DIY / etc.

Mailbox Facelift

January 11, 2013

Now that we have a new front door, I thought it was time our mailbox got a facelift.  I couple years ago I decided to paint it red with a little bird on it.  I’ve enjoyed having it that way, but I was in the mood for something new.  So, I went with triangles.  I’ve been liking triangles and geometric patterns more and more lately.  If you remember, last year I painted metallic triangles on the desk I found on the side of the road.

This was a simple project, quite relaxing and just plain old good for the spirit.  There’s something about painting that puts me in a good mood.

I simply sanded down the whole thing, and then painted the entire mailbox a dark charcoal grey.  Then I used a little blue painters tape to map out where I wanted the triangle.  I made columns that were 1 1/4″ wide and then, with sharpie, I marked every 1 1/4″ up the tape.  This gave me 1 1/4″ squares to work in.  I didn’t want the triangles to all be perfectly the same, I wanted a hand painted look to them.  But, having the tape helped me keep them straight and even.

I painted my triangles white with just a random few metallic copper ones.  I had to do 3 coats of paint on each triangle to get enough coverage.

Isn’t making a house a home all about the details?  I might not have the nicest, biggest house, but it does reflect me and my family.  I know a fun mailbox isn’t an essential, but it makes me happy and it shares a little of my personal style with the rest of the world.  What details in your home tell about your uniqueness?

etc.

It’s Citrus Season

January 10, 2013

I love living in California.  I’m sure you’ve heard me say it many times.  While other’s are having a snow day, I’m in our back yard picking lemons, oranges and grapefruit.  The trees are loaded right now and it’s really such a beautiful thing.  It’s so fun to have all this fruit, because these are trees we planted after we bought the house.  There’s some pride and ownership there.  Ya the tree did all the work, but we loved it into producing fruit.  The grapefruit tree is actually quite a small little guy, and his branches are bowing and bending from the weight of these giant fruits.  Nothing compares to the taste of an orange picked that very day.

We are definitely getting out vitamin C intake these days.  I’m also baking with citrus quite a bit. Yesterday I made Lemon Coconut Scones, the day before, California Sunshine Shortbread (orange and poppyseed) and the day before that, Orange Rosemary Salt Scrub.

For those of you still feeling Winter’s chill, I’m sharing these images to send a little Cali sunshine your way.

And, I just wanted to let you know, that it has just been one of those weeks.  I feel like I’m working my tail off, but I’m just not accomplishing all that I want to.  I have lots of fun crafty things in the works, I’m just a little scatter brained and haven’t gotten everything photographed yet.  Please hang in there with me.  I’m heading to SLC in 2 weeks for the Alt Summit Conference.  I am beyond excited, but feel slightly intimidated and overwhelmed by all that I need and want to do before I get there.  I am sure that I will come back refreshed, inspired and refueled to make this blog what I want it to be.

DIY / etc.

Orange Rosemary Salt Scrub

January 9, 2013

I’m hearing a lot of talk of snow, it’s definitely not here though.  We are having a very mild Winter, whom am I kidding, it’s always a mild winter here.  It might not be very cold but we definitely have dry Winter air. I’m feeling and seeing the effects of the dry air on my skin.  I often look at my hands and am embarrassed by how old they look. I’ve got my Grandma’s hands, like her hands when she was in her 80’s.  A couple years ago I made a Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub.  I kept a jar of it by my kitchen sink and when I’d remember, I’d scrub my hands with it.  It worked really well to exfoliate and moisturize my skin.  So, I thought I’m try a salt scrub. I am loving this combination of crisp citrus with woodsy rosemary.  It’s refreshing and energizing and after using it just twice, my hands and looking and feeling so much better.

I searched the web looking for salt and sugar scrub recipes, and most require essential oils.  I really didn’t want to have to buy a $5 bottle of orange essential oil.  The whole point of making my own scrub is to save a little money.  Yes, I could easily go out and buy a $12 or even $20 jar of scrub.  But, my little recipe fills a whole jar and it cost me less then $1. And I love that it came from my garden and pantry and it has nothing artificial or fake in it.

Orange Rosemary Salt Scrub
1 cup salt
zest of one orange
1tsp. rosemary leaves taken off the stem
1/3 cup olive oil

In a food processor, place the orange zest, rosemary and salt.  Pulse a couple times until the rosemary is copped finely.  Pour in the olive oil and pulse a couple times more.  Store in a jar or airtight container.  To use the scrub, wet your hands or entire body with warm water, then in gentle circular motions rub the salt scrub.  Rinse completely with warm water.  Pat skin dry.

I’m storing my scrub in my new Weck jar.  My kids got me a set of 6 canning jars for Christmas (with their dad’s help of course).  They’ll be great for jam making in the summer.

So, are you enjoying Winter or are you already longing for warmer weather?

DIY / etc.

How-to Paint Laminate Furniture

January 8, 2013

I couple months ago I posted this little dresser I found at my local Salvation Army.  I finally refinished it earlier this month and now it’s my nightstand.  It has really turned out to be one of my favorite thrift store finds now that it got a facelift.  I had promised I would share more about the refinishing process.  So, here’s the how-to.

This is the second piece of laminate furniture that I’ve painted.  This summer I painted a little cabinet in our bathroom yellow.  I was so pleased with how it turned out, and it’s really held up well (even with it being in a bathroom with moisture), I decided that I’d try again.  This little dresser had a laminate top and the rest of the piece was wood. But, it seemed like a lot of work to remove the laminate and glue from the top, so I decided to paint the whole thing. 

 I’ll try to make this as simple and easy to follow as possible.

1. SAND –  Remove all hardware and take apart the piece as much as possible.  There is no substitute for sanding.  Take a power sanding and run it over all the surfaces to smooth out any imperfections.  You do not need to remove all the finish, just rough up the surface a bit so the primer has something to stick to.

2. DUST – remove all dust with a tack cloth.  The paint won’t lay down and adhere well if their are particles on the surface.

3. PRIME – paint one coat of primer on, I use Zinsser Cover Stain Oil-Base Primer Primer (purchased at Home Depot).  It’s the best! It is oil based and bonds fantastically and dries super fast.

4. SAND – sand super lightly with a piece of sand paper when the primer is good and dry (overnight is best).

5. DUST – tack cloth the entire piece again.

6. PAINT – I like Rustoleum’s Painter’s Touch (for this dresser I used Dark Grey and Heirloom White).  It took two coats of to get good coverage.  I learned from my dad to put on a light coat and then go back and do another coat.  Putting it on thick to start with does not work as well, you can get yucky drips and bubbles.  

So there it is, my fool proof method.  I’ve done lot’s of research and trial and error, and this really is the easiest and cheapest way to turn a tacky piece of laminate furniture into something sleek and fabulous.  I hope you find this helpful.  Do you have a piece of laminate furniture, possibly bought while you were in college, that could use a facelift?    

DIY / etc.

Large Black and White Print for less

January 5, 2013

For months I’ve been seeing on pinterest how you can enlarge a black and white photograph for just a couple bucks at Staples.  Well, we don’t have Staples here, so I tried Kinkos.  And I’m so pleased to tell you that I had this photo of my three cute kiddos enlarged to 20 x 30 for just $4.50.  How great is that? For a photo enlargement anywhere else, you’re looking at paying anywhere from $23-$45.
Olivia is 15 months ago, and embarrassingly enough, I’ve had a picture of our family up in our entryway without her that whole time.  I really like the family silhouette, but I just haven’t gotten the right picture of us to make a new one for our family of five.  But, for $4.50, I can change the picture whenever I want!  
Do you have a favorite photo of your loved ones and a special place that you’d love to see enlarge to poster size?  Oh, and I need your opinion.  I’m kind of getting tired of the Khaki walls in our living room.  They’ve been this color for a LONG time (like 8 years).  You probably can guess I’m thinking a grey color, probably a very light, almost white grey.  What do you think?  

etc.

A look back at 2012’s posts

January 4, 2013

I’ve spent the last couple of days looking back at the last year and what I’ve put on my blog. I’m trying to set some goals and get some direction for where I want to take my blog this year.  I’ve looked over my post statistics and tried to see where my readers interests are.  These are the most popular posts from 2012.  Some of them kind of surprise me, they aren’t necessarily my favorite posts.  I feel like I’ve made some good improvements to this little blog. I’m not there yet, but I’m learning, growing and having a pretty great time doing it.  
I love having your input.  Do you have favorite posts?  What would you like to see more of on Oleander and Palm?  

etc.

Lucky 2013

January 2, 2013

Well, I looked back at my resolutions for 2012 and was a little disappointed with myself.  I wish I had done better with some of them, especially #1.  I have to be honest, reading my bible didn’t happen everday! So, instead of just giving up, I’m putting it at the top of my list for 2013 again.  I’m calling this year LUCKY ’13. I’m not superstitious so number 13 is going to be my lucky year.

1. Read my bible everyday! (Let’s try again)
2. Celebrate my 15th Wedding Anniversary in some BIG way. (Hopefully a trip somewhere fun without kids)
3. Date my husband more! (Let’s try this one again, 2012 was so busy)
4. Complete some house projects (paint the outside of the garage, complete the laundry room, paint the hallway, and put in some kind of semi-custom storage in all our tiny closets).
5. Take Riley on a long road trip this summer, hopefully all the way to my homeland, Canada.
6. Talk to my kids more about God, life, struggles and decisions they have to make.
7. Grow my hair out!
8. Find time to watercolor paint. Maybe a family art night of some sort each week.
9. Cook my way through the French Laundry Cookbook. 
10. Get a REAL family portrait taken (not one I take with a tripod or a cheesy Mall Studio portrait).   
11. Enjoy, really ENJOY anytime I have home with Olivia this year (because maybe I’ll have to get a teaching job again this Fall).

What are your plans, hopes, dreams, or resolutions for this year?  I’m curious what you all have in the works for 2013. 

Food & Drink

Sparkling Cider Cupcakes

December 31, 2012

We’re family friendly here at the McConnel’s house.  For celebrations when we pop a bottle of the bubbly, it’s of the cider variety.  Last year, for New Year’s Eve, I made Champaign Cupcakes. They were very yummy but, pretty boozy tasting for kids. So, this year I decided to make Sparkling Cider Cupcakes. This recipe is my adaptation of one of my mom’s famous cupcake recipes. This elegant cupcake is light and moist with a hint of Martinelli’s Apple Cider (a great California Company).

Sparkling Cider Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs (separated)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup cider
1/4 cup sour cream

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the butter sugar mixture, mix well.  Then add the cider and sour cream, mix well again.  Beat the egg white to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the batter.  Scoop into cupcake papers and bake in a 350F oven for about 20 mins.  Cool on a rack.

Sparkling Cider Frosting
1 cup Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a small sauce pan, simmer the sparkling cider over med-high heat till it reduces to about 2 tbsp.  It will be a thick amber syrup consistency.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer.  Add the cooled sparkling cider syrup and beat one minute.  Then add the powdered sugar and beat on high for 2 mins. until the frosting is light and fluffy.  Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

I topped these cupcakes with New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Toppers. We’re spending New Year’s Eve with my parents and their church friends up here in Eureka, CA. We’ll be playing games and eating (yes, more eating).  What are your plans?  Hope you have a memorable evening.

DIY / Entertain

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Cupcake Toppers

I’ve been planning some New Year’s treats and decorations for tomorrow night.  To bring in the New Year, we’re celebrating with cupcakes topped with these mini Ball Drop toppers.
I think these turned out quite festive.  I baked the cupcakes in gold foil papers and then topped them with a sparkly ball.
The supplies are really inexpensive.  I used Wilton Lollipop Sticks and a $1 Christmas floral pick from Michael’s.  I simply pulled off all the silver glittered foam balls from the pick and then just pushed them onto the lollipop sticks.  I’m sure if you couldn’t find a floral pick like the one I did, you could easily glitter some 1″ foam balls.   
I also came up with a new cupcake recipe.  These buttery, sweet treats are Sparkling Cider Cupcakes (I’ll be posting the recipe right away).  They’re my family friendly version of Champaign Cupcakes.