August Goals

I always admire other bloggers who post their "goals" for the month. I did the ONCE. Yes. one time and it was like 2 years ago - and who knows if I even remotely came close to accomplishing them. Let's just go with probably not.  I've been really trying to push myself with writing so why not set some goals, right? 

My goals.. For August... 

This is the dirt pile in our front yard...

1. Landscaping.   We have been working on this landscaping since we moved in.  Last summer I pulled a ton of pavers out of the front yard with the hopes to plant grass by fall.  That never happened and this is what our front yard looks like now.  (I cannot wait for another year to show the ENTIRE progression of start to finish!).

2.  Running.  My running has been so limited because of my back injury. However, I can start running again (slowly) by adding some biking and other low impact activities.  I only have 1 race scheduled for August and it's a 5K this weekend (Gopher to Badger).  Last year I was in top shape and ran a great 1/2. This year I'll be cheering on all the runners looking forward to my next one! (Which I swore last year was my last... but hoping to do Grandma's in 2018 and MAYBE gopher to badger 2017?!)

3.  Cleaning/Organizing/eBaying. I am a clothes hoarder.  This has been a bit of a revelation as I've gained and lost (and gained) weight. I cover up with new clothes.  So I'm slowly paring down my closet and selling my shit high quality clothes (several with tags) that I couldn't live without and have never worn :)  Typical, right?

4. Weddings.  Not mine. HA HA HA.  Two of them.  One which happens to be on my favorite weekend of the year.  Adam is in one so we'll be doing wedding festivities all weekend the last weekend in August.  They will both be fun :)

5.  Pub Crawling.  Erin Adams's Hargrove's 10th Annual Polar Pub Crawl (North St Paul, MN) is this upcoming weekend.  I can't even handle that it's been 10 years since she started her pub crawl.  There have been a lot of fun memories, and some not so fun memories (headstands and card cheaters) okay that fits in both columns :)   We haven't made it to all 10 but are really excited about making it this year.  

6.  Pepper Fest.  See #4.  My favorite weekend of the ENTIRE year is in North Hudson, WI.  I grew up down the street from Pepper Fest and L-O-V-E going every single year!!  This year will be cut short by a wedding ...ahem... please be considerate and check a calendar next year folks... j/k.  Parades, Italian Food, Beer, Music, and old friends!  What more could you ask for?  (Pepper Eating Contest, Spaghetti eating contest, a 5k/10K race, rides for the kids, bags tournaments... ) Seriously, one of the best summer get togethers around!! 

7. Help Dad.  Dad is having knee replacement surgery August 15th.. So while he's pretty humble about his health and what's going on, he is going to need his army behind him for this one!  While I'll be covering most days and a few nights, the rest of the family will be helping as well.  So grateful for all that he has done for us and am so happy to be able to give back and help him :)  

Grandpa and George taking Sam for a walk

8. Unpack.  Seriously.  We STILL have boxes at Adam's parents... and we STILL have several unpacked boxes in our basement.  I think until we actually paint and get each room the way we like it, we will have boxes of stuff just waiting to make its debut!

9. Go to Church.  I am baptized and confirmed Catholic but have never felt as connected as I once was in Arizona (99-01).  I recently went to a funeral (good time to think about your Faith) and admired how connected the Pastor is to the community.  The following Sunday George and I went to service and the minute we sat down, the pastor walked over and introduced himself. I felt welcomed and knew that was where I needed to be.  George and I have been going to church the past few weekends there and plan to continue going. 

10.  Be in the moment.  That was last week's church message.  Just appreciate where you are when you are there.  Put the phone down. Put your tablet down.  Put any and all distractions aside and simply live in that moment.  How often do we meet a friend for coffee, or take our kids to the park only to find ourselves with our heads buried in our phones or thinking about something else?  I AM SO GUILTY!!!   I am trying to simply put my phone down and enjoy a few minutes of whatever it is I'm doing. Simply be.  

11. Live in front of the Camera.  I read a blog post another woman wrote, where she recognized that she was capturing all of her children's milestone moments but was never visible in any of them. She was behind the camera.  There was nothing to show that while the child blew out his birthday candles and opened presents she was there.  She was taking the pictures.  This hit home with me. I was looking for a recent picture of myself with George and my storage is maxed out but none of them have me in them.  So when I stumbled upon this it truly spoke to me. My goal is to post one picture a day for the next 365 on my Instagram Account.   Go check out my Instagram (shameless plug) @upnorthmama1 for my daily post of in front of the camera!

Dinner selfie - no filter, unedited.

XOXO

Kristen 

Exploring: Downtown Hastings, MN

I had so much fun with last week's post about Hudson, WI that I thought i would try to make this a weekly series where I explore a small town and share some of the great adventures I have along the way.

Last Thanksgiving my friend Vicki asked me to run the Thanksgiving Gobble Gait 8K with her in Hastings.  I had never spent much time there and just figured it would be like any run.  Let me say, it was one of the most beautiful runs I have done!  All of the money from the race is donated to the Hastings Family Service which serves the local community.  What started as a small run has now grown to over 2000 runners.

Post Race Photo with Vicki (right) and her friend Stacie (center)

Although it was cold and went, it was SO WORTH it!  Just being able to say I did it and knowing my race fee went to someone in need felt pretty darn good!

The race started and finished on Main Street in Hastings and although it was cold and wet, I fell madly in love with Main Street!  There are tons of cute little shops and restaurants.  Its very quaint and a nice little day trip. From the Downtown Business Association of Hastings, MN, " The Historic Downtown Business District of Hastings, Minnesota. You'll find charming shops that feature; Antiques, Collectibles, Gifts, Fashion, Imports, Toys, Pottery, Jewelry and many one of a kind specialty items and services. Most of our shops are located in preserved historic buildings dating back to the 1800's."

Right now they are redoing some sections of Main Street so my photos may be a little limited in the angles as I was simply trying to photo without all the yellow tape and orange cones.   However, even though it was under construction we were still able to navigate to all the shops with no trouble.

My friend Jayme has super awesome taste and had told me about Eye Candy Refind, so I HAD to check it out.  (If you've ever been in the Loft at Viva Voce Salon in Hudson, they have several stunning pieces from Eye Candy!!) After a quick trip to their shop in Hastings, I was sold!!  First of all I LOVE the owners.  Super bad ass ladies who run a great shop with gorgeous pieces!  They are SUPER friendly and totally willing to help you with anything.  (and I mean anything, I'm still looking for my card catalog and they are too!).   I ended up buying a gorgeous buffet my first trip there and continue to get inspiration every time I go to their shop!

My buffet table from Eye Candy

I absolutely adore the signs, furniture and decor in Eye Candy Refind. They also do painting classes in the Hastings Store as well if you want to learn how to chalk paint.  Additionally they share TONS of new pieces on their Instagram (eye_candy_refind) and Facebook Pages.  If you're looking for a one of a kind, quality piece at an affordable price, check out Eye Candy!!!

If you're someone who wants to DIY your own furniture pieces then stop into one of the many antique shops in town!

Vintage Inspirations

The Emporium Antiques

A few others:

Second Street Antique Mall

Antiques on Main

If home decor isn't your thing, they also have cute little clothing shops as well!  One that is always a stop when we are there is Lah-Tee-Dah Boutique.  They have adorable clothes at very reasonable prices!  You will also find that unique piece you wouldn't find online or at a mall.  That's what makes small town shopping so special.  You don't look like everyone else and you're supporting a local business.  

Other shopping locations for gifts and goodies:

Gifts Galore

Tenacious K's

Mississippi Clayworks

Meyer Co

Let's be honest, after all that shopping I'm usually starving and (in my opinion) the BEST place in town is the Busted Nut.  We completely stumbled into the Busted Nut on a whim when we were picking up my buffet from Eye Candy.  It was the best decision ever!!  Fresh peanuts when you sit down and cold beers!  But better than that is the food.  I have been there several times now and I am never disappointed.  Last time we were there, a friend said "This is the best mushroom swiss burger I have ever had!"  I typically order the Chicken, Bacon Ranch Wrap with waffle fries and season sour cream and it's AMAZING!!!  (See below)

Although the Busted Nut happens to be my favorite, there are lots of other choices while in the downtown area.

Restaurants:

The Onion Grille (I've heard this place is awesome too!)

Karl's Red Rock Cafe (Breakfast and Lunch)

Bella Vista

Spiral Pizza

While I was walking around taking photos, I saw the sweetest scene in Reissner's Meat and Grocery. I was transported back 50 years. (or what I imagine life to be like 50 years ago).  Two older gentlemen were standing in the business enjoying a conversation and a coke.  It was the most refreshing, simple moment they were sharing.  They didn't have cell phones out, they weren't distracted by anything but what the other person was saying.  It truly warmed my heart.

One thing that always catches my eye when I'm in town is the Meyer Company Sign (Carhartt, Levis, shopping).  It again, takes me back to a time before modern technology.  And while I don't know the history, I imagine it was put up in the early years of Jc Penney, Montgomery Wards, Sears Roebuck Co.  Just the lettering takes me back to flipping through catalogs at grandmas house.  

  

As you find your way out of town, take a minute to see the beautiful new bridge that was built in 2014.  It's stunning at night and beautiful during the day.  

Hastings is only a short drive from the Twin Cities on Highway 61 South, and about 45 minutes from Western, WI.  I love any excuse to get down here to shop and eat!  (and there may or may not be a casino stop or a stop at Ellsworth Creamery on the way! Pretty sure we'll be checking out Ellsworth in the near future so I can go back for more fresh cheese curds!)

I hope you are able to seek out new adventures in Hastings or any of the towns I mention along the way.  It's such a fun journey for me to check out new places and bring friends along for the ride!

XOXO

Kristen

How We Cut the Cord ...and Still Watch Our Shows!

When we moved into our new house we went through a lot of changes and learned to adapt (umm... we do NOT have air conditioning or a furnace.. HUGE adjustment).  So when we found out that our internet plus cable was going to be close to $200 we had to make a decision whether or not it was truly worth it to have cable.

I started researching online, polled friends and family, and had a lot of conversations with Adam on what we should do.  He ultimately pays the cable bill so really this came down to him.  After a lot of research, a lot of maneuvering, we were able to cut the cord and both win by using streaming services.   Since we started doing this I have had a lot of people ask me how we make it work..

Here's how!

First things first, the ONLY reason we were able to accomplish much of this was through the help of friends and family.

Select your streaming device - we went with the Roku 2 (because we do not have a Smart TV).  There are a ton on the market, Apple TV, Roku, Fire Stick, etc. This is your first step in cutting the cord.  From there we found the following ways to watch TV and not miss our favorite shows!

1. We worked with our local cable company to purchase the internet package that allowed us to hookup our Roku to the local network.   This provides us with our local tv channels: NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox.  We live in Woodville, between Eau Claire, WI and Minneapolis, MN.  Because of this, we get Fox Eau Claire and Fox Minneapolis = Packers Football (Eau Claire).  Adam's wish accomplished.

2. Netflix.  Each Netflix account allows multiple users, my brother gave us a login and we are able to watch shows on Netflix (Fuller House for me and Making of a Murderer for Adam).

3. Many channels require a cable login.  Since you can have multiple users on one account, we created our own login to access cable using Adam's parents cable account.  It doesn't impact them in any way and allows us to access the shows/channels we want to watch. Total win/win.

4. Hulu - I pay $8/month to have Hulu.  It's pretty much the equivalent to a DVR.  I get many different networks (ABC, NBC, CMT, CW, TLC, etc) AND I can watch shows the next day if i missed them the night before.  I caught up on SO many shows this way.  I love HULU, totally worth $8/month.

5.  Sling TV - Beta Version.  Sling purchased the rights to Fox Sports.   So we get FS1, FS2, and FSlocal, which for us is Fox Sports North.  FSN = Twins Baseball.  My mission was accomplished.  However, this one does come with a cost.  It's $20/month for Sling TV.  Other channels that come with Sling include HGTV, AMC, FX, Univision, etc... One of their greatest promotions (for us) was that if you purchased 3 months in advance you get a free Roku 2.. So we now have 3 of them that work on all channels.

6. Amazon Prime - If you have Amazon Prime, you can also stream videos on Roku as well.  We simply linked our Prime account and are able to watch Multiple shows (Downton Abbey!!).

7. And last, Roku has a TON of channels built in that you can access. Again, full transparency we are able to access all of these because we have the cable login - however there are some "Free" channels that do not require you to login.

While this may seem complex, it's something we have learned and has entirely grown on us since we started a year ago.  When we turn our TV on, it's as though we never cut the cord. I get to watch almost any show I want and without the crazy expense of cable.  My total bill per month is $28 and we may not keep Sling over the winter and re-subscribe next spring when baseball starts again.

XOXO

Kristen

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

Bedroom DIY - Part 2

This post has been in the making for quite.some.time!  Our room is not 100% finished (it's lacking curtains) but I HAD to share the rest of our progress we've made. (Part 1 - here)

One of the ways I gain inspiration for each of the rooms we complete is through reading blogs, websites, and watching home restoration shows (This Old House and Fixer Upper are my Favorites!).   I found this awesome website called Olioboard where I could gather different items and make a style board for our bedroom project.  Here is the board I created while working on this room.

I wanted to blend both the rustic and modern styles Adam and I both love.  I needed a little pop of color which I got from the night stands.  We actually took an Ikea Rast Dresser ($34.99) and made it over to give it an upgraded look.

From this:

To this:

I simply LOVE the way these turned out!  I like how I can quickly explain to Adam what I'm thinking, hand him some primer and paint and off he goes.  Again, simply blessed to have someone so talented in my life!  (And so patient with all my "ideas!")

Our fabulous sconces (up close) stemmed from one of my random ideas (Hey honey - what do you think about adding some lights above each side of the bed, and then put switches next to our beds....?)   I swear that man's head might explode if I have any more "Hey honey ideas."

I bought these online at 1-800 Lighting (similar here). They come in bronze and brushed nickel.  I just adore this vintage look with our barnboard wall!  (Of course I went to Ebates first and got my 5% cash back too!) I think they also had a coupon for new customers and I also got $10 off each light!  Pretty sure every online shopping trip starts with Ebates!!

One of my dear friends has these absolutely stunning curtains in her dining room that I have been pining over since the first time that I saw them.  They are gray buffalo plaid, floor to ceiling. Gorgeous!  So imagine my surprise when I saw a similar pattern in a duvet cover at Ikea!  It was an easy sell to go with the rustic/modern feel in our room.

You know when you take a photo and you think it looks great, then post it and it's not as fabulous? Yeah. I'm not remaking the bed for a picture.

I think the biggest struggle for us was choosing paint. Who knew that finding a gray would be so challenging?  After 3 different attempts we finally got it right!  Thankfully Sherwin Williams isn't too far away and the people were beyond amazing helping me select the right color.  I came home with 3 samples and I put them up so we weren't making the same mistake again!  (The light in our rooms made every paint color look blue - notice the background the samples are painted on - that's our 2nd attempt at gray).

From left: Silver Strand, Mindful Gray, and Colonnade Gray

The 3rd Coat of paint going up and NOT blue!

We finally went with Mindful Gray from Sherwin Williams and have been SO very happy with the color.  I was so hesitant at first because it looked tan and I wanted nothing to do with anything that resembled brown.  But it was absolutely stunning when it went up on the walls!! I have recommended it to so many people and have had rave reviews about the color as well.

Adam trimmed out our windows using 1x4s and 1x2s and white paint (and of course some caulking). I am beyond in love with how the windows turned out, which I think is why I'm so lazy at putting curtains up! I love these beauties! They remind me of vintage windows in older craftsman style homes.

Absolutely stunning!  It's also amazing to me how different the paint colors look at night vs day and in summer vs winter.  These pics were taken months apart (notice the snow in the background in the top photo?!  Gosh I am SO sorry it took forever to post this!).

And finally... another 3 round try before we finally got it right, but this sliding barn door is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!! It turned out absolutely amazing.  We ordered the barn door track online and then purchased a door (3 of them...) from a local overstock company.  We gave her a shiny coat of Peppercorn from Sherwin Williams (I am a loyal fan of their paint - this is not a sponsored post) and hung her up to close off our laundry room.   My biggest recommendation is to make sure you buy the door BIGGER than the size of your opening!  It doesn't need to fit the opening like a regular door, if you buy it that size, it will be too small and you will be disappointed!!

Our master bedroom is by far my favorite room in the house!  We have many projects upcoming and I can't wait to share each and every one with you.  Again, apologies on the delay in time.  I will post again soon!

xoxo

Kristen

Bedroom DIY - Part 1

Hello friends!

Where the heck have I been? Well, most of you know that we moved back in July.  While we hoped buying this house would be less DIY and more R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N, we were seriously wrong! Each room we've done so far has presented different challenges, including a bathroom which once we painted, re-trimmed and cleaned up, turned out to have a serious leak and created a rainstorm in our lower level bathroom.  I digress...

So we started working on our Master bedroom (seems legit with a leaky bathroom, right?!).  When we first moved into this room we were seriously puzzled.  There is a walk through to another room (my office) which put a door on one of the long walls..  The other wall, had 2 windows... which meant we either had to put our bed against a window, against a wall or on a diagonal.  Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE balance, so any of the above are not an option.   The first few months of living here, I propped pillows up and locked the door to center our bed in the room.

 

So Step 1, talking Adam into removing the door and closing off the walk through.  At first, he wasn't a fan of this idea, but after months of sleeping against a door, he was convinced :)  

 North Facing Window (please excuse the mess, I was trying to get before pics and this is the best I could get!)

West wall that accesses our Master closet, laundry room and the master bathroom (which will likely have its own post because it needs some serious attention!)   Notice the trim is painted the same color as the wall?  Yes, our whole house is done this way = replacing a lot of trim!

South facing wall - double windows with our pellet stove in the corner. 

It may be hard to tell but there was a chair rail running around the entire room, with the lower half painted one color and the upper painted another.  The carpet was a dark green, and while it was in great shape, it was simply too dark.  

We wanted to make this "our space" and a complete retreat from the rest of the house. Adam and I have very different styles, but we have been able to truly mesh them and make them our own.  He's so incredibly talented and anytime I have an idea he runs with it.  

You can see in the 3rd photo above that there is a pretty stack of wood... One of my favorite websites is Houzz and I find so much inspiration by the talented designers and carpenters whose work is featured on the site. One of the photos I found had an entire wall of barn board in the bedroom and since Adam LOVES the rustic and woodworking in homes, he fell for it and we decided to do a wall of "barnboard."

However, let's be honest, we aren't made of money and finding 100 year old barnwood within a few weeks of starting this project for less than a few hundred dollars simply wasn't going to happen.  Then we considered pallets.  Has anyone ever tried pallet projects?  This wall was 18*8 = 144 square feet.   That's a lot of pallets that must be harvested, sanded, sized, stained, etc.  So, while it sounded awesome, we both knew there was going to be WAY too much work involved in using pallets.  After searching Pinterest, I found a blog where they used 6' dog eared fence slats, so that's what we did.  At $2.45 each, they were already a bit rustic looking, cedar, and not nearly as thick as rough cut lumber.

He gave each of the boards a light sand and then we started to choose different stains.  We had a hard time finding the right color because under the garage light the boards looked one color and inside under incandescent light, it looked completely different.  After a few attempts we settled on mixing Jacobean and Golden Oak. It produced a beautiful deep color with a bit of a reddish huge. I LOVE the way the stain brought out the different knots in the wood... 

Here is a sneak peek of the wood going up!

 

As you can see, we've added quite a bit of electrical to the wall and I cannot wait for you to see the finished product!! 

 

Adam working hard to put the wall up!  You can see he marked off the wall, so he knew where the studs were. He nailed directly to the studs, we didn't put plywood up behind the wall (as others have done).  He staggered the boards and as you can see the boards go directly to the door. We opted to skip trimming out the door.  This was a lesson learned.  The door itself was poorly installed and had to be reinstalled, once he did this, he realized he had to make adjustments to the boards. 

The wall is getting closer to completion!  I LOVE the way this turned out.  We also opted to use black switches and outlet covers.  We had to go with a white thermostat for our baseboard unit, and it stands out like a sore thumb.  Fortunately Home Depot online carried many of the outlet covers that we needed and if you ship to store, the shipping is free.  We also installed dimmer switches next to our bed, which again, had to be ordered online.  

And here is our finished wall!  You can see some of the other finishes with the painted wall and upgraded carpet, which I will highlight in the next post.  The vintage sconces in Olde Bronze (from 1-800 Lighting - similar here) are one of my favorite touches with this wall. They are absolutely stunning and the vintage bulbs that dim are amazing.  It really brings the wall together. I cannot wait to move our new furniture in here!  

Again, Adam did incredible work. He's so talented. I wish I could say I had a hand in the technical aspect of hanging this wall, but I didn't. Design? Yes.  That is all me.  The rest? All Adam. 

I hope you LOVE what we have done so far in this room. I cannot wait for the rest of the room reveal!  Stay tuned!

xoxo 

Kristen