Truth is … the bigger home may be 5 or more years down the road so why not decorate our cozy townhouse NOW!

I purchased a flag pole this weekend because nothing screams “This house is decorated!” more than a Welcome Fall house flag.

We typically use space heaters instead of bumping up the thermostat that controls the heat throughout the entire house. This way whatever room we congregate in is nice and cozy and it saves money overall.

Boy was she right!

The sheers look fabulous and cost a fraction of the price of the solid curtains.

Now the look is complete and the chocolate accents the bed spread, the picture frames, etc.

I already use clear, glass containers to store flour, sugar, powdered sugar and brown sugar but they sit on a shelf in the kitchen and not  in the pantry.

My next big organizing task (once I loop back around to creating another “To Do” list for the kitchen) is to organize the spice jars in the kitchen cabinets then on to the pantry. Wish me luck!

You can even dress up the glass candle holders by adding a few things from nature to circle the candle. For example, on a nature walk after school one day, my daughter and I picked up a handful of smooth acorns. We added them to one of the glass candle holders in the kitchen and it added a nice touch to the fall decor.

I usually purchase the Ziploc bags from Sam’s Club since we use them so much in the household. In fact, my mom and I typically split the packs between the two of us. I mostly use them to store food in the freezer but I also use them to hold some of my daughters toys and various household items.

They were easy enough to wash. I just turned them inside out, wiped them thoroughly and let them dry on the counter. When my husband came home, one of the first things he said was “What’s up with the bags?” I just told him I was trying to reuse them since we were out and he remarked, “Cool, whatever saves money.” I wonder if my Granddad made a similar remark to Grandma the first time he saw plastic dishes drying in the dish rack.

Rug Doctor Mighty Pro Professional Strength

I’m 3 months pregnant and definitely not in the mood to clean my carpets. At the same time, I dread the idea of forking out $200 for someone else to do it. I have a Bissell Steam Cleaner that I’ve owned for several years but lately have found that it doesn’t get the carpets as clean as I like.

So my husband and I decided to rent a Rug Doctor Mighty Pro Professional Strength from our local grocery store. It only cost about $26 bucks to rent the largest unit for a day and I found a coupon on rugdoctor.com for $5.00 off the rental. There were also coupons for the Rug Doctor cleaning solution. However, I purchased Walmart’s Great Value carpet cleaning solution which works just as well as any brand name I’ve tried.

Usually I’m not thrilled when one of my husband’s friends decides to pop over the house unannounced however, since both my husband and I were in a cleaning mood we decided that if he wanted to stay then we were going to put him to work. What a wonderful idea! Not only will this help me check Clean the Carpets off of my “To Do List” but it might also cure his urges to show up whenever he wants or at least think twice about it next time. Lucky for us he did not balk at our suggestion to help. After taking a longer than usually glance at my already protruding stomach (give me a break, it’s my second child), he stepped right in to assist my husband.

The results were fabulous. So much so that for a split second I even considered purchasing a Rug Doctor to replace my current machine…that is of course until I went online to check the amount. With a price tag close to $600, it’s hard to justify the purchase since I only steam clean the carpets 4 times a year. As the carpets get even older (they’re going on 11 years now) I may have to clean them more frequently but for now I’ll continue to rent the Rug Doctor.

The day after we purchased the car, the story broke on Good Morning America about the sticking gas pedal. Although we have not had any problems with the car, from recent stories covered on the news, I am able to tell that we do have a faulty gas pedal. I check the following site daily for updates.

Toyota Recall Information

In addition to the latest updates, on this site you will find videos on the following:

• Stopping Procedure -Learn the proper procedure for bringing your vehicle to a safe stop if you experience a sticking accelerator pedal.
• Pedal Assembly – A steel reinforcement bar eliminates the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick.
• Floor Mat Entrapment – The potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals in certain Toyota models.

Since it is such a popular vehicle, I know there are  many others out there in a similar situation.

Drive Safely.

I purchased another toaster – this time a little fancier. I decided to check the lever on this one before I used it to toast anything. I took it out of the box, pushed the lever down and to my frustration, it didn’t work. I returned it to the store immediately. When the clerk asked if there was something wrong with the product, I emphatically said, “Yes, the lever doesn’t go down all the way.”  

It wasn’t until my mom and I were walking through the mall and I saw a toaster at Sears that a light bulb went on. I mentioned how cute a little red toaster was. My mom pushed the lever down and softly mentioned the words that are still ringing in my ears…”Of course the lever won’t go all the way down until it is plugged in.”

I must have made an inappropriate noise or had some sort of blank stare because she followed up her statement with the following, “Please tell me that you didn’t take that toaster back because the lever didn’t go down.”

We both got a good laugh out of it. When I got home I pulled out the first toaster I purchased. Sure enough it worked after all. I just needed to plug it in before pushing the lever down.

These silver and white snowman photo frame ornaments come in a set of 3 and fit 2″ x 2″ photos. They include wire arms and are 3 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 5 1/8″ high.