Archive for November 2011

17 Hot Chocolate Party Ideas

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I dig some hot chocolate in a big way but I dig things that are hot chocolate themed maybe more. Here are some ideas for your next hot chocolate event.


Hot Chocolate Cookies

Party Pinching

Hot Chocolate Stirrers

Adventures in Savings


Hot Cocoa Bar

Dukes & Duchesses



Hot Cocoa Kit

Elizabeth Anne Designs


Hot Chocolate Shots

Martha Stewart Weddings


Hot Chocolate on a Stick

The Ticket Kitchen

Healthy Frozen Hot Chocolate

The Healthy Push



Party Printables

Shindig Parties To Go
 
Hot Cocoa Popsicles

This Homemade Life


Truffle Hot Chocolate Balls

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake
Fine Cooking



Hot Chocolate Meringue
Country Living

Marshmallow Wreath
Food Network


 For the kids--paint with chocolate syrup
All Kids Network

Hot Chocolate Felted Pincushion

NAsHandcraftedGifts --Etsy

Beautiful Cocoa Party

Bird's Party

Hot Cocoa Cupcakes

Days of Chalk and Chocolate-- oh gee, how'd that get in there?




Enjoy your hot chocolate!

Cheers!
Jenny



Living Room and Listen to Me Whine

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I've been working on trying to get our living room half way decorated. It's not working. I don't know what the problem is but I'm stuck in limbo with decorating this house. I feel burned out by it all.  My tastes run pretty traditional but I decided to ramp it up a bit with some more modern elements. I wanted a rug with a geometric shape or a repeating pattern and I wanted it to have a little orange in it. If I couldn't get that I wanted a cowhide rug but I wanted it fake bc I don't think I could wiggle my toes in cowness. But sadly I refused to pay for either of those options. We use our living room a ton and it needed to be cheap, cheap, cheap. So I settled on my regular traditional look and it's ok. I'm happy enough. I have to work on curtains and wall art and oh just about everything. I got the rug at Home Goods and it's wool. Not a bad deal.




Next I was working on our Christmas mantel. I am trying to use what I have already and not buy anything but to tell you the truth I just can't get into it. I feel like it will never be what I want it to be. Here is my start:





The greens came from our yard which is nice I guess. I know I need some more large things and I'd like to put a large something in the middle but I'm not sure what. A wreath? A chalkboard with some Christmas message? A mirror?  Not sure.   I think the reason I'm feeling blue about it all is because this is what the rest of the room looks like:



You love the lamp without the shade, right?  Classy.

I feel completely discombobulated. Our old house was cozy and decorated and so sweet. I love this house but I can't get it to feel like home. We still have so much to do. None of the rooms have overhead lights!  We will be getting that fixed but it's making me nuts. This is Jim's busy season at work so he's not around much to help me with projects. We have no curtains hung, no dining room furniture, nothing! 

Ok, so I am so hard up for artwork but have no money to purchase any that I painted my own. I AM NOT AN ARTIST.  But here it is...



I want to paint over some of the branches but I'm afraid of really messing it up.  Not sure if I will hang it.

We just had a major sink backup and we shelled out a huge amount to the plumber today after my brother-in-law and Jim couldn't reach the clog with their snakes. So I'm bummed about that.   I can't even find my snarkiness!  It's gone for today!  That's not right.

So to make myself feel better I'm going to look at my sweet Ellie who discovered Molly's Cinderella shoes this weekend. Look at those chub feet!  Love!


Cheers!
Jenny

Giveaway prize from Crazy Wonderful and Christmas Mantels

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I won the neatest giveaway recently! I was stoked when Shelley at Crazy Wonderful emailed me and told me I'd won  this


I received two large, monogrammed mugs, 4 glossy glass magnets with almost vintage looking black/white insect images (but not icky ones, classy insects.) and the most beautifully sewn burlap clutch.

The mugs are so cool. I have used it for my morning coffee every day since I won them.



Ellie hasn't stopped being enamored with the bug magnets. She takes them off the fridge and then puts them back on. So cute. But the clutch is maybe my favorite. Shelley's stitches are so straight and small and she lined the whole bag!  I love it. So please visit her blog and see some of the other neat things she does!


Now onto some Christmas eye candy:


Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens



HGTV


Shea Soucie and Martin Horner for Traditional Home


Country Living



Country Living

Here is a mantel I found while browsing some blogs.  Lookie What I Did showed off her beautiful mantel!  I love the wreath!



Found another at Organize Your Stuff Now (which I should read daily considering the state of my world right now). The shutters are the perfect little bit of cottage next to the glitz of the other decorations.




Cheers!
Jenny

Christmas Chair Monogram

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I have fantasies of stenciling a monogram on the back of our chairs. Jim would flip. He's not into changing something that is just fine the way it is. So I decided to make a monogram decoration for the back of our chairs for Christmas. It was easy and adds a little something.




I used a graphic that I found on The Graphics Fairy. I saved the image to my computer and then inserted it into a word document, adding the initial. I printed out the copies used a circle cutter to cut them out. Then I glued them onto slightly larger circles of red card stock.



I used some sparkle glaze to add a hint of sparkle to the image and then I Mod Podged the whole thing mostly to make it more durable.



I cut some greens from our pine tree and taped them on the back. I then hot glued the whole thing to a white sparkly Christmas ribbon. I would have preferred a red one but what can you do. I had it and it was handy so white it is!

Cute right?  I'm happy. Jim's happy that our chairs are not permanently altered. I should remind him of all this when we discuss his tattoo.

Ok so I was just browsing around some link parties and came upon a blog I've never met before called Just So Lovely.  Look at her pretty herb wreaths and check out her site for some more!



Cheers!
Jenny


Latest & Greatest Friday Link Party #7 and Features!

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I'm sorry this is so, so late. We were shopping today and I didn't get a chance to post it earlier. But better late than never, I always say!  Or at least I say it when I'm late.

So here are a few of my favorites from last week!

These Moments of Mine created this beautiful reading nook. Aren't the colors so cheerful?  Who doesn't want to pull up a beanbag and rest for a spell with a good book here?





Art is Beauty shared her gorgeous holiday wreath. I love the combo of the rustic with the glam. And you'll never believe what she made those pretty fabric flowers from!  




How's the Married Life made this entry table. I think it's even prettier than the expensive inspiration version!  Love her color on it too.




Keeping Up With the Cyperts baked yummy red velvet brownies. There is nothing not to like here!  She frosted them with white chocolate icing which I could imagine frosting a million things with in addition to the brownies! 









Teen Book Blog

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Both of my sisters are phenomenal mothers. I guess it's owed to the fact we were raised by a phenomenal mother. But both of my sisters, in addition to my own mom, are my  mothering mentors. They have been there, done that and never fail to have a solution to my toddler/preschooler issues. And so they are raising super cool people who I'm lucky to have as my nieces and nephews. My oldest niece is 13 and  is growing up to be the kind of woman I keep trying to become!  She's smart, beautiful, and oozes integrity and character in all she does. Want to hear something cool? She went dressed as Minerva for Halloween.  Last year she went as a historically accurate Salem witch. What did you go as when you were 12 and 13?  Yeah, I was a punk rocker too.  Anyway,  I dig her in a big way. So what other super cool thing does my super cool niece do?  She starts a super cool book review blog aimed at tweens and teens.  At 13 I was trying to figure out if Mrs. Kirk Cameron would look better on my checkbook or if Mrs. Ricky Schroeder was the way to go. 

She named her blog Mystery, Myths, and Magic and she uses it as a way to think about literature and literature based movies. She writes as she speaks and the 13 year old in her bubbles out. I love it. I know some of you may have children in this age group and thought I'd plug her blog a bit in case your kids would like to read it. Remember, she's 13 and she's still practicing at her writing....no critiques and put your red pens away (I have and if I can you can too! ) You know why else she is a rock star? She tries out for the play every year. I wish I had the nerve to do that!

In DIY news, I sanded the top of a table I'm refinishing and I'm so excited about how it turned out!  Plus I'll have some Christmas stuff to post this week.

And because I can't leave you without posting some kind of picture....



true dat

Cheers!
Jenny

Ottoman Slipcover

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Enter the My Memories giveaway!

Over a month ago I made a slipcover for our ottoman and I kept meaning to take pictures and finally did today. It is my first attempt at slipcovers and it was tricky in that the ottoman opens to hold toys, blankets, chocolate, whatever and I wanted to be able to continue to open it up without having to take the slipcover off.  I didn't know how to do that so I just winged it.

Before:
I'm over the color and the leatherness of it. And yes it has milk from sippy cups
dribbled on it. I'm an AWESOME housekeeper.



And now:




The fit is a bit off on top because, like I said, I wanted it to open so I actually fit the slipcover to mimic a Pack-in-Play sheet (HA HA HA..no really). I kept it lifted while I was pinning and then pinned it to make a "pocket" to fit the top into.

I love the big ruffle. Molly hates the fabric which is a bleached drop cloth. Ellie hasn't said much about it. Jim is supportive as usual and said "I don't know what you are talking about...I don't see any flaws."  That's after 15 years of being together, mind you.

Another cute craft idea for the kiddos in your home or your classroom or your home classroom is to snow up some pine cones using Epsom salt. It gives them a subtle sparkle that really mimics snow. Molly and I did that today and I also did some dollar store candles to start getting in the mood for Christmas.


Jim said it looks like our candles are wearing coats.

We used a paint brush to apply some white glue to the objects and then in a separate container we had a mound of Epsom salt and a spoon and we sprinkled the salt on, although we found that rolling the cones in it and using our hands was much easier than using a spoon.  Molly had fun, I had fun, I got the Epsom salt at the dollar store. Life is good.

I hope you all have a great weekend!  Hope to see some cool garage sale finds from youse guys.

Cheers!
Jenny