Maia the Bee- Guest Blogger

Good morning!  Today,  I am back with another guest blogger for you today!  Today, we Andrea from Maia the Bee!  She is an amazing mother to a beautiful 9 month old!  Check her out!

 

 

Thank you, Bonnie, for letting me make a guest appearance on your blog today!

 

Hi everyone!  My name is Andrea and I'm new to the blogging world.  You can find me HERE blogging about my adorable daughter, my new life as a SAHM, and our life overseas.  (Yup, we've lived in Germany for 4 years!)  I'm an amateur baker who loves taking pictures, traveling, and crafting.  Stop by and say hi!  I have so much planned - I can't wait to share!

 

When my friend Brittany asked if I could make Settlers of Catan cupcakes for her husband's birthday, I was excited…and scared!!  Who were the Settlers of Catan??  And how was I going to make cupcakes about them??

 

It turns out, I'm not the first to make these cupcakes.  Not even close.  Pictures of Settlers cupcakes and cookies are all over the web.  I had a lot of inspiration to draw from, seeing as I have never played the game in my life!!

 

I printed out full sized photos of both the game board and a sample set of cupcakes I found in a Google search and then I got to work coloring fondant.

 

 

I had counted 4 grassy fields, 4 hay fields, 3 mountain ranges, 4 forests, 3 with bricks, and one lone piece that looked like a chess piece.  (Brittany later told me that this is the robber piece and it sits on a desert tile.)  I decided that I didn't want just plain "grass" cupcakes…I wanted sheep too!

I always make the fondant pieces in advance.  It gives them a chance to dry and harden, and it gives me a chance to make everything and have it all ready in time!!

 

 

The cupcakes are red velvet with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting.  I delivered them to Brittany who gave them to her husband, John, for his birthday.  Here is a picture Brittany took of John with his birthday cupcakes…

 

 

In fact, ALL of these pictures were taken by Brittany.  She is an AMAZING photographer!  Look at how beautiful this picture is…

 

 

It's even been used on Pinterest!  (We're both pretty darn excited about that!)  You can check out more of her work here.  She sells prints if you're interested in a gorgeous photo for your wall.

 

What do you guys think?  I was pretty nervous but I'm really happy with how they turned out!  And my husband and I have decided that we need to get the board game to find out what it's all about!

 

Thanks Andrea!  Please stop by her blog and follow this gal!  She is new and would love to hear from you!

 

Have a great day!

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Twice Owned Party

Welcome to my

64th

TWICE OWNED TUESDAY PARTY!

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Hello all!  I hope that you have been enjoying all the guest bloggers around here! Yes, I am still here,  just been crazy!  I will update you with everything this week!  Until then,  show me what you have been up to by linking up below!

Here are my Queens from last week!

Bee Interiors spruced up her light fixture!

Three Boys re-upholstered this cute chair.

Clear Blue Sky found some really neat items!

Busily Spinning Momma made a shirt from a sheet!  How cute is that?

Blissfully Ever After monogramed these basket liners herself.

Shabby Love re-did a whole bunch of neat items.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day! :)

Thanks to everyone who linked up!

Please feel grab a button for your blog, you were just named a TWICE OWNED QUEEN!

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Have a great week!

I can’t wait to see what you link up this week!

If you are linking up, please grab a button! :) Thanks.

Have a great day! :)

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Blissfully Ever After- Guest Blogger

Good morning!  I hope that you are enjoying my guest blogger’s week!  I had fun sharing new blogs with you.  Today’s guest is a friend of mine named Jennifer!  She is a sweet mom-to-be who loves taking care of her home, her body and her hubby!  She is so excited to meet her little guy this fall!

Meet Jennifer…

Hey there!! My name is Jennifer and I am the author behind {Blissfully Ever After}.

Bonnie has been sweet enough to allow me to be a guest blogger today and I am so excited to share my bathroom remodel with you! Thanks, Bonnie!!

To kick the New Year off to a great start, my Hubby and I decided to tackle our main bath redo that we had been wanting to complete since we moved into our house 3 years ago. This was no easy task….so don’t be fooled by these pics =)

{p.s. we had no clue at this point that I was pregnant, and we are so happy that we were able to get this bathroom done before the baby arrives. He will like the bath tub, don’t ya think?!}

This redo costs us under $1,000 for a completely gutted {well almost} and remodeled bathroom. Take a look at how we completed our project on a budget:

Here is our bathroom after it had been gutted….

Sorry, for some reason I didn’t take any true BEFORE pictures {now, I’m mad}!

Here my Hubby is removing the drywall to install cement board above the shower

Cement board installed

Starting to tile….

Shower tile complete! We chose subway style tiles with a decorative border. What do you think?

Here is a pic of the cabinet base painted black {using BEHR paint/primer in one in semi-gloss}, granite countertop installed {we used a remnant piece from a local  installer and this only costs us $500 for the granite and installation!!}, under mount sink, and tile bask splash. We also removed our large builder mirror and took it down to a local glass cutting store to have them cut it a little and clean up the edges. This costs us only $20 and was well worth it!

The Hubbs installed a new energy efficient vent fan w/ light. Costs was around $60. We went with a very quite model because out last fan was so loud it sounded like a jet airplane every time we turned it on.

Here is out tile floor installed. My Hubby laid cement board over the existing laminate flooring before laying down the tile. We used a Microban mortar for all  areas we tiled to prevent mold and moisture intrusion. We also used an epoxy grout which is the best you can use to keep out moisture, mold, etc.

Here are the walls spackled and ready for  some primer/paint. DO you like how the last family didn’t paint behind the toilet? Hot, right?! Oh, I almost forgot to share that we installed a new window for the bathroom as well. Our old window was an octagon shape and didn’t open. My Hubby framed out the window and installed the new one which now opens and has a built in design so people cannot see in.

Showing some love

Ok, are you ready to see some AFTER photos?

Here they are….

We made custom moldings for the mirror using trim from Home Depot that I painted black using the same paint as I did on the cabinets.
Bye bye builder mirror!

We used existing lighting for our master bath and painted the frame black and then  installed new energy efficient bulbs. Love the new look!
Cost= $0

Cabinets painted black and new knobs/pulls installed. Knobs are from Hobby Lobby using 40% off coupons and pulls are from Lowe’s. Don’t you love the beaded accent!

New faucet I found online from Amazon for  $50!!! Can you believe it! Similar designs at Lowe’s and Home Depot were around $200. Score! Plus, all of the inner piping for this faucet is copper…not plastic, which makes a big difference in quality. Make sure to check Amazon for reputable sellers/dealers to find a great deal!

Countertops….ahhhhhhh love!

Custom/homemade Damask {fabric is from Joann’s using a 50% coupon} curtains on a Fleur De Lis rod and small ring clips I found at Hobby Lobby using 40% off coupons.

Love these cute square picture frames I found at Michael’s {again using my coupons}! I took some photos my husband has taken, printed them in black and white, and put them in the frames. Total cost $15

Here is our shower faucet I found at Lowe’s  and we got it on clearance before this model went out of stock. I love the faucet…seems so spa like! Wait, why is this faucet is my soon-to-be baby boy’s bathroom and not mine?? haha! Oh well, he deserves the best!

Still on the lookout for a plain white shower curtain to add the Damask print at the bottom to match the curtains. Found the brushed bronze curtain rod at Lowe’s…under $10. I already had the ring clips.

We kept our existing toilet that was new and low flow {which saves money/water}. We purchased the brushed bronze toilet handle for a little under $20 from Lowes.

I found these beaded towel hooks at Ace Hardware and we actually were able to use some of our Ace Rewards to get two of them for FREE. It was awesome! I love how the beaded accent matches the cabinet pulls.

OK, this is one of my favorite decor items….it is a cute little topiary bush I found at an antique store for only $5. It fits this space perfectly =)

One last look

ahhhhhhhh, refreshing!

Wow, it feels good to have this space completed…especially before the baby arrives! This was one of our most challenging projects yet, but so worth it! By doing all of the work ourselves {beside the installation of the granite countertops and under mount sink}, we were able to save A LOT of money!!! I know this project came in under $1,000 including $500 for the countertops. So, if you ask me…that is a pretty good deal. Don’t ya think?!?

 

Breakdown of what we did:

• Gutted bathroom

• Installed new vent fan

• Installed new window

• Installed new shower tile

• Installed new granite countertops w/ under mount sink

• Installed new tile backsplash

• Painted cabinets black and installed new hardware {including black hinges}

• Installed new tile flooring

• Painted bathroom using BEHR paint/primer in one {two coats in Winter’s Day}

• Put back existing toilet but installed a new toilet handle

• Put back existing mirror {that had been cut} and added chunky trim

• Installed an existing light from another bathroom that we painted black

• Installed new sink and shower faucets

• RE-installed window, floor, and door trim

• Put up towel hooks, curtain rod, and custom/homemade curtains

• Put up inexpensive picture frames with self taken  photography

There you have it! Our Bathroom redo!
I hope you have enjoyed the tour. Are you working on any bigger home remodeling projects? If so, please share!

Check out how I Clean & Disinfect my bathroom naturally here!

Thanks Jennifer!  You did an awesome job on your bathroom!  Thanks os much for sharing it with us today.  For more transformations, organizing posts, schedules and more, check out and follow her blog now!

Have a great day!

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FIVE GOOD THINGS ABOUT A HURRICANE

Hurricane Felix over the coast of eastern Honduras. Credit: NASA via Universe Today.

  
1. Tropical cyclones are important rainmakers, providing 25 percent or more of available rainfall to places like Japan, India, and Southeast Asia—not to mention Texas, which desperately needs a dousing ASAP.
  

In the course of a year, low latitudes gain more heat and high latitudes loose more heat. Tropical cyclones help transport heat from the equator towards the poles. Credit: NASA.

  
2. Tropical cyclones help maintain the global heat balance by moving warm tropical air away from the equator and towards the poles. Without them, the tropics would get a lot hotter and the poles a lot colder... A typical tropical cyclone releases heat energy of about 50 to 200 exajoules a day. That's equivalent to 70 times our worldwide energy consumption.

Long Island, New York, with multiple barrier islands. Credit: NASA.

    
3. Paradoxically, fragile barrier islands need hurricanes for their survival—especially now, when sea levels are rising. Although hurricanes erode beaches on the ocean side of barrier islands, they build up the back sides of the same islands by depositing new sediments via winds and waves. This dynamical process keeps barrier islands alive.

Global thermohaline circulation, aka the ocean conveyor belt. Credit: Avsa via Wikimedia Commons.

    
4. Tropical cyclones stir up the ocean and drive the process of upwelling, thus playing a part in the thermohaline circulation—another important transport mechanism distributing heat between the equator and the poles and keeping the earth's temperature in better balance.

Mangroves, fish nurseries, can benefit from a hurricane's stirring of the waters. Credit: MIT-WHOI.

       
5. By stirring the ocean, tropical cyclones also cycle nutrients from the seafloor to the surface, boosting ocean productivity and setting the stage for blooms of marine life.

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