Simple Centerpieces on the Cheap!

We needed 8 centerpieces for the tables at the staff party last weekend!

My budget for decor......basically $0....we wanted to spend our money on food!

What to do?

These little cuties were the perfect answer.

It just took a little planning ahead....

The wheat grass got planted in 8 pots of a similar color....I used greens and golds!

(Good thing I buy lots of pots at GoodWill)

The grass needs about a week in a sunny window to grow to the height of 4 inches.

Here is the link to the post about how to grow wheat grass!

I really splurged and bought a bunch of daisies at the grocery store for $7.99.

Normally....I think those bright-artificially dyed flowers are really ugly....

but for our "Taco Fiesta" theme the colors seemed just right.

The next step was tucking a 2 inch cube of floral foam in the center of the pots....

Then....the flowers....

Then a little curling ribbon....

and 

Here they are....waiting to go the party!!!

 It is funny....I never have any pictures of the actual parties I go to.....maybe that is because I would rather BE at the party than take pictures....but then I am sad that I don't have pictures.

I will try to get some from the people I saw running around with cameras....

Anyway....the food was great....

because we could use the budgeted dollars for that instead of decorations...!

AND....cheap looked pretty good don't ya think?

 Have a Great Day!

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Valentine's Day....It's Really About the Chocolate!

I have to admit that I haven't done much decorating for Valentine's Day....

In fact....I haven't done too much decorating PERIOD!

Work has been super hectic....seriously....

I think there were 1000 kids and adults visiting/using the Media Center on Friday!!!l

Then....I am on the committee planning and putting together tonight's staff party. 

AND...we had our week of "secret friend" gifting too.....

Yikes! No wonder I haven't had time to do much at Sweetwater....

The baker's rack in the kitchen is about the only spot with Valentine Cheer!

It isn't much.....but it is a little bright spot paying homage to the holiday!

Oh and thanks Mr. S. for the flowers....they add a nice touch!

I thought about doing some other things....even went out to pinterest looking for some ideas!
I probably won't get around to doing any of these cute things, but thought YOU might!

I can't read Japanese....but this tutorial for making a heart garland with fleece was easy enough to follow....

http://www.duitang.com/people/mblog/17103792/detail/

I might actually find time to make this.....and the candle might keep me from eating the candy!

 

http://livingonloveandcents.com/2013/01/30/easy-and-inexpensive-diy-valentine-decorations/

http://www.amandajanebrown.com/

Yeah...for sure I could do this....and the bow makes it even cuter....don't you think?

Sarah over at Alderberry Hill is sharing these great chalkboard ideas.....her blog is becoming one of my favorites!

http://www.alderberryhill.com/5-valentine-chalkboard-printables/

Maybe I will erase the "OH BRRRR" and do something for my chalkboard! 

That wouldn't take too long!

Are you wondering when this post is going to get to the part about CHOCOLATE?

I love Hot Fudge Sauce!
You know...the kind that sort of slides down the ice cream...
and settles in a yummy pool at the bottom of the dish!

This is the recipe for THAT HOT FUDGE!

Only Three Ingredients

Directions

• 1/2 cup of butter softened
• 1 cup  chocolate chips
• 1 can(14 oz)of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Get out a medium sized saucepan.

Melt the butter over medium heat.

Stir in the chocolate chips,

Add the Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Stir until everything comes together....it will take a couple of minutes.

You know it is done when it gets smooth and silky looking.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time.

I do have to warn you....

you might just find yourself sneaking spoonfuls of this yummy concoction with no ice cream....just by the spoonful!  Not that I would ever do something as uncouth as that....I'm just sayin' it might happen to you!

If you are that room mother who is planning the Valentine Party for your child's classroom...make a triple batch of this....buy some ice cream and your treat will be a sure fire winner!

If you are wondering why there are no pictures of this recipe being made in the Sweetwater Kitchen....well....I have this on my TODO list too....but now that I have written about it....off to the store for the ingredients....this post made my mouth water!

Have a great day! 

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Perfectly Simple Glazed Green Beans!

The winter weather here has really given me the BLAHS....below zero days and nights make me CRABBY!

Even "Date Night" at the Theater was a bit of a downer...."Long Days Journey Into Night", while beautifully acted and staged was DEPRESSING!  And walking from the car... to the restaurant... to the the theater....to the car....it was darn cold!!!

 

We have a tradition of going out on the "never ending bridge" in the theater to look out at the city and the river.  We have done this every single time we attend a play....

Alas....this sign on the door greeted us this week....and now our perfect streak is ended!

But enough whining.....since I haven't been doing much for projects....I will do one of my rare cooking posts.....because regardless of the weather....you gotta eat!

Here is my recipe for Green Beans Sweetwater Style!

I used to hate green beans....

maybe it was growing up being forced to eat those soft, mushy canned versions... seriously...do these beans even LOOK green? 

Then I watched Julia Child cooking green beans and it changed my view of this vegetable forever.  Her technique is so simple and fool proof it can hardly be counted as a recipe!

Now...maybe everyone in the world knows how to do this!

But maybe....you have just been boiling your beans and plopping them on the plate!

If so....if you follow these steps....you end up with a crisp, tasty, never fail side dish that looks like something you would get in a fancy restaurant.

 I love that you can buy green beans ready to cook...with the ends already snapped.....

Sometimes we are lucky enough to find a mix of green, yellow and purple beans....it doesn't much matter as long as they are crisp and fresh to start with.

Start by putting the beans in a pan with a little....and I do mean little... water!

 Bring the water to a boil and cook until the water is almost gone....the beans will start to get really bright and green...when the water is gone the beans will still need more cooking time....and that is the trick to this technique!

 Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the pan......hey....I didn't say this was a low cal recipe....just a delicious one.

 Keep the heat high as you let the butter melt....keep stirring so the butter coats every little bean in the pan....but don't stop there!!!

Keep stirring and cooking as the butter almost carmelizes on the beans.  (now do you see why you don't over cook the beans before you add the butter?)

When the butter is completely coating all of the beans.....add a bit of salt and pepper....

 And there you have them......Perfectly Simple....Perfectly Delicious Green Beans!

Thanks Julia!!!

Bon Appétit!

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Hiding the Cat Litter Box!

Phoebe, from the television show "Friends", was a lot more tolerant of the worst part of cat ownership than most of us.....

It might not be "the cat's fault".....but it is a fact that the litterbox is the least attractive item in the house!

At Sweetwater.....we have these smelly eyesores tucked away in the back workroom!

Alas....Mr. S is often stuck there with the mess and odor! But at least it is out of sight!
And.....we are used to it!


When my nephew told me about solution to the "Smelly Cat"....I was sooooo jealous!

The only place for the cat box in their new house was the bathroom.....ewwwww!

He came up with this amazing DYI project he did to totally hide the litterbox!
He shared some photos of the project.....and I am sharing them with you!

He started with a simple cabinet that he bought from the Habitat Re-Store for $35.

Then he cut the side and back off to fit the space....and leave room for feline access!

He added a toe kick to raise it off the floor and match the height of the vanity in the room.

Now for the best part!!!

This little access hole in the side.....lucky kitty!




The hinge on the door needed to be moved...but I guess that wasn't that big a deal.











 The next step was to install a set of drawer slides in the bottom of the cabinet to allow for easy access to the box for cleaning.

 The addition of the shelf provides a place for pet paraphanalia!

 

Truly Amazing!

 And the kitty likes it too!

An all purpose kitty station!!!

I bet he didn't spend more than $50 total and it looks like a built in!!!

Well Done Sweetwater Nephew!!!

Thanks for sharing!

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January Decorating Blahs!!!

I hate January.....
The holiday fun is over....and about the only thing to do is hunker down and get through the month!

It is hard to get excited about much....
The thermometer reads -11 today!!!
and
we are supposed to be thrilled when it warms up to 0!

The view out the window is pretty depressing!

COLD....GRAY...BLAH!

My biggest challenge is to find ways to brighten up the house!
January has NO obvious THEME.....
January is a time when spending money seems silly after all the Holiday shopping.....
After all the time spent on Holiday decor....it seems like a time to aim for simple...and of course CHEAP!!!

What to do......simply and cheaply???

Since January seems to be all about healthy eating....and we are needing our vitamin C to ward off the flu....this little vignette on the bakers rack makes sense....
I picked orange as the "color wave"....yeah I know orange was LAST year's color of the year...but so be it!

 I had this photo of the oranges my brother sells at the Farmer's Market in Florida....
Printed and framed...it makes a nice bright focal point in the display!

On to the lower level.....where we spend lots of evenings cozied up to the fire watching basketball.....

I left the white candle stands....maybe a splurge on some new candles is in order....but for now...
The heart shaped wreath with red berries was a hand made gift from my sister-in-law lots of years ago.....sitting in front of a framed flag....a nod to Valentine's day and President's day coming in February...
Would you believe that the flag is the one that used to hang in my very first classroom?  I rescued it from the dumpster...I love the aged look....water damage and tattered edges and all!

The bookshelf is more in keeping with the winter theme....
The antique skis were hand crafted by Mr. S's great grandfather....yeah...maybe the pine cones and greenery are a little "Christmasy"...but I think it still looks OK...

The framed prints are two pages from another "school rescue"!
I have been saving the pages from a damaged book.....
A Farmer's Alphabet by Mary Azarian....I looked it up on Amazon...you can buy it for only $49.00....glad I was smart enough keep it!!!

Ww Winter and Uu Underwear seemed to be a perfect fit!!!

I have all the other pages.....hmmmm....Gg is for Garden Mm is for Maple Syrup and Zz is for Zinnia!  They just might get framed for the summer!!!

I couldn't bring myself to take this arrangement down....

The greens are still sort of OK...as long as you don't bump into them!!!

The pine cones and birch will be "seasonable" for a couple more weeks!










Some of my collection of off-white pottery made it's way to the mantle in the upstairs Family Room.

Would you believe that the greenery still looks that way after more than a month?!  A few pine cones and interesting "stuff" from a bag of potpourri finishes the look!

Now for my favorite....."still life" centerpiece on the table in the kitchen

 .........TRULY unique!!!!

Stay Warm......

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