Thrifty Moisturizing Bath Soak Recipe

Long about a Saturday night
A rub-a-dub, just relaxin' in the tub

But alas....too much soaking can make my already dry skin even drier!

AND

I have enough skin sensitivity to be afraid of many commercial bath products....

AND

I am too cheap to spend what they cost!

Read on to discover the "Sweetwater Style" solution!

Halloween Read Aloud List-Repost

Only 4 more days 'till Halloween!
A few weeks ago I did a  guest post at Cachey Mama's Classroom.
It was all about Great Picture Books for Halloween!
For the last few days, I have been getting a lot of requests at school from folks who want suggestions for books to read at children's parties-either at school or home!
I have never done a repost....but it seems that this one might be relevant!
So here it is....if you have already read this....my apologies....if not...I hope you find it useful!

After all....I do hold the title for Mis-Information

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying

From silly to spooky...reading Halloween tales is a great way to get in the spirit of Halloween!

Here are some suggestions for you....they are all available at Amazon but even better...FREE at your library!
Read on for the list!

Goodwill Chairs Make Over!

 My blogging has been put on hold the last days because I have been sooo busy living my life....no time for projects!
BUT....
I got this great email from my daughter  while we were enjoying ourselves in Memphis this weekend!
SHE was doing a project and is letting me share it with you!



Email text: Hey Mom....Look what I did!



$4.99 for each chair from Goodwill
plus $12 for paint and fabric from the fabric box!


Who says the pumpkin doesn't fall far from the pumpkin patch.....?








Here is how she did it!

Halloween-Empty Nester Style!

Now that we are empty nesters...I don't really DO Halloween!
Back in the day....we did the whole 9 yards....spooky and fun!
But I still try to find ways to put touches of the season around the house!

I am especially loving my new owl sitting on the entryway table!

Come along for the tour!

I recovered another office chair!

You may remember my post about recovering my husband's ugly office chair!



















It went from really ugly.....to nice...but sort of boring....that's because I actually listened to what he wanted...."nothing too fancy or wild"....go figure!
The post has the full tutorial if you are interested.

Now... on to MY sewing chair that looked like this!

 

If you have been reading this blog you know that I am not afraid of "fancy or wild"!

So off to the fabric store....and see the great fabric I found!

I bought 1 yard for $7 and I was ready to turn ugly into NICE!

Knock Off Halloween Books

I love this wonderful decorative set of Halloween Books that my daughter gave me last year.









They came from "The Shop Around the Corner" that I told you about from our Weekend Wander in Waconia!

They are still available to buy this year.....


I have mine on the hall entry table with my new Owl....cute!





I loved the idea of the this so much that I wanted some for my school Halloween display....and of course I didn't want to spend the money to buy the "real" thing....

Trick for Making Pumpkins Last!

This is going to have to be a really short post.
My week is absolutely crazy....
2 nights at school for conferences...
1 night at school for a fun author visit....
1 night for a theater outing to see "Much Ado About Nothing"
Don't you feel sorry for me?  NOT!

Anyway....I thought I would share a quick tip for keeping your "real" pumpkins and gourds from spoiling!
I love to buy those little gourds that look like pumpkins....they are great at Halloween....and make great additions to Thanksgiving vignettes too.
Here is the simple solution for making them last!

Girls Weekend Wander in Waconia!

Saturday was a beautiful Fall day in Minnesota!
The sun was bright....
The temperature hit 80 degrees....

Mom is less than a month away from leaving us to travel to her Winter home in Florida!

What better than to gather all the girls for a fun day of shopping and lunch in the beautiful lakeside town of Waconia!




There are lots of fun little shops to explore....and a great lunch destination on the lake!
Check out all that this little gem of a town has to offer:  Destination Waconia!
Come along and share the day with me!

Happy Week-end!

Ahh...Fall in Minnesota!


My husband is on an airplane coming home from Asia after 12 days away....hurrah!
I am getting ready to spend a fun Saturday with my mom, aunt, daughter, nieces and cousins "haunting" the little shops in Waconia!
The flowers are still blooming awaiting the first hard freeze!
Life is good!



I finally got around to redoing the window boxes for fall....
In true Sweetwater style....I refused to spend any money...
You know....Use what ya got!

After cutting down the summer stuff...I watered the soil in them really well so it would be easy to work with.
Then I put a few small logs on top of the dirt to make a base....
Wandered around the yard to find:
Leaves, Sedum heads, grasses, and other fall looking stuff...
Stuck it all in like I was arranging flowers.....added a few fake leaves....

And here they are!

I think I will drive down a few country roads on my way to Waconia today to find a few more dried weeds to stick in for more fullness....but all in all....not too bad!

Hope you have a wonderful relaxing weekend!

I am Guest Posting Today!!!

What a thrill it is for me  to be guest posting at Cachey Mama's Classroom Today!
 I hope you hop over and read my post.
It is all about Great Picture Books for Halloween!

After all....I do hold the title for Mis-Information

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying

From silly to spooky...reading Halloween tales is a great way to get in the spirit of Halloween!

Here are some suggestions for you....they are all available at Amazon but even better...FREE at your library!
Read on for the list!

Kitchen Stool and Message Board Updated!

Saturday we took a long overdue trip to SR Harris Fabric Outlet.
I now have supplies for more projects than I have time for....and inspiration for even more!

One purchase was a yard of pretty print to recover the stool that I sit on in front of my computer.

The stool is a $3.00 Thriftstore buy with the legs painted to match the other chairs and stools in the kitchen.

This is the way the stool looked at 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon....a year's worth of me sitting on it in gardening gear had it looking a little worn and dirty.



This is the $5.00 yard of print that I bought....I always buy too much at the outlet....it seems so cheap to buy less than a yard!
Read on to see how it turned out!

Goodwill-Ceramic Love!

 I am in love with vintage ceramics.....Haeger, McCoy, Red Wing, Floraline, California Pottery, Abbingdon, and more!

I have lots....and NEVER pay more than 5 dollars for any item.
Almost all of the pieces I have come from Goodwill!
 I use them all the time for decor all around the house.




Someday I will do a whole post about this.
Today is NOT that someday!