I love the Method brand countertop/granite cleaner, but it's a small bottle and at $4+ a pop, it would be pricey to keep up with. Soooo, about 6 month ago, I googled it and did a little research of what is in it and how to make your own, and here is what I've come up with that works for me:   Take a spray bottle,

Nester is having a Price My Space Party! Love this party because I have the annoying trait that I can remember where I got almost everything in my house and how much I paid for it. I'm so glad others do as well...

Let's take a look at the dining room, aka eat in kitchen space:

Skip to #2: (I put #1 and #5 below)

2. Made an 80's framed print into a chalkboard with a few coats of chalkboard paint. $5 for the framed print at a yard sale, 3.00 for a can of chalkboard spray paint at Walmart. Total: $8

3. Curtains are Pottery Barn's Harrison Stripe. They sell on their site for $69 for each panel, but I found them on Ebay for $29 for the pair. Score! Love the thickness and rich color.

4. Dining Room table~we bought about 6 years ago in Idaho from the classified ads for $450. The oak wouldn't have been my first color choice, but it's solid wood, heavy, sturdy, includes 2 leaves that can make it huge. It's been a perfect family table for us. If I get ambitious, I may give it a new finish one day.

6. The light fixture came with the house. Not the prettiest, but at least it's black and not brass :)

Here's a close-up of #1 and #5:

1. Pottery Barn picture ledges: $10 for both from a yard sale in Idaho. They were white and I spray painted them black.

*the black frames: my sil, Kristine picked them up for me at $1 a piece at a bargain outlet called Market Square in Utah, and they came with the mats!

*the bigger black frames in the middle: one is from a yard sale for $1 and the other from Walmart for $3. I've put pictures of all seasons in the frames so I never have to worry about switching them out.

Total for both ledges and frames: $23

5. Little kitchen corner:

*little white table is from a yard sale~haven't done a thing to it and I love it. $8

*accessories on top of the table:
lamp from a yard sale $1, green enamelware bowl with green balls $10 from some shops in Utah, little picture frame .25 yard sale, and the red and white striped dishcloth was from Ross for 1.99.

* The black ladder back chair is from a yard sale for $5 and the wreath was free from my mom.
Total: $21.24

So, my grand total with furniture and all accessories: $530.21

Not too shabby...
Have a great Monday!

I will always second guess our decision to go with granite countertops when we re-modeled our kitchen. I love them, but it was a big chunk of our allowance, and I often wonder if we should have gotten less expensive countertops and invested the money in another part of our home. I guess we will find out when we sell if it was worth it or not.

Anyway! I love the Method brand countertop/granite cleaner, but it's a small bottle and at $4+ a pop, it would be pricey to keep up with. Soooo, about 6 month ago, I googled it and did a little research of what is in it and how to make your own, and here is what I've come up with that works for me:

Take a spray bottle,

Welcome from Sarah's spray paint party! I posted this one a few weeks ago, but had to join my fellow spray painters anonymous in the party. Go see what everyone else is spraying!

I had sick kids again this weekend, so it wasn't the weekend to tackle our bathroom, but I had major cabin fever, so I did sneak out to the garage to work on a few bulletin boards:
I found this chunky frame with a velvet lining at a yard sale over this summer.

Do you remember the glass jar I got at a yard sale over the summer?
and the silver balls?

Spencer doesn't know what to think of my texture job...

Sanding, priming, painting the blasted cabinets...my FAVORITE thing

There are still things to finish: finish attaching baseboards, seal the grout, put polyuerathane on the cabinets, touch up, etc., etc. but you get the idea!! We began in October, but as you know have had a few detours, so it has been a very LONG process. Sorry for the picture overload, but just imagine that you stopped by to see us and since this is exactly how my kitchen always

looks(!), here ya go!

My husband installed the floor and I mopped it especially for y'all! If I could take back one appliance purchase, it would be my dishwasher. It is not a tall tub and I can barely fit any pots or pans on the bottom rack~so if you're in the market for a dishwasher, make sure it has a tall tub.

"this home needs everything--original owner and now deceased, has never had one update. Good bones, but dated deluxe. Now after saying that, seller will allow $15,000 to update; good street!!"