The Lemon in LEMONade

Most people who know me well, know that I make (arguably) the best fresh squeezed lemonade.  On any given day, if you come to my house you will find any given variation chilling in the refrigerator.  Peach-Pineapple lemonade is my favorite, but some of my friends will surely beg to differ as some fan favorites are mango-pineapple, strawberry-peach-pineapple, strawberry-watermelon...and the list goes on.  In fact some of my friends insist that if I bottled my tasty concoctions, I would make some serious money.

Well...a little over a month ago I started to think about how much money I spend on lemons in a month.  Then I had the fleeting thought that I should just buy a lemon tree and grow my own lemons.  The thought turned out not to be so fleeting...actually the more I repeated the thought in my head...the more it seemed to be a genius idea. 

I am pretty chummy with a nice gentleman that works on my job.  Our daily kind exchanges often cover travel, fashion, and his love for gardening.  He has over 25 fruit bushes/trees on his property.  I shared my genius idea with him and he immediately lit up.  He was sold and he then gave me the best piece of advice ever.  He told me to go to Watson's nursey just north of the city.  At the time their citrus trees were 50% off.  I took this as sign #1.

So off to Watson's I went...I got the last lemon tree (sign #2) at what I consider a steal...$13 bucks.  Not only did my co-worker give me the great advice to go to Watson's...he also gave me repotting instructions, composte, and his special concoction that he uses for his trees and bushes.  I don't have much of a green thumb...but I'm pretty excited about this project...hopefully that will show through in the successful growth of my tree.  So far, I've already pulled one lemon. :-)

Stay tuned!

Ms. K

(My) Home for the Holidays

Okay...I realize that I have not posted in a very long time...as in, not one post in the entire month of January, long time.  And for that I apologize.  I really have no excuse.  Especially because most of the upcoming posts (including this one) have been partially drafted for quite some time.  *sigh* Life happened...plain and simple, but I'm back and I promise not to stay gone so long the next time. ;-)

As you all know, this past Christmas was my first Christmas in my beloved home.  And in my usual, true OOT (over the top) fashion, I had elaborate plans for decorating the house.  At the cornerstone of my holiday decorating plans...purchase a live Christmas tree.  Something I know absolutely nothing about because by the time I came along, my mother was over live trees.

I purchased the tree on the 2nd Saturday of December with every intention of letting it fall until the following Wednesday at the latest, then decorating it.  Well my crazy work/social calendar threw a slight wrench in my decorating plans.  And Wednesday turned into Saturday.  But then it happened.  I got sick.  Bronchitis/Sinus Infection sick.  I was totally out of commission.  Sick or not, that was the last weekend before Christmas and the last chance for me to decorate.


Mommy was nice enough to volunteer to come over to help me decorate.  She's the best.  We did both outdoor and indoor.  I got a few pics, but I apparently didn't get all of the outside decorations.  But I did get the piece de resistance of the outdoor decorations.


Enjoy!

Ms. K

My Tree (yes I realize it's rather large)

My DIY Wreath! Of course I had to be different!

View of the wreath from afar (and of my new door and welcome sign)

I had to add this pic to complete the experience.  A pic of SOME (yes there were more) of the needles that fell from the tree when we removed it.

 

 

 

DIY To-Do List Revisited

Hello All!  I know I've been slacking on the blog posts lately and for that I apologize.  Life just keeps happening as it often does, but I promise to make an earnest effort to do better.  Now on to the good stuff...the post...

So back in May I did a DIY To-Do-List for the house.  At that time I just moved in to my house and mommy and I were ambitious to say the least when coming up with a to-do list.  Considering I've been here for 7 months now, I decided to revisit the to-do list and see how much progress I've made.  Here we go:

#1 Re-upholstering Chair  - We actually decided not to cover the chair because it matches perfectly with the colors we chose for the lower level.

#2 Sanding and Staining Desk - We did manage to do this and a darn good job at that.  People ALWAYS ask where we got the desk and they are completely stunned to find out the truth!

#3 Painting Bookshelf - This is another item we can check off of the list.  One of my better ideas I must admit. :-)

#4 Upholstered Headboard (for guest room) - We all know how much of a success this project was.  In case you missed it, see it here.  As a result, i have received multiple requests for mommy and I to create one for family and friends alike (I hope HGTV is reading this, that would be a great idea for a new show...a mother/daughter tag team, lol).

#5 Making decor/throw pillows (for the couch) - I really should be ashamed of myself that I have yet to complete this project.  Admittedly, I have all but abandoned this project.  I am going to get back into it though, because I really think the pillows will turn out fab, plus it will really give my beloved couch a little extra umph!

I'm actually pretty impressed.  We managed to complete all but 1 project.  Another project we have yet to complete is the stenciling of the wall in my bedroom.  I really need to do that soon because I am delaying the mountin of my television until I stencil the wall.  Looks like we have another to-do list.

#1 - Finsish decor/throw pillows (for couch)

#2 - Stencil bedroom wall.

I am counting on you all to hold me to a completion date of April 9, 2012.  That is the one year anniversary of my moving into the house. That's totally reasonable.  Right????  :-)

Ms. K

Living Social

I just had to share this with you all.  It's just that awesome!!!!

By now everyone should be well acquainted with Living Social.  If you aren't lower your head in shame and make it a point to sign up for the site TODAY! In a nutshell, living social offers some pretty amazing deals at uber discounted prices for a limited amount of time.  It's a win-win for the consumer and the company.  Its excellent marketing and exposure for the company and the opportunity to benefit unprecedented deals. 

To date I have purchased deals from Fresh Bakery, Basignani Winery (can't wait to use this one!), and Merritt Athletic Club (allows me to take aqua zumba, yay!).  My latest Living Social steal deal was so awesone, I just had to blog about it.

In this previous post, I blogged about a fab bed I found in the gloriousness that is Nouveau.  Nouveau is a contemporary home furnishings store in  Belvedere Square here in Baltimore.  They have the most unique contemporary pieces.  I love it.  BTW, the bed from the previous post was a little over $4,000, but is now on clearance for a little over $1,300 - unbelievable.

Well imagine my excitement when my daily living social deal came through a week or so ago and it was for Nouveau.  The deal was spend $75 (to purchase the voucher) and get a $200 to spend in the store.  Sounds unbelieveable right?? Well believe it.  I brought one and because mommy is the best she brought one!  She said...and I quote, "I figure $400 is better than $200." Gotta love that little lady. :-)

I have until December 2013 to use the certificates, but of course mommy and I just couldn't help ourselves and we went by the store to see if anything peaked our interests.  Of course a few things caught our eyes, but we decided to hold off for now. 

Do you see now why i say you have to sign up for Living Social???

I will keep you guys posted on what we end up purchasing with the voucher.


Ms. K

HOMEOWNER FIRST

This week I experienced my first natural disasters as a homeowner.  This is a recap of my experience:

Natural Disaster #1: Earthquake - While I was at work during the earthquake, once I got my bearings I was genuinely concerned about my house.  Luckily...the parental unit was all on top of it.  They were able to get to my house before I was to assess the damage.  Thank the Lord the tremor was mild and the impact was a few items that fell off of the nightstand and vanity in the bedroom.

Natural Disaster #2: IRENE! - Irene was literally the bain of my existence this weekend.  And it became even moreso as it rolled through Maryland.  I decided to put my big girl panties on and stay at home by myself (in lieu of going to the parental unit's) once it was confirmed that Irene would not directly hit the area, but just cause high winds and heavy rain.  Around 7:00/8:00 the winds and rains really started to intensify.  Shortly thereafter, at approximately 8:30 my power went out.  My initial thought was "really, this early?"  I removed myself from the couch...grabbed the flashlight and a bottle of water and headed upstairs.  Thank God for the wisdom to have my phone completely charged.

I called mommy to update her on my status and went to bed.  I woke up intermittently to check on Dani, who also decided to hunker down by herself.  During one such moment...I realized no power meant my sump pump would not kick on to keep the water out of my basement and I would inevitably wake up to flooding.  I instantly went back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to (still) no power and a basement full of about 2 inches of water.  Again I called the parental unit with an update.  Immediately daddy was on it.  A short time later the calvary parental unit was knocking at my door.  Daddy devised an ingenious plan.  He took our electrical cord and the electrical cord of my neighbor across the street (that side had power) and plugged the sump pump up and the water cleared out within a half-hour.  HE IS AWESOME! I honestly believe if I needed a mountain moved he would figure out a way to do it.

As for the power...once we dealt with the water situation I packed up some belongings and headed to their house for the day.  It was a highly productive day.  I got some internet tasks completed, washed and twisted my hair, had mommy and me movie time (we watched Jumping the Broom), and just enjoyed family time in general. 

I was praying hard all day that the Lord would restore my power (I really did not want to deal with the hassle of not having power for another day) and let me tell you...prayer does change things because at aproximately 6:30 PM my power was back up and running.

So...that is a nutshell are my first experiences with natural disasters as a homeowner.

Ms. K

A WARM HOME

HELLO ALL!  I'MMMM BACKKKKKKK!!!! Please excuse the delay in posting...I was on Vacay! :-)

Without further delay...here is the post on my housewarming...

This is really a picture heavy post.  My housewarming was so much more than I could have asked for.  The outpouring of love made my home feel like the warmest place on earth (figuretively and literally, lol).  About 100 people came out throughout the evening and there was plenty of food, libations, and love to go around.  I got some really awesome gifts (almost everything on my registry and a whole lot of gift cards to get other stuff that I wanted...and then some).  ;-)

Here are some of the highlights of the evening and some other snapsots of the house (THANKS JAMES!!!!!!):

My Home!

The balloon wreath I made for the festivities.

The beautiful decorated tent that was too hot to occupy (lol).

These lanterns were the inspiration for my party decor.

My office.

Master Bedroom

Kabobs!!!! (This is the only food shot...I didn't want to make your mouth water anymore than it already is, lol.)

Ash's special touch...practical and pretty.

My nieces...my heart!!!

Who knows what this conversation was about, lol.

PEABODY...she made so much possible that day!

The fancy one making a fancy entrance (and the donkey punch bringing up the rear!

Presents!!! (yes that's Christmas wrapping paper...see below)

Hey ladies!

Jordan and Jaylen...such a cute pic!

Yes...that is Al and yes she wrapped her gift in Christmas paper. Gotta love her!

Napstars!!!!!!!

Me and the parental unit...I can honestly say without them...this day would not have been possible.  They worked so hard and I LOVE them for it.

Ms. K

PRODUCT REVIEW: YONANAS

For those of you who don't know...I have a recent not-so-secret-obsession with the Yonanas machine.  I have been dieting and exercising and I cut alot of things from my diet (i.e. - added sugar, ice cream, and other sweet treats (amongst other things).  With summer here, I have been craving ice cream (my fav is Turkey Hill Banana Split), but the little angel on my shoulder hasn't allowed me to give into that craving (and I'm down 22 pounds so my progress is a motivating factor as well).

So imagine my excitement when I saw the infommercial (randomly one day) for Yonanas.  Yes the name is crazy, but some would argue so is the concept.  Yonanas is a machine that makes a soft serve like treat out of frozen fruit only.  Specifically bananas and of course any other frozen fruit you want to add.  You can also add other flavors like chocolate, honey, and peanut butter.  I was instantly sold on the concept.  A way for me to have (fake) ice cream and not cheat on my diet!  But of course I had to reasearch it a little more and it got surprisingly good reviews. 

Yonanas immediately moved to the top of my housewarming guestlist.  Because I have the best family and friends in the universe...and because they truly love me...I got my Yonanas for my housewarming last week (post on this coming soon).

Today I finally got the opportunity to test it out.  And I must say I am very happy with this product.

PROS:  For $49.99 it is a sound and healthy investment; it comes with a recipe book full of a myriad of flavor options; it produces a frozen treat without any added sodium, cholesterol, or sugar...its all natural fruit; a little goes a long way (3 bananas and a handful of strawberries made about 2 servings).

CONS: Thus far I only see one down side to Yonanas.  It's really loud.  LOL!  I was on the phone with bestie and I hit the power button and quickly retracted that action.  Poor thing didn't know what the heck was going on.  LOL!  So my advice is don't attempt to use Yonanas while on the phone.

HOW IT WORKS: It operates similarly to a juicer.  You load the fruit (bananas 1 at a time, strawberries you can do a few at a time) and use the plunger to push down the fruit and it comes out of the dispenser in a soft serve form .

MY EXPERIENCE:
Earlier in the week (when I thought I was going to try it out) I froze 3 whole bananas in preparation for my first batch.  It is suggested that you freeze the bananas for 24 hours (mine was more like 72 hours, smh).  I also grabbed some frozen strawberries from the grocery store to spice things up at bit. 

My first batch was bananas only.  Pretty tasty.  It literally tastes like frozen bananas.  The ripeness of the banana comes through in the flavor so you want the banana to be kind of ripe.  My second batch was frozen strawberries.  Tasty as well.  Again it has the natural taste of the fruit...in a frozen form.

For the sake of this post I decided to add one more flavor so I could give some variety to this post.  I added a little honey and swooned. 

A cool tasty, healthy treat on a hot summer day! :-)

Ms. K

DIY To-Do List

Mommy and I have an ever growing DIY To-Do List for the house.  So far we have the following on our list:

#1 Re-upholstering Chair

#2 Sanding and Staining Desk

#3 Painting Bookshelf

#4 Upholstered Headboard (for guest room)

#5 Making decor/throw pillows (for the couch)

We are adding things to the list, but not marking anything off.  So we took a vow to mark at least 1 of these items off the list this week.  It will likely be the Bookshelf or the Desk. 

So, I drafted this post over a week ago and sat on it for so long that we actually managed to mark a few things off the list.  The desk is done and so is the bookshelf.  I also started making the decor/throw pillows.  I will do a separate post for each project.


Stay tuned for pics...

Ms. K

Special Delivery

This week I recieved a very special delivery.  Since that time...I have had the best coma-like sleep of my life.  Keep in mind...the pictures don't do it justice.

When I first saw this bed it was truly love at first sight.  I already had (another) bed picked out and I was going to do the whole upholstered headboard thing (no worries, that plan is not completely out of the window...I am doing an upholstered headboard for the bed in my guest room), but I was so taken by this bed and the drama of it all, that I purchased it on the spot.

No buyer's remorse here.  It's just as fab as I thought it would be.  I will add more pics of it, once the room is completely decorated (including the re-painted walls)

Check it out here at Ashley Furniture.

As always stay tuned!!!!

PS - Ignore the fact that there is no comforter on the bed...I am still in search of one.  :-)

Ms. K

PSA

I CLOSED ON MY HOUSE TODAY!!!! Words cannot describe the feeling that shot through my body as I stood in my lower level today.  I have stood in that very same spot numerous times before throughout this process, but today...it was a new me standing in that spot.  If you already didn't know...I am a very spiritual person and I credit MY LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST with all of my blessings...including this one!!!!

YAY ME!!!

 

MS. K

Sew Clever!

Yes...the title is a play on words.  And yes I know I am way overdue for a post.  I actually have a fab hair post coming soon.  It was a huge undertaking so its taking a little more time to get the post together (especially in the midst of my home/house matters) so stay tuned.

Anyway...back to this post..

During my weekly scan on my fav blogs, I came across a post about a genius idea...Sewing Closets.  I literally gasped with glee when I saw it.  I have maintained (up to this point) that I would use one of my spare rooms in the house as a sewing room.  My mother looks at me like I'm crazy every time I say it (partially because her vote was for the room to be an office, but we resolved that issue, and partially because she can't believe I'm devoting an entire room to sewing).

However, now after viewing this post over at Chic Little House.  I sew know what I'm going to do with the closet in the spare room upstairs!

Peep these pics of other sew closets I found over at one of my other fav blogs...Houzz:

Ms. K