Beverage Cart Pinterest Challenge!

On my last post, I picked three contenders to try to link up to the Pinterest Challenge.  I picked the one that  1)took the least amount of time and that  2)I already had the items needed on hand.  Sounds lazy, I know, but I am planning my daughter's 7th birthday party this weekend here at my house and have many other things going on, so I needed it to be that way to make the Tuesday deadline!   However, I do plan on painting my pottery and stenciling my dining room wall (see last post for those inspirations).  I already bought my stencil and paint and got the wall prepped!  From tutorials I have read on this project, I know it's a loooong process so I didn't try to break my neck (and hand) doing this one yet.  However, this month of July is sacred for me being a teacher because the month of August will be busy for me getting my classroom ready!  I still plan on doing projects and as many posts as I can in August but stenciling a wall probably won't be on the schedule.  So my goal is to do that this month, cross your fingers for me on that.

Anyway...back to my original topic...I chose to do the beverage cart as my Pinterest Challenge.  Here was the inspiration picture that I chose from Pinterest:

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Remember, my metal cart came from my parents' basement laundry room and was holding their detergents and supplies.  I know we had this cart in our laundry room even as I was growing up, so it's been around the block.

Here is what the cart looked like when I took it from my parents' house.  This is after I swept major cobwebs and nastiness off of it just to put it in my car.  It had major rust on the bottom shelf.

All projects seem to go more smoothly when you have a cute 7 year-old helper in her PJ's, don't you think?

I ended up taking the cart apart so that I didn't have to tape or try to cover the chrome handles and sides.  I want this cart to primarily go on our enclosed back porch (see recent post on that project here)
and I wanted it a fun, punchy color, so I decided to go with this bold red.

I love that the cart is on wheels.  I plan on using it to put drinks on when we have company, plants on when we don't , and everything in between.  I have never had a cart before, so who knows?  Eventually it may turn into a mobile office.  :)

Here it is painted and put back together:

And for right now, I decided to embrace the season and make it a fun cart to go on the porch.

 I plan to use it this weekend to hold all kinds of fun for Riley's birthday party.  I can't wait to post some pictures of that soon.  I have never hosted a kids birthday party at my house before, so we'll see.

Be sure to stop back soon to see my painted pottery, stenciled wall, and birthday shenanigans.

Also, make sure you check out not only my Pinterest Challenge beverage cart, but the tons of other inspirations here.

Linking up to:
NOT Just a Housewife- Show Me What Ya Got
Centsational Girl-Pinterest Challenge
Young House Love-Pinterest Challenge
Ten June-Pinterest Challenge
Shabby Nest-Frugal Friday
French Country Cottage-Feathered Nest Friday
It's A Hodgepodge Life-It's a Hodgepodge Friday
I Love Pretty Little Things--Friday Pretties
Romantic Home--Show and Tell Friday
Sassy Sites--Feature YOU Friday
Savvy Southern Style-Wow Us Wednesdays

Summer Mantel: Maybe Not?

Yesterday I went to a couple area dollar stores, Jo Ann's, and Michael's to try to get some goodies for a summery-beachy mantel.  Keep in mind we don't live near water.  We live in Central Ohio.  There is a pond in our development, but that doesn't count.  This did not stop me from scouring these stores for summer-y, beach-y items that could all get along well enough to resemble a summer scape of sorts to beautify my mantel.   At the Dollar Store I saw a very simple, pathetic-looking wicker wreath for a buck that said, "you can do something with me".  I have seen many burlap-covered wreaths lately on blogs and Pinterest, so I knew I wanted to cover this wreath with burlap.  I wasn't sure exactly how to do that and still make it look decent...but I was willing to try.  The most expensive items of my finds today were actually the roll of burlap (I found for about $8.00 at Jo Ann's), and the little burlap rosettes (about $4 at Michael's).

Remember what our mantel looked like before that I showed you on my previous post:

Those items came down to make room for summer and after a little bit of re-arranging, this is what I came up with:

I tilted my head a few times, and wondered what I thought...at first I liked everything but the wreath-it blends in with the brick color too much.  Waaaaah.  I really wanted it to work!  When my hubby came home and I excitedly asked him his opinion, he gave his "yuck" look and said, "I can't stand shells!  You can't even see the wreath!"  I pouted again.  However, I do value this man's opinion.  A lot.  We have done many a decorating project together and usually he knows what he is talking about.  He reminded me that if we lived by the coast or water or the rest of our house was decorated in a nautical or beachy theme, then it would be perfect.  But we don't and it isn't.  As I tried to get over my pouting, I realized he was right and I reluctantly took it all down and wondered what I was now going to do with shells and a starfish and other beachy stuff.  Then, my very smart hubby had an idea of what to do with it..... and we started working on that little project tonight.  I even used my first power tool.  He forced me to and said, "You need to learn how to do this."  Did I mention I love this man?  Smart and bossy when he needs to be?  You'll have to stay tuned to see what we end up doing with my wreath and the beachy items, fingers crossed it looks as good as I am hoping.  I also am planning on doing a post soon on how I made my burlap wreath...not that it is prize worthy or too technical, but I think it turned out sort of cute.  Go ahead, give me your opinion...I promise I won't pout too much.

Summer Must-Haves

We just got back from Disney and it was wonderful!  Sure, the weather was bleeping-hot, but what do you expect in Florida in June?  The kids were great in the car  (remember I bragged about them here... they didn't let us down!)  We ended up driving straight through both there and back...a 16+ hour trip one way!!!  We are troopers, our family.  :)

Now, I feel like summer has officially began.  Since we left for vacation 2 days after we got out of school, it hadn't hit me yet that school was out.  Today is the first day I am feelin' the summer love.  Ahhhhh.

I am dying to  know what your favorite summer snacks/salads/must-haves are.....do you make a special salad only in the summer when fruits and veggies are at their peak?  Do you have a great (easy) dessert to share with us?  Do tell!  Tonight my Hubby and I only had our littlest one home with us for supper.  I went grocery shopping yesterday so we had a ton of food, but neither of us really wanted to make anything big for just the 3 of us, so we got creative with what we already had.  Last night we had grilled chicken and had a couple pieces left over.  We chopped it up, threw it in a skillet to warm it, and put it over lettuce.  Hubby only put cheese and dressing on his (bor-ing!) but I felt like being a little more inventive and healthy.  Here is my creation with a little strawberry-poppyseed dressing, berries (okay, a lot of berries), and chicken.  Mmmmmm.

A big staple in my house in the summer is watermelon.  We. Love. It.  There are usually only a few days in the summer when there is not watermelon in my fridge.  Hubby, and my step-daughter, Kaitlyn, put salt on it.  Does anyone else do that?   I have tried it, and it isn't bad, but I prefer my watermelon straight-up, no sodium added, thank you.

No, I don't usually eat watermelon with daisies alongside, but these are the only pretty flowers really in our yard right now due to so many days without rain here in Ohio!

So share with me your favorite summer must-haves to eat......I can't wait to hear what you can't get enough of this time of year!

And Summer Break Begins!!!!

As a teacher and mom, I am super-excited that school is out!  I cannot wait to spend time with my kids, relax a little,  and tackle and try those many home projects and ideas that I was waiting until school was out to start.  I know I am very lucky to have some of the summer off.  Believe it or not, like many teachers, I will still be working in my classroom and from home getting ready for the next school year.  However, I plan to take full advantage of staying in my jammies as long as I want, drinking endless cups of coffee, and posting as much as I can!

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We will be going on our special Disney trip very soon, so I won't be posting for a few days, but I hope that you'll stay tuned to read my next posts in the coming weeks.    Happy Summer!!!  Woo Hoo!!!