My first ikea hack

I'm always drooling over those fabulous Organizer Systems you see on sites like Pottery Barn. Of course, I'm sure that when you add all the daily homework papers and school notices and junk mail you need to go through, even those spaces will lose some of their perfect look, right? Ok, maybe not, but I just can't see shelling out several hundred dollars for this stuff. Just think  what kind of camera goodies you can get for that kind of dough!
So, being the cheap thrifty person that I am, I came up with a nifty little hack that works great for our little kitchen corner. Hey, my own little ikea hack! I love that site; if you don't know it and love ikea, go check it out. Ok, so here it is. No wait, I want to point out that the pictures were taken with my iPhone (not my Nikon) while working, so they're not the greatest, but you should get the idea. Ok, so here goes:


I started out with two FJÄLLSTA picture frames ($14.99 each) and one KVISSLE Wall Magazine Rack ($14.99). I used the black frames to match my whiteboard calendar I already had (I think I bought that at Walmart for around $10).
Then I took two of the racks and used needle-nosed pliers to pry off the little tab at the top. 
Since I'm not using the racks as intended (meaning interlocking all of them to make one big rack), I need the hole for a small screw to attach to the picture frame. Make sure the screw is short enough not to go through the frame!

The holes are pretty close to the top, so it shouldn't be too hard to attach them. I used a really long cross-tip drill-bit (a long screwdriver will do as well).

That's really all there is to it. You could leave the frames as-is and attach them to your wall. 
I used a current school picture for each of the kiddos and put the frame back together. That way everyone knows which frame is their's. (Note, thanks to hubby for being my hand model)

I found that the hardest thing about the whole project was getting it attached to the wall. 

And here it is--all finished. Bring on the paper piles :D

Oh, the magnetic board on the left is the SPONTAN, also from ikea for $12.99.  Well, that's my little ikea hack project. I hope you found it useful. If you did, feel free to leave some comment <3.

 Please 

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Keepin' it together

I picked up another tip from Pinterest (boy, this just doesn't get old, does it?). It's a great way to make baked potatoes and you can find the recipe on Seasaltwithfood. The first time I made these I had a little trouble with the cuts--it's really hard to stop just short of the bottom of the potato, especially if you have a really sharp knife :D

I usually ended up with two potato-halfes which I just pushed back together.
Then I had an idea. I wedged the potato between two chopsticks, so they stopped the knife on the down-cut keeping the potato in one piece. Brilliant!  I still need to improve on this method, as it got a bit hard to hold the two chopsticks together and holding on to the potato. Maybe I'll make a little potato-frame for next time.

 

Well, dinner turned out pretty well. Besides the awesome potatoes, I made some Schnitzel and everyone loved it! Mission accomplished.

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Speedy Pancakes

Once again, I found some awesome recipes on Pinterest; like these Pop Up Pancakes from makes and takes. So I was all ready to try this one on Sunday, until I noticed that I didn't have enough eggs for the batter--Rats!
Well, not to be outsmarted by my evil fridge (don't ask, that's another story), I was determined to make these yummy Pancake-muffin goodies. Luckily had just discovered Organic Batter Blaster. I'd seen it at the store and just thought I'd try it--it's pancake batter in a can (kind of like whipped cream)! Also, it's a lot quicker than making it from scratch (score!) They came out awesome; everyone loved them and I'll definitely be making them again. Yay Pinterest!

Don't these look scrumptious?

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