Litter box, turned into a storage box.

I have some clutter in my living room, that was really bothering me.  A few magazines, crochet patterns, and a mess of resumes.  I needed a neat place to put them, besides the floor, but also keep them close at hand when I need them.  I'm not much for sitting and zoning out at the tv, which is pretty much what my husband does after work.  So, I spend quality time next to him, crocheting, flipping through a magazine, working on my resume, or playing on the IPhone while sometimes watching tv.  I really don't like wasting time.  I went into my craft room, searching for some type of storage or an empty box I could convert to storage.  I found an almost empty box of cat litter.  The cats live outside now, so the litter is just taking up space.  So, I dumped what was left in a bag (I might need it for something later!).  I cut the top of the box off, then cleaned the inside out with a damp paper towel.

Empty cat litter box

I took the box outside, with black spray paint.  I love this spray paint.  I repainted some ugly blue storage containers my husband brought home for me with this paint.  They are styling now!

This paint is Krylon Fusion for Plastic in Black Gloss.  It works great on cardboard too!

If you miss any spots, you can always touch up with a black permanent marker.  Which is what I did.

Next, I got a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper.  I cut off 3 inches of each end, making it 9x9 inches.  I took the square piece and spray glued it to the center of the front.  I glued the other 2 pieces to the sides.  I left the back blank, but you can put paper on it also.

Front of litter box

One side of litter box

My other side of the box was shorter, because of the opening/pour spout of the litter box, so my shorter piece of paper fit it just right.  I just forgot to take a picture of it.


I hope you try this simple revamp of any old sturdy box.  Great storage, and super cute!!

Crispy Chicken Legs in the oven

Every time I make chicken, my step daughter and husband grab for the chicken legs.  So, this time I bought a package of chicken legs.  This recipe is simple, crunchy, lots of flavor, and was ate up by everyone!  I just can't beat that.

The Ingredients:
8-10    chicken legs
1 c       buttermilk
3 tbsps butter melted
1 c       flour
1/4 c    Italian bread crumbs (plain would work also)
1 tsp    salt
1 pkg   Italian salad dressing mix

Directions:
Put your chicken legs in a bowl or ziplock bag.  Add buttermilk and melted butter and let soak for at least 15 minutes.  Your butter may get clumpy if your chicken legs are really cold.  This is ok.  I just like the extra flavor and juices of the butter.

Pre heat oven to 425F

Mix your flour, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and salt in a baggy.  Drop your chicken in & shake until covered.  Place your chicken in a baking dish lined with tinfoil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

I baked mine for 1 hour & 15 minutes, turning halfway through.  Always check your chicken is not pink, and runs clear.  Your chicken may cook quicker, so double check it after about 50 minutes.  My family will not eat pink chicken!

We also had green beans and "Atomic Buffalo  Turds", which I cooked with the chicken.  I stuck them in about halfway through the chicken cooking process.  They are awesome!  Check out their link, they have directions for oven, grill, and smoker.

Today I am 23 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  About to hit the 3rd trimester!!

I am not the best Blogger out there, it has been awhile!  I've even been laid off, and still have not got around to blogging.  Searching for a job is a lot of work, but I finally got a job offer yesterday.  I must say, I am proud of myself getting a good job with my baby bump!

Everything is going great with the pregnancy.  We had the 20 week ultrasound, and now we know it's a girl!!  Her name will be Ragan Marie.  She is progressing just the way she should.  I'm so proud of her!  Here's a couple of her ultrasound pictures.

She looks like my step daughter, Kennedy in this one!!

Here I am!  Baby bump at 20 weeks.

This is Kennedy, when we told her it was a girl!  She was so happy.
She's ready for bed, we got home pretty late after 2 doctors appointments
in OKC (a three hour drive for us)