My little guy decided to do a little slice and dice on his finger during his battle with the wall mounted ironing board so I am taking some PTO. Sorry no Feature Friday today.

But, as a consolation prize I will show you the ingenious ironing board that my hubs built for me one Christmas. W have a really narrow laundry room that consists of one wall of cabinets over the appliances and one wall with a shelf and rod to hang clothes. No place for an ironing board. Yep, that is totally dirty laundry on the floor. I did laundry yesterday, this stuff multiplies like rabbits!

I do not want an ironing board set up in my bedroom and I am way too lazy to actually set it up and take it down every time I use it (Can you tell I don’t iron much? That is what the clothes hanging rod is for, eliminate ironing, hang stuff up with it’s warm. 😉 ). I would love one of those pretty ones hidden in the cabinet, but let’s be real who has $150 for that? So, my hubs took the cover from my college table top ironing board and went to work.

Mind you he did this while keeping it secret from me. Isn’t he inventive? At first I was like, wow… an ironing board…for Christmas. But now, I absolutely love it (accept for the whole maiming my child part). It is mounted in the 1/2 bath next to the laundry room. Oh, and the iron holder is from Ikea.

*EDIT: I asked my husband for a supply list for anyone who wanted to try to replicate it. He says…

I just made this up as I went along….

The screenshot has a good image. The hinge can be used as fence or shed door hinges. Print the picture and go to your local hardware store and you won’t have trouble finding it.

Supplies: (most I had on hand)

$5 cheap small ironing board (i just bought it for the cover and cotton padding and discarded the metal frame)
1×12 (used the same piece for the ironing board and the square-with-rouded-corners base. (you could replace this with a thick piece of plywood)
2×4 – Just needed a small one, you can get one big enough for free at any construction site. This is the base that screws to the wall.
1×4 – I used this because the 2×4 wasn’t quite thick enough and the ironing board would fall down
1×2 – I used this to make two runners by the hing. This is what keeps the ironing board level (otherwise the hing with just keep going down)
1 large Fence hinge
1 longer bolt and nut to use as a swivel (as I didn’t buy an expense swivel bolt)
2 big sqare washers (about 1/8th inch thick. (Maybe the square washer is 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″) Really it was just nice to have a filler that allows for turning for the space between the ironing board and the square-with-rouded-corners base. I had these big square things on hand.
5 1-1/2″ lagg bolts for the hinge. – Mount it o to the wall, make sure that at least one row hits a stud.
2 1″ bolts and nut – that hook the hinge to the square-with-rouded-corners base. Notice in the picture the nut is on the bottom.
5 3-1/2 ” lagg screws to scre2 it to the wall.
4 square (i think 1/2″ by 1/2″) rubber feet – You can’s see them, but I have 4 rubber feet that provide stability between the ironing board and the square-with-rouded-corners base.
8 washers – I used washers on the bolts with nuts and the lagg bolts.
A dab of grease.

I didn’t completely tighten the bolt used as a swivel. Just snug enough you have to actually try to make the thing turn. I had a problem with the bolt loosening over time, so I actually used a clear glue to prevent that.

This was by no means under $5, but all the mounted ironing boards I found were $170 or more and I think I was around $30, but I did have some of it on hand. So I saved about $140 dollars.

Linking up with Trash to Treasure Tuesday on Reinvented.

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It has been 8 years and the memory has faded. Some of the kids I work with do not even remember this tragic incident, but I think it is important to keep in our hearts. Not only to remember those brave souls who were on the planes and in the towers, but also those who fought to rescue them and those who fought to rescue us. This tragedy united our country for a time, a unity that has now past. But maybe, just maybe, we can all come together again on this day to remember what our country is about. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness…Freedom…Independence….not from responsibility for our actions, but from oppression and inequality.

I remember the moment I heard about the attack. I was sitting in my apartment getting ready for a trip to Austin that afternoon. I was a flight attendant and my shift started in a few hours. My sister Amy called me and told me that a plane had flown in to one of the towers. I turned on the television to see the building smoking from a gaping hole.

Photo from:http://www.tzipiyah.com/2008/09/when-evil-striked-good-was-awakened.html

I sat in shock as I watched a second plane come crashing in to the second tower. It was at that point that we all knew this was no accident. That is when the fear and uncertainty started. I was sure of one thing and that was that there was no way I was going to work that night. There was no way I was stepping foot on a plane. Well, neither was anyone else. All planes were grounded immediately. (My sister Jen was also a flight attendant and was grounded in Sun Valley with no extra clothes for days.) I think it is important to remember those moments and how we felt. It is important to remember how we stood united and how we turned back to God. Because one thing was certain, we were going to need his help. I wore a flag pin everyday I flew after that.

Photo from:http://web.mac.com/cicdc/iWeb/KStreet/CICpod/53B3ABAC-605B-4FED-A6F2-84C67B9EFE20.html

Where were you when you heard about the towers?
Can you remember how you felt?

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Yep, it was one of those days. My little guy was dying to get out of the house and I had some things to drop off at D.I. from my Organization Workshop (15 min of decluttering a day for a week). The problem is I came home with as much as I dropped off. Darn you $1.50 items that taunt me and beg to be in the back of my car. So here they are, the fruits of my temptation.

The $3 toy tool bench I bought a few months ago got some new friends, 50 cents each.

I could not resist these wall stickers. My little guy loves Mickey (Today he had three grapes and said, “Mickey” because they looked like his head) lately so I thought I could hang these up in the play room for a little while. $1.50

Santa apron and hot pad: images of me baking at Christmas time and my family smiling and laughing at the table. $1.50
Garden shovel: Images of beautiful flowers I planted in spring, my son’s new fave toy $1
Mini candlesticks: I will be using two of these to make curtain tie backs for the little guys room. The rest of them, uh, er, they were 50 cents people. I will find a use for them eventually.

This little doll is going on my nightstand. I would like to find some cute little flowers to stick in it. 50 cents

This was my fave find of the day. A brand new 2T Gymboree pilot coat for $4. You know it was at least $40 retail. Usually, I do not go for clothes at thrift stores, but I could not pass this up!

I love these candlesticks. The biggest one is probably 2 1/2 feet high. I am deciding what color to paint them. They were $2 each.

This was not from this trip, but I thought I would throw it in as a bonus gift. I got this little table last trip for $10. It is waiting for some love and paint.

*edit: This is a sickness. I wrote this post last night and then had some things to drop off at D.I for my hubs today. I could not help to go in and see what treasures loomed. I gave myself a limit of $5 and laughed when I walked out with exactly $5 of stuff. Go me. So here is today’s moment of weakness.

• How could I pass up another bag of balls for the kiddy pool ball pit? It might actually look semi full now! And they were only $1.50. I paid $10 for the first bag at Toys r us.
• My son would not let this little people pirate ship out of his site. He held it the whole way home. I just need some people for it now.
• Ok, the Darth Vader stuff is for Halloween. I am pretty sure my little guy is going to be a robot and I saw that little bucket and thought his dad would get a kick out of it. Then, I saw the helmet. My big guy, well we usually make up his costume that morning so how easy will it be to throw on that helmet and some black clothes. Or I thought it might just be funny for him to take to work. He works at a software company, ya know. My friend Krista is dying right now. I know, I know.

I’m linking up with Trash to Treasure Tuesday over at Reinvented and 2nd Time Around Tuesday at A picture is Worth 1000 Words. Go see all the other great finds!

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Today’s Feature Friday is a site I ran across a couple of weeks ago that I have already seen the fruits of!! Todd and Erin’s “That Went Well” is chuck full of super savings and free offers. They will let you in on great deals at all sorts of your favorite places. Trust me, you do not want to miss this one.

If you live in Utah you may be familiar with Todd and Erin from the radio station B98.7. If you are not, here we go with the one minute interview. Aren’t I cool interviewing local celebrities! 😉

• What is your favorite crafting tool or secret weapon? My cordless drill. Honest. You can’t believe what you can do with lumber scraps, a DeWalt cordless and two bored 9 year olds.

• What is the craziest thing that ever happened to you while on the air? Hmmm…first “F-bomb” dropped from this cute little Irish lady was was the oldest living waitress from the Hard Rock Cafe, we were paralyzed with horror. But, it sounded kinda cute in an Irish accent so we didn’t get fired. We’ve broadcast the show through all manner of natural disasters…an earthquake, a tornado, a brush fire…

• If you could have any other profession what would it be? The Todd is insistent that he would make a great diamond heiress, but I’m not seeing that in his future. For me? I would hate to leave radio, because where else can you raise money for a new liver for a 6 year old, hold a Slumber Party for 2,000 girls and meet Bono and the rest of U2 in a single week? It’s nuts, but what a ride! 🙂

Can I just say that it is awesome that she calls her hubs The Todd. I’m going to start calling mine The Jared. Ok, maybe I can’t get away with that. Darn.

Erin sure has done it with her blog. I have already received a free 11×17 wall cling from Walgreen’s and am picking up my free 8×10 photo collage today. It is like a fun game hopping on there to see what you can save on or try free next!

Here is my photo cling from Walgreen’s. It actually sticks right to the wall and you can move it around until you find the right spot.

I would show you some of the great deals, but they are updated and change so often, that you’ll just have to see for yourself! They are getting a face lift this weekend so stay tuned to see their pretty new duds!

Great tips Erin and The Todd! You are now entered in the Hall of Fame as Tipsters of the Week!

Oh, and if you are going to Erin’s slumber party tomorrow night, look for me! I’m totally going to be rockin’ my bright yellow and green track suit (if I dare, I currently feel as if it should not be worn out of the house).

Pig photo credit: http://plainview.wordpress.com/2009/02/

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