This happened today!

We had a photo shoot at the house today for a local magazine!!  Yiiipppeeee!!!  I was like a kid on Christmas Day :-)

I'll give you all the details of which magazine and share some pictures from the photo shoot by the end of the week.  It was a ton of work but worth it in the end.  I mean come on, I put up a second tree the day after Christmas and wrapped empty boxes at 5:00 in the morning ;)  Who am I kidding, It was all worth it!!

Exciting stuff happening today!!

Yup, there is some pretty exciting stuff happening around here today.  Buuutttttt I can't tell you yet.  I'll share some pictures tonight when I can.  However, in the mean time, this is what I'm doing.

Yep, I've been up since 5:00 am re-wrapping empty Christmas boxes.  So, come back later on and I'll share all the details :-)

Halloween Decor Re-purposed for Christmas!

Do you remember this sign that I had on my counter for Halloween?

I loved the shape of it and it was the perfect size for the kitchen counter.  As Halloween passed I was sad to have to take it down.  I didn't really want to go spend more money on a new Christmas sign.  Soooooo, I decided to get creative!

So I flipped the sign over, busted out some Goo Gone to get the price tag off and headed to the hardware store.  I picked up a can of chalkboard paint for cheap and went to town.

I sprayed the first coat and let it dry for about a half hour and here it is after I applied the second coat.  It was quick and easy and let's be honest about my favorite part.....CHEAP!!!!

I busted out some chalk once it was dry and here is the finished product.  Done and DONE!!

This was my first time using chalk paint and it was sooooo easy.  Go try some and let me know!

Christmas Sneak Peek

I have to be honest and admit that I started decorating for Christmas well before Thanksgiving got here.  I know, I know, it just isn't right.  However do you remember that we were just moving into our house on December 13th of last year and it was a mad dash to the Christmas finish line?  I was standing on a ladder putting up a 12 foot tree on Christmas Eve last year.  I planned to put up TONS of decorations this year so it made sense to start early and ease my way into Clark W. Griswold status.

I'm typing this on my lunch hour so I'll make this quick.  Here is a little peek at what I've got going on in the dining room!

How much do you love the little simple wreath hanging on the mirror with tulle?  I got the wreath AND the tulle at the Dollar Tree for...wellllll you guessed it, a BUCK!!!  I freaking love that place.  Annndddd what about my firefly twinkle lights that were on the mantel for Halloween?  So cute and festive.  I literally tied a strip of tulle around each individual light on the string and voila firefly lights. 

How about one more without the lights just for the heck of it ;) 

Have you been to the Dollar Tree lately?  If so, did you buy any Christmas decorations?  I know I've bought my share of decorations there this year :-)



  

Mmmmm you have to try this hot cocoa!!

I've been looking for a gift to make for the kids to take to school for their teachers and bus driver (so act surprised if you are reading this PJ) and I finally found the perfect gift! You can get the full tutorial over at Simply Designing.  After reading this awesome post I decided to make a trip to Dollar General to get the things that I didn't have in my pantry.
Here's what I got tonight!

  I need to give you two bits of advice.  These jars that I bought from Dollar General were WAY too big and weren't your standard mason jar size.  Sooooooo, when I made the first one it wasn't nearly as full as in the blog tutorial.  So, I dug in my cupboards and found some standard mason jars and luckily the festive lids fit!!  My other bit of advice?   DO NOT take a "little bite" of that peppermint bark because you'll be HOOKED.  It was a good thing I ran this morning because I think that the amount of bark I ended up eating may have equaled the calories I burned while running.  However, I digress.  Let's get back to my finished product.

Here's what I came up with.  I had one standard mason jar and one mason jar mug.

Photo Credit:  Emma Jean

Photo Credit:  Emma Jean

I just used some spools of ribbon that I had from The Dollar Tree and tied them in bows.  I think I am going to use some card stock and write up my own tags to attach to the jars.  I LOVE how they turned out and can't wait to hand them out.

The kids were awfully happy to taste test the jar that didn't turn out and gave the hot cocoa a thumbs up.  Mmmmmmm it looks delicious!!

Which mason jar do you like best?  The standard mason jar or the mason jar mug?

Did I ever tell you what I did on Christmas Eve?!?!?!

Yeah I'm pretty sure I didn't fess up to this on the blog but I think it's time to share and you'll find out why.  We moved into our house on December 13th, 2013.  It was a little crazy sliding in sideways to Christmas, but we were relieved we made it in time.  I was on a ladder on Christmas Eve putting up our ginormous tree in the great room.  Once I got that done, I was running around the house cleaning and wrapping presents.  If you know me well then you'll know that I have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time. 
So, here comes the good part.   I decided to fill up the kitchen sink with some water and Mr. Clean.  Then I decided to go grab Ryan's dirty clothes out of our master bath to throw in the washer.  Then IT happened....I saw something shiny.  That something shiny was wrapping paper and the last few presents I needed to wrap.  I plopped my fanny on the ground and started wrapping away.  Well I was wrapping until I heard Emma screaming my name.  Yep I had left the sink running and it was overflowing all over my BRAND NEW KITCHEN.  Wow, I was so upset.  I think we went through AT LEAST 6 beach towels.  The cabinet under my sink was full of water and I had what you might like to call a case of the drip in the basement.  One would think that I would have learned a lesson. 

Until tonight that is!  This picture doesn't really do it justice but WOW I thought I did it again.  Oddly enough I was just standing in the sunroom decorating a couple of my Christmas trees and TOTALLY forgot about my running water.  Again!  Another catastrophe was averted this time.  However, will I ever just learn to focus on one thing at a time?  Yeah.  Not likely!

Sneak Peek: Great Room Tour

I wouldn't say our great room is anywhere near complete but thought I would give ya'll a tour anyhow.  However, you'll have to wait for the full post until tonight.  Until then....here is a little sneak peek!

If you look in the top left corner you can see one of my favorite Craigslist finds of all times.  Remember when I took a vote here on whether I should paint it or leave it as is?  Soooo happy that I didn't paint it!  Anywho, come back later for the full tour.

It's coming together.....slowly!!

As I mentioned yesterday, I wasn't really loving my sun room so I decided to start over.  I decided to bring in some creams, golds and blacks.  I figured that I finally started mixing my browns and blacks when it comes to clothing so NOW I'm mixing my silver and golds.  #incaseyoucared

I am by no means done but I finally feel like I am moving in the right direction.  I'm loving what I have so far and am on a mission to find the perfect fabric for some more throw pillows and curtains.  Soooooo, here you go!

I loovvveee my cream faux fur pillows and the gold patterned pillow!  Of course the gold pillow was on clearance at Marshall's and they only had ONE :(  Sooooo, if any of ya'll are at Marshall's, TJ Maxx, or Home Goods (ahem, Jamie and Carrie) and find one of these hook me up :-)

Do you guys agree?  Much better with the black tables and more neutral textured pillows?  Next on my list is a zebra print area rug!!!