Thursday, November 15, 2012

It's not Goodbye...

It's Tata for now.

No this isn't about boobs.

Blogging and I need to "take a break".

Its not forever, but I can't give you an exact date when I will be back. I need to take a break for me. I have been feeling a lot of things about blogging, and they aren't all good.  I need to take sometime to spend on me, and blogging has been taking a lot of that time.

So I am going to stop blogging about having a life and actually start having one. I want to thank you all, whoever you are, for following me and I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that in the future when I come back, you will welcome me with open arms.

I want to direct you to other blogs that I love.

Good Girl Gone Wife

A Step in the Right Direction

Young House Love

Teal and Lime

It Sux to Be Fat

Please enjoy :)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Check out our Living Room!

Last you saw, our Living room looked like this:


What a mess! Thank god it doesn't look like that at all anymore :) Here is what we have going on now:


I am in love with our Hemnes entertainment center from Ikea :)


And check out our awesome Silver Rhino named Haxton from White Faux Taxidermy. I got him for my birthday. 


So Handsome :)


And here is another rhino friend from my awesome friends. Hi there Pico :)




And his pretty lady friend, Kira :)


And this is a little photography lesson about white balance. The photo above doesn't have white balance. I noticed that the color wasn't quite right, so I used the white balance and this is what I got.


There she is, in the right color and everything :)

Also she is the new feature in my header :)

Monday, November 5, 2012

So you wanna be a blogger...

I have been a blogger for a very very long time. I started my first blog on Livejournal over 10 years ago. While I may not have the most successful blog ever, I sure do know how to start a blog. So I thought it would be fun to start a series (that I post about semi regularly, not for a week straight) about how to start a blog! Sound fun? I thought so.


So I guess I will start with the basics. All of this will be using the Blogger platform, fyi. I have blogged on Livejournal, blogger and wordpress (both .com and .org) and I find blogger to be the most user friendly platform out there :)

So I guess step one is to decide what you wanna write about. There are millions of blogs out there with topics ranging from child rearing to particle physics. Some people just kinda write about their lives (like me) and some people write with more of a specific purpose in mind. Deciding what you wanna write about is probably the most important step to blogging. Having an topic and a plan is what will keep your blog going, and help you find readers that are interested in your topic.

While you think about what you wanna write about, keep these things in mind.

  • What do you like to do? 
  • Do you have a hobby?
  • What makes you happy?
  • Why do you want to blog?
  • Who do you want to read your blog?
  • How much of a commitment are you looking for?
All of these things will help you as you become a blogger. Well that's it for day one haha. I will be back soon with the next step in starting a blog, picking a name! 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Reuse and Recycle


Last day of the PLB Halloween series! Today is all about reusing and recycling things that you used for Halloween for Thanksgiving!

Luckily both of these holidays are in the same season, so if you choose a general decoration palette that is fall themed, you wont have a hard time swapping the Jack-O-Lanterns for Cornucopias.

For example, if you make a wreath for your door, you could make it more general "Fall" so that it can stay up longer. You can also reuse a lot of the fake pumpkins and such as decor for thanksgiving (because I am pretty sure pumpkins were allowed at the first thanksgiving)

I love to save money, and by doubling up some of my decor, I can do just that.

To see all of the PLB Halloween series posts in one place, mosey on over to the Blog Series section over ------> there and click on the logo you see above :)

Thanks for joining me! Come back closer to Thanksgiving for the Pretty Little Bloggers Thanksgiving series!

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!



Its the day we all have been waiting for! HALLOWEEN!!! :) Time to lace up our costumes, and solicit our children's cuteness for candy!! :) (you know its true ;) )

So in the spirit of Halloween, I give you 7 tips for a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treating experience!


1. Plan a route ahead of time! Sure, it always seems fun to go all nilly willy and wander around the neighborhood, but its dark, and most likely cold, and kids get tired fast. For the most bang for your buck, make a plan!

2. Wear comfy shoes! This goes for both you and your kiddos! Trick-or-treating is a lot of walking, and you don't want to be grouchy because your feet hurt. Plan ahead and choose comfier shoes. Princesses can still wear ballet flats, not dress up plastic heels, so be smart. Cute vs Comfy, comfy should win.

3. Stay well lit. It's dark, and the mood is right for shenangans. Be safe and put glow sticks or reflective tape on your kids, as well as carry a flashlight. Staying well lit will ensure you know where your kiddos are at all times, and no one gets lost in the dark.

4. Alter your costumes. If shortness runs in your family, like mine, you will want to tailor your costumes to fit your kids. Too long costumes can cause tripping, especially in the dark, so be proactive and hem.

5. Avoid masks. I know, I know. They're fun, scary, exciting, whatever. But they impair your senses and make it harder to tell which kid is which when they all are spiderman. Explore face paint so your kids don't feel left out :)

6. Choose weapons wisely. I get it, some boy costumes require a weapon. Opt for obviously fake ones, and flexible plastic ones. Everyones having a great time until someone pokes their eye out.

7. Check your kids candy. This one seems obvious. Make sure you check that all candy is in their original wrapper and doesn't appear to be opened. Also, sadly, toss home-made goodies. Too risky. Its also a good idea to have your kids pick out 10 pieces that they can't live without and let them keep that, then save the rest to be rationed out over the next few months. Moderation is key.

So there you go! Enjoy trick-or-treating, be safe and HAVE FUN!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Pinterest Challenge Reveal- Chalkboard table



So as I posted vaguely on Facebook, a few weeks ago we scored another awesome Ikea "As-Is" deal on the Ikea Liatorp dining table that we had been eyeing. It was marked down to $139, down from $279, which is a great savings! It had a tiny little scratch in the top, which is why it was so cheap. We obviously snatched that baby right up and brought her home.

Now don't get me wrong, I loved this little table as she was, but with our new white dishes, it was a whole lotta white on white going on. Booooooring!

So I had the idea to paint the top of it with chalboard paint! Last year, we made a Chalkboard paint Parson Desk (that didn't make it through the move, RIP) and we loved it! We loved writing cute notes on it, kids loved playing on it, it was just a barrel of fun. I also loved the charcoal grey almost black color the paint takes on dry. So I decided to take a leap of faith on our little table and paint her top chalboardy.

This table extends to seat 6, so we fully extended it to paint it. We didn't want the Oreo look when we went to extend it. lol


So first I wiped it down clean, to make sure it would go on nice and smooth. 


Then I taped around the edges. Excuse the gap-toothed-ness. There is a piece that goes there, but we didn't put it on for the painting process. 


 The key to success is thin and even coats. This is after the first coat (it looked sketchy), but after 3 thin and even coats with a foam roller, this is what we got.


Look at that baby! Isnt that 1,000 times better than the white on white?!?!


So much better! So there you have it! We hadn't tried out the chalk yet when I took these photos, but we have since and we LOVE it!



So what did you do for the Pinterest Challenge? Also check out the Homemade Ginger Link party going on!




Fall Drinks


MMMMmmm one of my favorite parts of fall is all the yummy things to drink! Fall is notorious for Carmel Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate, and OBVIOUSLY Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Why drive all the way to a coffee shop to get these goodies when you can make them right at home!



Pumpkin Spice Latte



Halloween Wreaths





I love wreaths. I only have a christmas one right now, but I love all the new fun yard wreaths that are out there now a days! I really wanna try and make one (it might be too late for Halloween... maybe for Thanksgiving) but here are some really cool ones I love!


1. I love the pumpkin shape of this wreath! Found here
2. I love the colors and flair! Found here
3. I love the rolled burlap look, and the tutorial is pretty awesome! Found here
4. I love the simple lines and colors. Very festive and classy. Found here

Friday, October 26, 2012

Halloween Decor - Target



It is no secret that I am obsessed with Target. I could buy all.the.things! Fun fact, if you want to get me a gift, Rhinos or Target gift cards are always appropriate.

The tricky thing about Target is only some things are found at certain stores. Kind of a pain :/ And also I was having a hard time finding the cool things I found in the store online, so sorry there wont be links. And as always, PLEASE excuse the shitty iphone photo quality.


These black topiaries are really cool. They are about 3 feet tall and would look great on a front porch!


I love anything that sparkles, especially pumpkins :) This is so pretty, it made me smile :)


These black glittery candelabras were also very cool. I think the thing I love the most about these three items is that they are pretty and classy and not gaudy or cheesy. 


These were really cool, and I am actually kind bummed we didn't pick them up. They are actual metal, in an ORB (oil rubbed bronze) finish. Very cool! (In case you can't tell, they are salad servers)


This black skull is the right amount of creepy, without losing the class. And look at that smile :)


I just thought these tumblers were ADORABLE! How cute are these!!


I fell in love with the array of decorative pumpkins they had! I love the gold one on the left, the white one next to it (of course) and also the shimmery ones on the bottom :)


They also had some bigger ones :)


I liked the simplicity of this wreath. The colors and sparkle appeal to me. 


More cool pumpkins. These are the cool kind you can lazer carve. 

I liked these big ones too. The smiley one is cute :)


This was a really cool decorative urn. I thought it would be neat to have with candy or cookies in it. 

So there you have it! Go to Target. They have awesome Halloween stuff!!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Halloween Eats and Treats


So over on the heathy side of things, I am blogging today about healthy Halloween treats that don't make you feel deprived! Check it out :)