Bulletin Board Makeover

Before we moved to the new house our bulletin board (similar here)was the center of everything. We kept family photos, important dates, invitations as well as any other important paper we could tack up on it.  Then last July we moved and our HUGE bulletin board simply didn't really "fit" anywhere.

In our kitchen the previous owners had a large TV that they simply painted around.  Since they weren't keen on the idea of leaving the TV behind, we get to stare at a lovely outline of a tv and it's cords.

Now one might think, hey just paint that wall, right?  Right. Unfortunately out of all the gallons of paint they left, they didn't leave this one behind.  So I either have to repaint my entire kitchen or just this one wall something entirely different (which I'm thinking I could do a chalk board wall OR do a wall of shiplap).  It simply hasn't happened yet with all of the other projects we've had.

So I decided this would be an EXCELLENT place to put our bulletin board.  And it works to cover up that beautiful outline.  But it is hard to reach and really not something that i can easily update since it's right above our kitchen table.  Except George thought it could use an update and decided to color on it.  I grew tired of looking at it and finally googled "Painting a cork board."  To my surprise, there were a ton of ideas.

Before: Crayon and Sun Bleached Outlines 

I bought a can of spray paint from Target (similar here) and since we had only one small piece of newspaper, I used that and cut the rest of my masking from boxes in the recycling.  I masked off the frame (that Adam made using chair rail) and went to work!

This was super easy to paint! I did a few coats to get it even.  One could get creative and make different areas and could have done multiple colors, lines, or even chevrons.  Its really endless. I just wanted to brighten and clean up the board to make our kitchen a little more cheery.

I'm sure I will add more to the board as the summer goes on.  I am pretty happy with the way that it turned out and am glad I did it!

(Look at all these super cute pics!!)  I am thinking I need some letters at the top or something more :) But until then I just added a cute little $4 banner from target (because I'm too lazy to cut this out myself) and some pics I quickly printed off an app that gives you up to 100 prints for free (per month, you pay shipping).

Happy Summer!!

XOXO

Kristen

Christmas Cheer Box Reveal

Rachel over at Floral and Fudge co-hosted a Christmas Cheer Box Linkup and I decided to get in on all of the fun!  The goal was to send a box to a fellow blogger (whose name you were sent) and to spend less than $10.  It was suggested the items be "Christmas Themed" and sent by December 1st.  

Kaitlin over at Little Goodies (who by the way has 2 of the cutest little ones ever!) sent me this box of WONDERFUL goodies :)  She was also one of our lovely co-hosts for the exchange.  

First of all let's just talk about how cute the box is that she sent me. Apparently she must realize how miserable and dreary winters are around these parts because when I unwrapped the package I was brought back to happier (and warmer) days of summer!!

Clearly you can tell this woman is a mama and either stalked me (ha ha - right) or simply knows how OCD organized I like to be when it comes to making lists!  We love list paper at our house!!  So I was so so happy to more paper to make lists on. YAY!  And the chevron journal is lovely.  It will fit in my manbag purse just perfect- likely for me to make a few more lists on.  (I'm embarrassed to say that I use both "notes" and "reminders" for list making on my phone when I don't have paper to write on!)

And who doesn't love some incredibly amazing hand lotion for these dry dry winters!  This one smells sooo yummy!!   Another must for my purse.  (Joking aside, I did find my cross body bag in the mens section at Fossil - and I LOVE it - which is why I call it my man bag).

And to round out the bag, she sent me these cute little Christmas tags and glitter tape.  I love brown paper bag wrapping paper, so it will be so fun to add this glitter tape to the outside to add some excitement!  And these little ties are adorable too!  They are full of sparkle!!  Having longer hair I know I can add these to my hair, but they also work well for binding too!

What fun it is to send/receive Cheer Boxes!!  I know when I put mine together I had so much fun doing it and for under $10 -even better!!  Thank you to Katilin for being so thoughtful with the box you sent, I sincerely appreciate it!

I am also sharing the Christmas Cheer Box that I put together for Nelle over at Simply Love here.

Merry Christmas everyone!! 

Christmas Cheer Box - The One I Sent

My first year of blogging has certainly been an interesting one!  I have followed many different bloggers and am learning my own style and ways as I go.  One of my current charges is to be more active and involved in the blogging world.  Rachel over at Floral and Fudge is co-hosting a Christmas Cheer Box Linkup with other bloggers.  

One of the "rules" of the cheer box is you are to spend around $10 and it must be Christmas related.  A few weeks ago I had seen this pin on Pinterest for the M&M Christmas Poem and I knew this would definitely be one of the items I included in my Cheer box. 

I was able to find the cute little half pint Ball Mason jars at Wal-Mart in a pack of 4. I filled it with regular M&Ms, tied some baker's twine around it and added the poem to the front. I thought I was going to be clever and laminate the poem, but glue and double sided tape wouldn't hold that baby on, so I went with regular paper.    Here is my version of the M&M Christmas Poem: 

Here is an overview of all of the items I put in the cheer box.

1. M&M poem - includes bakers twine, mason jar, M&Ms, and Christmas Poem.  

2. Eat, Drink & be Merry Beverage Napkins

3. Cupcake toppers 

4. Winter Cranberry Handsoap (my favorite!) from Bath and Body works

5. Cupcake Wrappers

6. Cookie Cutters - (to be on budget, I only included one in the cheer box)

7.  Paper straws - these are so darn cute!!  

8. Washi Tape 

This is the box of items I sent - the cupcake toppers are hiding behind the napkins... and I forgot but I actually added candy cane chapstick to the box as well!  How did I manage keeping this close to $10?  I bought the M&Ms in bulk at Sam's, the jars came in a pack of 4, the hand soap was on sale for 5/$18, the cookie cutters and chapstick came in a packs of 3, and I found the bev naps and straws for less than $1.  

This is a great gift idea that can be customized to fit for anyone!  

December Goals

One of my current goals is to simply write more.  I thought a good way to do this would be to include a monthly post of what we hope to accomplish each month.  Here is our list for December.

Printable from Yellow Bliss Road

December 2014 Goals

1. Get out and decorate our tree/house for Christmas (there have been years this didn't happen)

2. Finish Christmas shopping by December 19th

3. Wrap all Christmas gifts before Christmas Eve 

4. Go snowshoeing or ice skating 

5. Run a 5K - December 20th - Reindeer Dash

6. Take George sledding

7. Drive around to look at Christmas lights

8. Build a snowman with George

9. Take George to see Santa

10. Send Christmas cards to our family& friends

11. Update my Christmas card address list

12. Bake Christmas Cookies (need to enjoy these before January bootcamp!)

13. Visit Starbucks for a Grande Carmel Apple Spice
14. Have a dinner date with Adam

15. Visit friends we don't get to see often (any takers?!)

16. Be more active with blogging by writing at least 2 posts a week

17. Improve my photography skills &

18. Learn how to use Photoshop

19. Clean our pantry by either eating all remaining junk food or throwing out by Jan 1

20. Pass my Estate Planning Applications Exam (6 down, 3 to go for my Hawaii 2015 trip!)

Hoping to get in a lot of fun and family time this month!

What are you up to this month??

Weekend in Review - Deer Widow Weekend

It's that time again!  Gun season opener.  While the boys headed off to Deer Camp, Grandma Judy, George and I spent our weekend out and about.  Next year George will be heading up to Deer Camp (at least in my mind he's going) so we will have a girls only weekend :)

Judy and I took a half day on Friday and went up to Turtle Lake to check out a little antique place where I found the cutest little milk jugs and Christmas Plate Circa 1979...and of course while we were up that way we made a stop in the casino... Unfortunately we made a donation this time around.. maybe next time we will be winners!  Then we headed up to the cities, picked up George on the way. Visited my former teammate Kelly at the Cat Office.. she was so kind to George, gave him this sweet little puppy that plays music and has interactive learning sounds as well.  It was so wonderful seeing her!!

Next we went over to Mall of America... did a little shopping and then had dinner at Tucci Bennuch. So delicious!!  George was such a good little boy too!!  Grandma shared her Tomato Basil soup and little boy just gobbled it right up!  He's such a good eater!

Saturday we headed down to Austin, MN for A Handmade Christmas - Indie Craft Market.  One of Greg's high school friends Anna was involved in putting the whole thing together. She did such an amazing job!!  Bless her heart, this girl was also days from having her sweet baby and she was all over it.  We were so impressed with the craft show.  It was quaint but the offerings there were just awesome.  Plus we agreed that the caramel rolls made by the lovely ladies at St Edwards Church were worth the drive alone!  

George and I in his Bjorn - he LOVES being in here! 

Grandma with George

We truly enjoyed our time down in Austin and were able to pickup some GREAT goodies as well!!  I love both the candles I purchased and am still waiting to try my Strawberry Jam :)   We went back to the cities, stopped at Ikea and picked up some picture frames and other little odds and ends before coming home.  We were so busy and little boy was sooooooo tired from all of our fun activities!!

Sunday, Adam returned home and we spend the ENTIRE morning cleaning our basement.  See on Thursday night before Adam left, our septic backed up into our basement.    This meant renting an electric snake to remove the clog and then frantically trying to dry out the carpets, etc.  So on Sunday we cleaned carpets and entirely cleaned our basement.  Also put plastic on our (awfully drafty windows) to try and keep our home warm for the impending winter.   Also, George turned 10 months old!!  I know people tell you it goes fast, but it is so true!!!

This little turkey is moving and moving and moving all over our house!! I think after the first 10 minutes Adam was already done with the idea of him crawling. He is into everything.  It's pretty fun watching him explore and see all of the new things he's discovering.  I think we will be seeing more of this little butt scooting around our floors!!  He loves walking holding our hands and would much prefer it as he never wants to quit when we get tired!

It's a short week in corporate America!!  So thankful for these weekends with family and getting to see old friends.  Have a wonderful week and Thanksgiving!!