Picasa: I'm feeling lucky!

Photo Editing

quick photo editing for dummies.

{thats me!}

move over picnik you have met your match!

heard of picasa? 

Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that makes your pictures look great..

Once you have downloaded Picasa and have selected the picture you wish to edit click on the button titled "I'm feeling lucky" and Picasa will automatically edit your photo for you--yes, it IS just that easy!!

...this literally takes one second and you can highlight as MANY pictures as you want to.  What a quick and easy fix you can do before you post your pictures on facebook or your blog! 

Step 1:  download picasa

Step 2: hit 'I'm Feeling Lucky'

THAT IS IT!

check out a few before & afters:

at the difference just one click on ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ gives me!

 source

so simple. 

so easy.

thats my type of photo editing!

source



{super easy} Bacon & Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups

this might be the easiest breakfast...ever!

the picky plate   shared this recipe.
~ which has become a HOUCK favorite!~

'cause sometimes a warm breakfast is soooo good!

{sometimes if we omit english muffins}

Bacon and Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups

3 whole english muffins, split

6 slices ready cooked bacon, not microwaved, just right out of package

1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 large eggs

Pinches of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press english muffins carefully into bottom of a 6 cup Texas size muffin tin. Form a little circle with the bacon and place around inside of muffin. Sprinkle inside with cheese then top with a whole egg in each cup, keeping inside the bacon ring. Sprinkle with pinches of kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until egg is cooked through, not jiggly

2. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Serve as is or with some of your favorite hot sauce and a side of fruit!!

6 servings

YUM!

craigslist love

I have sold alot of things on craigslist over the years. My biggest item I sold was cousins HOUSE last summer.   

Its almost a competition against myself.

(which I have entirely too much fun with) :-)

This summer we've sold some interesting items {to say the least} to help bring in some extra dough for my grandparents 

( & because we love them & the thrill of it!) 

  

Junk Feed Truck:  $400.00

Junk Truck:           $ 200.00

Junk Car:              $150.00 
{no picture}

with a total of $750 EXTRA cash for them which we used to paint the exterior of their house. aka how myself, mom & sister spent our August. :-) 

Pictures to come.

Well this week my husband was out appraising and came across this bathroom vanity and countertop.  he saw potential and called me and we both thought we could sell this on craigslist.  It  needed new handles (cost $5.00)  and about 1 hour of fixing by my super handy hubby and we posted her and we just sold it this morning for $75.00.  A
$ 70.00 profit to put toword our student loan debt!  Praise God for this completely random way to make some extra cash!!

Tip:  I learned a tip this time posting this vanity on craigslist.  I had originally posted it on "furniture" and didn't get one call for four days.  bummer.  I was looking over at different cateogires and saw the category of "materials....bingo!  We had our first call ten mins later.  

How sweet is that.

Anything you've sold on craigslist you'd like to share?

Have a great weekend!!

funny housewarming gifts

Frugal.

Funny.

Thoughtful.

My brother and sister in law bought their first house a few weeks ago.  I wanted to get them a big, beautiful housewarming gift basket.  However, when I started to add that all up, GULP.  That idea went out the window.

Enter my frugal, but funny housewarming gift.

Plunger with a two rolls of toilet paper stuck on with a note reading ...

"Welcome to Home Ownership.  Hope nothing craps out on you!":-)  
~meaning a fridge, dishwasher...etc~

Got any other thoughtful housewarming gifts/ideas?  

I'd love to hear 'em!

New Momma to be Gift

ice cream and pickles.  does something get anymore pregnant than that?! :-)

i love that thoughtful doesn't have to break the budget.

two friends of mine are expecting their first child.

 {so cool!}

Put 'em together, put a cute bow on top.  easy peezy!

 there is something about that first time.

usually you get cute little outfits, books on being pregnant (which are great gifts too!)

but, I wanted to something different and more on the funny side of pregnancy.

whole gift cost me $7.00 

 thoughtful & inexpensive:  oh yea!! :-)

What You'll Need:

{1}Jar of Pickles

(1)$5.00 DQ Gift Card (more or less if you'd like)

That is it! 

AND...

since we are on the humor part of pregnancy, here is a cute onsie you could make a friend for a baby shower if you knew she was expecting a boy.  Click here to check out how to make one!

p.s. check back later this week for a funny housewarming gift!

Homemade Dryer Sheets

Homemade Dryer Sheets. 

I have been using this method for a little over 3 weeks now.  

{LOVE IT!}

I tried three others that failed, miserably.  

What You'll Need:

Container with lid

Fabric Softner
Water
Measuring Cup

3 Sponges

1.) Pour equal contents of Fabric Softner & Water in container.
(i.e.if  you put in 2 cups fabric softner then put in 2 cups water)

2.) Cut sponges in 1/2 so you'll have 6 mini sponges.

3.) Leave to soak til you need them.

4.) When it is time to use them.  Gently squeeze 2 of them (enough to stop the dripping) and insert with your wet clothes into the dryer. When your clothes are dry put the sponges back in the bucket for their next use.  

5.) Pull them out of the dryer and enjoy the smell.

Enjoy!

Reuse & Repurpose

i'm on a shoe-string budget.

but I like things to look cute. honestly, what women doesn't?

you know that old yogurt plastic dish you were just going to toss out?!

Turn this...

Into This...

Click here to print the labels & see how its done. 

These would be super cute with office supplies: paper clips, staples etc. 

enjoy!

Tenant Appreciation Gift(s)

Where we live, last week was apartment turnover.  

UGH!

This year we didn't have ANYONE move out of our rentals! 

we loved that.

 Each year we I try to think of a clever way of saying "thank you" to our tenants who renewed their leases.  This is what we did this year, along with a gift card to Perfect Games.

If you would like to copy this idea like I did, click here!  

They were a BIG hit. 

brilliant.

pretty slick if you ask me! :-)

a few things that caught my eye...& 4th of July

this lovely flower totally caught my eye and when i looked through the tutorial

i am loving this!! such a fabulous idea that could be used year round. the hook makes it so easy to change out for all the different seasons/holidays :)

love it!

this is such a simple idea, but i love how clean and refreshing the look is. totally something i would enjoy in my home. just have to find some lovely glass bottles 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

BettyCrocker.com

 OR, need a super simple way to show your USA spirit? Check out here for these super simple ( & budget friendly!) yet fun ways to decorate your home.

 

Fun BBQ ideas

***This WHOLE post is from Be Different...Act Normal.  I thought it was so cute you must read/get ideas for your summertime bbq's!  You should really check her website out....so many fun ideas!!***

Here is what she wrote...

Instead of a boring drink cooler, throw some ice in your (cleaned out) wheelbarrow:

You can even have a separate wheelbarrow for the kids so they know what drinks are for them and can reach them easily (but you will want it to be red of course!):

Everyone usually goes for the easy sharpie on the red cup method to mark drinks, which works, but if you are using drinks in bottles, keep a bucket of colorful rubberbands near the drinks and people can color code their bottles.  If you have kids attending, use these
fun food shaped rubber band bracelets and they can keep them as party favors after the barbecue:

I love these fun baskets in place of paper plates:

Right now they are 4 for $1 at Target in their dollar spot, but you can usually find them all over the place this time of year.  They are easier for little hands to carry and make for almost as easy of a clean up if you line them with parchment.

Barbecue in a Jar (or a picnic too!)

There are so many fun ideas for using regular old canning jars at a barbeque (or a picnic too!)  Ideas that are both cute and handy.  Here are some of my favorites!

All You used widemouth jars not only to hold the lemonade, but to hold the lemons (and flowers) as well:

But it is the lemonade idea that everyone knows, but that I love the most.  I love drinking strawberry lemonade from a widemouth jar at my favorite barbecue restaurant.

Have little hands that can't hold a big glass jar, go smaller, keep the lids on, and use a straw:

Even if you don't want to purchase the daisy cut metal lids, you can use a drill to make a hole for the straw.

Country Living used these cute jars to store their corn and chickpea salad, but 

Givers Log but the whole darn meal in a jar:

And I have to admit that it looks REALLY GOOD!

Desserts!  Desserts are really fun and cute in a jar!  There are a couple of bakeries that sell cupcakes in a jar, but really all you have to do is bake cupcakes the normal way and then cut them in half, and layer the halves in the jar with frosting:

Or you can just bake them in the jar and let people frost them themseleves.  

The same layering idea works for ice cream.  You can use little jars to make individual parfaits and then seal them up and put them back in the freezer (or keep them on ice!)

 Not Martha has great recipes for baking culte little pies and cobblers in jars too:

And the best part of all these ideas is that you can keep a nice lid on them (and keep bugs OUT of them) until it is time to eat! 

What is your favorite thing to eat or drink out of a jar?

Didn't she do a great job?  so many cute ideas!!  So seriously...go check her out here

envelope liners

 Envelope Liners

Upgrade your greeting cards--wedding invitations, stationery, and greeting cards.  This is super simple! You can use almost any paper imaginable to make envelopes liners – solids, patterns, fine paper, newspaper, magazine pages, even photocopies of pictures.

Click here to see a quirky video of sue as she shows you how to do it! 

Click here to order the envelope liner template kit!

two ideas + an update

5 Min. Brownies

One goal I have this summer is try and make more items from scratch--I'm not going to lie, that scares me a little.  :-)  I might make this for get together this weekend.  Looks SO good and EASY!





Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

In a mixing bowl combine first 7 ingredients; beat until smooth.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out cleans.  Thanks The Tidy Nest!

 I thought this idea so cute and of course, EASY! :-)  See a theme with all my ideas I post?!? Click here to see how its made!

Remodel Update: 

My kitchen floor is drying as we speak.  I am taking the day off tomorrow then one more hard day on Friday then we are DONE with the big stuff.  We'll have to work on the garage, unpack and reorganize our storage unit, but compaired to what we just did those are small potatoes!! :-) I have SO much to blog about backdating to the end of April with family events, graduation, trips, mothers day etc. 

LATER!B

Few fun things + teacher appreciation/thank you gift ideas!

Few Fun Finds of the Week:

Bacon & Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups.

These would be perfect for a brunch or family get together--and the best part??? they only require FOUR ingredients.  yah! Even if you aren't a fan of runny eggs (i.e. my hubby! ;-)  you can still scramble them to make a mean morning dish.  Click {here} for the directions.  enjoy!

                             
Printable Family Wall Decor:

                       I thought this was really neat!   All you need is a fun 8 X 10 picture frame, a printer and a place to put it!  They let you print house of ... (2-7)   Click {here} for the details.

                              
numbered flower pots 
Click the link above to find out how to make the numbered flower pots.  I thought this was really a cute idea.  I will definitely be making one of these this summer!

I LOVED this idea! This would be a unique wedding gift, anniversary, or birthday gift! You can give that newlywed a lot of fun, creative date nights!

So many fun possibilities!! Click here to see the ideas/date ideas.

now...I am planning on making these for future wedding gifts.  Although I thought I'd switch it up a little bit instead of 'can of dates' I'm going to write on the can 'our first Christmas' and in the can include...

It's a Wonderful Life DVD
Two Coffee Mugs with hot chocalote mix

A Christmas cookie cutter

Sugar Cookie recipe

A Christmas CD 

A Mistletoe Toe

A Christmas ordainment that says 'our first Christmas'

ETC... (if you have any other ideas please let me know!!)

loved that idea!

Teacher Appreciation/Thank You's!

 With the end of the school year & church activities coming to an end, show your appreciation for all their hard work!!  Here are just a couple ideas.  

Beach Towel Gift:

This idea is so stinkin' easy but so thoughtful! All you need is:

Ribbon

Sunscreen

Magazine

Beach Towel

...you could even "boy" this idea up and get a beach towel, ESPN magazine with a red bull or something like that.  love it! Click {here} for the details!

One of my new favorite blogs it eighteen25.  They have the cutest ideas with free printables including step by step directions on how to get it accomplished.  here are just a few of the ideas.  check out their blog {here} to see what i mean!

BASEBALL CUPCAKES:
Thought these looked so cute! how fun would these be for a baseball party, or a baseball themed birthday party? Click on the link for directions!

baseball cupcake recipe

Super Easy Wheat Bread

Can't wait to try this recipe!  Click the link for the directions! Who doesn't love the smell of homemade bread?!

gumball cupcake 'how to' CUTE!

Click {here}to score some free printable birthday cutouts!  They have both boy & girl freebies.  What a cute idea flipping peanut butter cups and putting a printable on top!

Happy day to you!