came to shove I"d have to anty up 6.00 and pay full price for another bottle (IF I could even find one) BUT that didn't discourage me

 Y'all I had ENOUGH (I only used a 1/4 of the bottle) and this has to be one of my FAVE makeovers EVER!!! CHEAP and fab!! That's how I roll!!