Wall Space? Filled!

So, when I was at Jo-Anns earlier this summer, I found some really cute little canvases super cheap and decided to grab some and do something with them for my apartment. Well, now I'm all moved in and finally finished the canvases! They turned out super cute and weren't all that difficult!

My Dining Room

I feel so fancy having a dining room in my apartment! Ok, so it's actually just a little nook off of the living room, but to me it's a dining room! And, because I have my craft/office/sitting room, I don't have to store my desk, sewing machine, and craft stuff there like I did in my old place! So I have gone all fancy and made it beautiful! And I finally finished it last night so here is my new grown up dining room!

New Apartment!!!

So I've been a bad blogger lately and I apologize! I just moved into my new apartment on Tuesday and it was crazy moving boxes in 100+ degrees, a hornet's nest just outside my new apartment door, and a cute little surprise!

Book Sale

I am SOOO sorry to all of my readers!!! This summer has gotten majorly crazy and I have not gotten nearly anything done on my to do list! This post isn't even one of the craft projects I want to do (trust me there is a whole list of them!), but just a situation post about an awesome deal I got!

So I went to this book sale hosted by the Plano Library today.   It was old books they didn't want anymore and some that people had donated, all for super cheap prices (nothing was more than $2!)

All of this was only $12!!!

Don't worry, here's a detailed list of everything I got:

Some GRE/Grad School Books - $1 Each

(Yes, I plan on being in school forever)

Teachers Guides to Middle School Math Books - $1 Each

(To help me prepare to teach and to use in my classes)

Problem Solving Books and Science Project Books - $1 Each

American History Textbook - $2

A book I've wanted to read for a long time - $1

I am so happy with my purchases! My sister wants to go tomorrow and so I may even get more! I heard something about even better deals at the end of the sale (which would be awesome!!!). Which reminds me, Plano's sale will be open until 1 tomorrow if you happen to be in the area you can get information here.  Check out your local library and see if they do a book sale, maybe you can get awesome deals on books too!!!

Boxes Everywhere

I've told y'all that I'm moving soon and have to pack right? Well I recently started doing just that and, since I live in the internet era I can't do anything without looking up tips online to make it easier.  I know a lot of my friends are moving soon also, its that time of year for college students, so I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and my packing/moving system with you!

Fruit Salad (Yummy Yummy) / Ant Invasion 2011

 Just FYI - y'all are really lucky this week because.... this is another double post!!!

I told you on Sunday that I would tell you how to make the fruit salad I had as a side with my Red Pepper Frittata soon and here it is!! This is a really simple, easy fruit salad recipe that is hardy and filling.

There isn't a link for this one because we just grabbed fruit and threw them together and hoped it worked.  It did! I made it a second time the next day because 1) it was delicious and 2) I wanted to be able to have a recipe to tell you with measurements and servings and such.

Depending on what fruits you put into your salad, it changes a ton.  I love putting citrus fruits (lemon juice, oranges, etc.) into fruit salad but my friends didn't want them when we made this so we skipped them and instead got filling fruit so you can eat less and still feel full.

Calories: 135 (more or less depending on the size of your fruits)
Servings: 3

Ingredients:
1 apple (I used a cameo apple because they were on sale)
1 banana
1/2 lb strawberries (just half of that plastic box thing they're sold in)

How to Make:
Clean your fruits.

Cut up the apple: Slice it then cut each slice in half.  I used my apple corer and just cut the slices from that in half.

Cut the strawberries: Cut off the heads, cut in half lengthwise twice. (It doesn't really matter what way you cut them so long as you get 4 pieces from each strawberry, 6 from those giant ones that are always in the packs)

Strawberries and Apples all cut up!

Cut the bananas: Open the banana, cut discs.

This is apparently the "correct" way to open a banana

Notice the stem is at the bottom, not where I opened it from?

I think its weird.

Combine all the fruits in a bowl and mix.

ENJOY!!!

So this made WAY more than I thought it was going to (theres a lot a fruit when you start cutting it up) and I ate the whole thing by myself and it was pretty much a meal in itself.

So when I was finished eating, I got distracted and left my bowl on my bookshelf.  I left it there overnight and I woke up to this:

ANT INVASION 2011

They were everywhere!!! Just sugar ants but still gross and not welcome guests in my home! I rinsed out the bowl after taking pictures (managing to drop my camera in the sink in the process) and ran to WalMart for ant spray and rice (to save my camera).  

Can you see them in there?

Don't worry, its now all taken care of and the professionals even came in and made sure I got all the crevices with my spray.  Here's hoping I'm done with ants for the summer!!!

Goodbye uninvited house guests!

But I found something out about my apartment: even though there is a "pest control schedule" posted in our laundry room, they don't actually follow it.  They only have the exterminator come in when you request it.  I'm not a fan of this complex anyway and think this is a bit devious, however, I will be checking with my new complex to see how they do pest control.  If its on a request only basis, I will make sure to "request" preventative measures every 4 months (its part of my rent, so I will have a pest free home thank you!) 

Have you check with your apartment complex about this? Are you having ant problems this summer? What's your favorite fruit for a fruit salad?

Pillowcase Art / What to Do When Your Craft Looks Like Crap

Just a note before I start - this post has 2 titles because its a double post (kinda).  There were really 2 main points to be made here and it seemed useless to me to split them up so enjoy!

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned this before, but my bedroom in high school had a Shabby Chic theme.  Since I'm doing a shabby chic living room now, I went looking through my old stuff when I was at my parents' house to see if I could reuse any of it.  I found some throw pillows and my old bedding (comforter, fancy pillowcases, and green pillowcases).

The bedding is so pretty; I'm just as in love with it now as I was what I picked it so many years ago, and I just had to find some way to incorporate it into my new living room. I brought the pillowcases home to use in crafts to decorate my new living room, after making sure that was alright with my parents.

I have yet to find a use for the fancy pillow shams (although there is one idea starting to take shape in my head), but I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the green pillow cases: pillowcase art!