Tryin' a Terrarium

I've always liked the look of a terrarium and have seen many in blogs that I follow.  They're airy and fresh looking, a perfect addition to a room.  Today I gave it a whirl...not sure it'll survive, but it's worth a shot. 

I purchased what I needed at Michael's and Green Acres.  I wish I could say that I found the apothecary jar for 2 bucks somewhere, but I didn't.  I didn't even try looking because I knew it would be next to impossible to find exactly what I wanted.  I used a 40% coupon at Michael's and paid $18 for the jar and also picked up the river pebbles and moss.  I bought the plants at Green Acres.  

I'm not going to lie, it was a bit tricky to put together.  In my first attempt, I filled the very bottom, and then some, with the rocks and then added the soil.  I placed the plants inside and realized the fern (Rabbit's Foot) was too tall so out everything went and I was on to my second try.  This time I only put a small handful of rocks on the very bottom and a little bit of soil.  Next, I placed the fern so it was sitting pretty low in the jar.   After adding some more soil and the 2 succulents, I arranged the moss on the top. 

Can I Get a Hoot, Hoot?

Left owl = $5.00 Right owl = 50¢

A while back I found a ceramic owl at Goodwill and spray painted it white.  Loved the way it looked after a few coats!  I only paid $1.99 for it so I considered it a super deal.  I decided I wanted 2 more to place on the shelf in the laundry room.  A perfect trio.  Today I sealed the deal.  My first stop was at the Hospice Thrift Store.  I had a couple of bags of clothes to donate so I whipped into the parking lot at the back of the store.  While waiting for my receipt, I spied the eyes of an owl on a shelf of items to be priced and placed on the shelves in the store.  I asked how much it was and the woman said she needed to run to the front of the store to find out.  She quickly returned with the owl and a bright green sticker marked 50¢.  Holy cow, what a steal!  I poured a couple of quarters in her hand and I was outta there.  Next stop, Antique Trove.  The reason we were going there was so that Nolan could find an "oldie" (that's what he calls an old die cast car.)  I knew there had to be an owl in that huge store somewhere--the only thing was that now we were in an antique store and not a *thrift* store so the prices would be higher.  I stumbled across a few, but all above $12.00 and after just paying 50¢, I just couldn't go there.  I kept looking and lo and behold I found one for $5.00 (more than I had paid for the other two, but not a bad price.)  My owl trio is complete-not sure they'll stay in the laundry room, but that's where they'll perch for now.

This Is Where It All Begins

I've decided to take the leap and create my own blog:  Bargain Bound.  I have been hesitant about beginning a blog due to the pressure of keeping it up.  I've enjoyed posting pictures on Facebook and sharing what I've learned online and have created...without any pressure.  You see, now that I will have "followers" checking on my blog, I am worried I'll feel pressured to post things.  Also, enter the frustration of learning how to blog.  I'm a type A person, I don't want to plain blog.  I want a cutesy blog with fun fonts and cool graphics, but I don't know how the heck to do that.  Let's hope I have the patience to learn!

Baby You're a Firework...

 I always arrange a 4th of July mantel, but since I've been so busy reading other blogs, I thought it was time to add something new.  I mean really...there is so much out there!  I found a great hurricane idea here: http://sweetsomethingdesign.blogspot.com/2011/06/easy-hurricanes.html.  She used pickle jars, I used Kerr jars I found at Goodwill for 99¢ a piece.  I also purchased the flags at Goodwill in a packet of 4 for 98¢.  As mentioned in the original blog, I used spray adhesive to hold the flag and then carefully painted Modge Podge over the flag being careful to not get any on the jar.  I think it would be fun to make a dozen and line my walkway on the 4th of July.

Another decorating idea was to use scrap wood and wooden letters from Michael's to make a USA sign.  My favorite hubby cut down a piece of wood that I stained.  After spray painting the letters with paint I had on hand, I simply used a glue gun to glue the letters.  Voila...super duper easy and only cost me $4.50.

Finally pinwheels.  Where have I been?  Pinwheels are so darn cute and so amazingly cheap to make!  I used scrapbook paper and buttons I had on hand.  I made some cuts here and there, pulled out my trusty glue gun, and went to work.  Pinwheels = Festive!

Lovey Dovey

It's been a somber morning here in the Wilson household.  It's been a lesson of nature, an example of the food chain (...and no, it has nothing to do with the chickens, they are all safe.)  Here's how it all went down:

My daughter and I were in my bathroom doing her hair for the day.  She played with her Polly Pockets as I was parting, combing, and pulling on her hair.  On this summer morning, it was already warm.  In an effort to get as much cool air into the house I had a box fan in our sliding glass door.  All of a sudden I heard a scream from another part of the house, but due to the humming of the fan I couldn't make it out.  I figured our son was playing Wii baseball again and had either just struck out (a scream of frustration) or had just pitched an awesome inning (a scream of excitement.)  Unfortunately, it was neither.

I could hear the slapping of his bare feet on the hardwood floor running to our room and I knew something was urgent.  He was crying and screaming, "Nooooooo.  Nooooo."  I immediately threw my arms around him and asked him what was going on.  Through his choppy breathing and upset tears, he managed to tell me that a hawk had gotten the dove that's been sitting on a small nest with 2 eggs up on the pillar, under the roof.  We've been following that dove as she's been working hard, attending to her unborn babies.  One of our curious cats has also been keeping a close eye on the dove so we've been pretty protective.

Seeing my son so distraught brought me to tears.  Once I had him settled down, I asked for the exact story and we took a look at the crime scene.  He said he heard some chirping outside and thought it was the baby birds, only to find a hawk out on the grass and feathers everywhere.  With an empty nest on the pillar, he had put two and two together.  As a parent, I wanted to do anything I could to take his hurt away, but I couldn't.  I could only hold him and cry with him.  My job as a parent was to help him work through his grief and teach him how we sometimes have to accept unfortunate things in life, especially the ones we have no control over.

Of course, now he is madly searching the internet, reading up on doves.  He has taken down the wooden birdhouse he made at Home Depot years ago.  He's begging me to go to my previous school site to get an incubator.  This kid will try anything to save those eggs.  But for now, I'm hoping that since doves are often in pairs that the other will come to the rescue.  It's a long shot, but it's something.

Daddy Dove

                                                                            

The summary of the event

                                                   

Candle Lanterns

I stumbled across this awesome idea while walking through trusty ol' Pottery Barn.  They had a number of lanterns hanging from an old beat up ladder.  It caught my eye because my husband and I have been talking about sprucing up our deck.  I knew we wouldn't have room for a ladder, but I had a vision (yep, again.)  While I searched here and there for a variety of lanterns (some we had and others were found at Michael's, Pier One, and Cost Plus) all Mark had to do was hit up Home Depot for the wood and some black chain.  Once he cut it to the correct length I beat it up.  I took a hammer and a chisel to it before staining it.  I adore the way it turned out!  It adds such ambiance to the deck and the light put off by the candles is just perfect.