I hope you'll find time in your busy day to pop on over to Providence Ltd. Mona was kind enough to invite me over for a guest post on Christmas inspiration where she's doing a wonderful series every Tuesday and Thursday with our wonderful world of design bloggers for the month of December.
image viaCountry Living Magazine You'll find inspiring ways to decorate with all natural, simple items found just outside your door! Be sure to leave a comment and tell us what you think, will you be using the great outdoors in your holiday scheme? Thank you Mona for inviting me over! & Happy Holidays Everyone!
Nope, the link didn't accidentally take you to Heaven… you're just on our newly designed blog! Isn't it awesome? No streets of gold, but yellow stripes are sorta close! Since we're quickly approaching our one year blogiversary, we thought it was time to freshen up a bit. We contacted Kim from seven thirty three — - — custom blog design and she was just the gal for us.
We still wanted it to look like the RHBC blog we know and love, but to be a bit cleaner, less"hello huge yellow header that Monica doesn't know how to resize" and yet still reflect our style.
I think we achieved that don't you? Now, don't worry, we're not going to be like the awkward girl that gets a makeover, becomes beautiful and forgets who she really is… We'll still be keepin' it real, and hopefully bringing you tons of cool projects that you (and we) love!
In other BIG news… we finally got our air date for our final Nate Show episode! Watch us on Nate February 21st And just to get you excited about it… we have a behind the scenes clip that you can only see here! This was from night 2, and we just barely avoided disaster!
Pennlyn is lucky that #1 she's adorable and #2 she cost a fortune… if that stencil was ruined she would have been in big ole trouble! (and of course the stencil is from Royal Design Studio!) Finally, did you know that we're in final prep. mode for Mexico? I'm totally caught up on my Spanish… ¿Dónde está el baño (I think means where is the bathroom) and ¿Cómo se ve mi bronceado? (how does my tan look?) should be all I need. You were probably thinking we were leaving you high and dry for a blog-less week, but have no fear! Introducing…
Yep, we've rounded up some of our very favorite blog celebs for your reading pleasure. Seriously, Jess and I were like giddy schoolgirls when each of these ladies agreed to guest post. (You might remember last year when Jess and I were both in Disney for a week and I had my husband guest post? Ha! Thanks love!) Okay, so here's our group of amazingly talented, incredible women!
Tuesday- Beckie from Infarrantly Creative Wednesday- Hannah from Hannah Kate Flora Thursday- Lindsay from Living with Lindsay Friday- Tam from Sew Dang Cute Be sure to give these ladies the Royal RHBC treatment while we're away! We'll be back next Tuesday to kick off an entire week of giveaways from our sponsors! I'm loving what they're giving away! Don't tell Jess I told you, but you might want to start checking out our sidebar sponsors because there will be some amazing products coming your way! Have an awesome week, we'll be thinking of ya…
We are so excited to introduce you to Denise from The Painted Home. She has enormous talent and is super creative (as you'll see below), plus she has a dining room table that is absolutely to die for. If you haven't been over to her awesome blog yet, you'll definitely want to after you see this! So without further ado, here she is! Hi, I'm Denise, and I'm the owner and founder of The Painted Home I'm a professional trash picker and flea market frequenter. Do I really need to tell you that I was thrilled when Jess and Monica asked me if I wanted to guest post on their blog? Over the moon I was. Today I'll help you rid your husband of that nasty look on his face when he sees you come home with a car full of junk. I'll share with you ideas for what you can do with those flea market finds you'll fall in love with, bring it home, and don't know what to do with. {plus that weird look from your husband} Recently I came across a red wagon. {Who doesn't love a little red wagon?}The wheels were badly damaged and the axle was bent. After a little surgery, I removed the wheels and was left with this…
A totally original, catch all shelf for all your other junk. The shelves are made from scraps of a shipping pallet. {because, you always should have a shipping palette — or 2 — sitting around for occasions just like these.}
Next up, the vintage suitcase. They're everywhere.
surprise!
it's a bar!
I even used a flea market find inside the flea market find. The soda bottle box fits nicely inside the suitcase to coral all the bottles and keep everything nice and neat. {'cause even junk needs to look neat}
It works very well inside my flea market dining room.
So get out there and pick some trash, walk the flea market, don't be afraid to go to an auction. If you love it — bring it home! You'll figure out what to do with it. Please stop by for a visit sometime at The Painted Home
and for extra tips, treats and giveaways LIKE me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thepaintedhome
Thanks for having me Monica & Jess! It was our pleasure, Denise.: ) Head on over and give Denise some Real Housewives love. And have a great day while you're at it.
This guest blogger just so happens to be my personal favorite… I'm allowed to be a little biased because I think he has a crush on me, and I think he's kinda cute too. Make sure you leave a comment and like the post on Facebook because I need lots of positive feedback for this blogger!
This is Eric, husband of the oh-so-talented
Monica. I got word that Jess and
Monica would be having"guest bloggers" and I jokingly asked why I can't be a guest blogger. Well, she called my bluff and told me to put together a post. Now the conundrum, I am not housewife and as my WHOLE family can vouch for, I am NOT crafty. So what can I post on? Ah-ha… probably the most important thing (not living) in my whole house would be our photo books! And this is one quasi-crafty thing that I am totally in charge of. So here goes. If all of you crazy blog-stalkers with kids are anything like my wife, you take thousands (if not millions) of pictures of your kids, your house, your family and really just your whole life. These pictures sit on your camera or computer, occasionally they get dropped into a blog or facebook, but for all intents and purposes, they sit – lost and wasted. In 2007, I got tired of seeing
Monica take so many awesome pictures without ever doing anything with them. That's when we discovered Blurb. Ever heard of it? The beauty of Blurb is that they offer"book-store quality printing and binding" at incredibly reasonable prices. Everyone I've talked to seems to get overwhelmed with idea of doing a photo book. But trust me, it's not hard. The longest, hardest, most time-consuming part is just sorting through the tens of thousands of pictures stored on your camera and computer and organizing a years worth of pictures. But… and this is a big but… it's so rewarding going through a full year, seeing all that you've done, re-living all the fun events, seeing how your family has grown over the course of a year. Ok, so what I do, (and this is just preference), is I go month-by-month, sorting pictures mainly by events. I drop all pictures into folders on my desktop with a name of the even. For example, I'll have folders such as"snow fun,""baking with mommy,""bath-time,""field trip to the farm,""fun with playdough,""Kenzie's soccer," etc., and then I always have a folder for each kid with all the best pictures that we have for them. Then when it's time to actually put the book together, it really just flies! The great thing about doing a photo book like this versus just printing photos and putting them in an album is that you get to tell stories, explain the events, and actually add personality to your photos. It's a great place to remember some of the crazy things your kids have said or done. With the craziness of moving over this summer, I got way behind on putting these books together. I sat down to do a book for the 2nd half of 2009 a couple weeks ago and I was amazed at how much I forgot! I saw all these pictures and couldn't quite place where we were, or what we were doing, or some of the fun stories behind the pictures. My goal is to do 2 books per year as soon as that year is finished. There are so many types of books that you can do –
Monica scanned all of Kenzie's art work from a full year of school and made an art book, she made several small books documenting things such as birthday parties or Christmas. We've even given a book to my parents after a week on vacation with them (yes, these books make great presents for the grandparents!) Enough talk. Here is what Blurb actually looks like (screen shot from our ancient desktop). You log in and all the Blurb books you've created are listed.
Once the book is created, I import all the pictures that I have from a given folder on my desktop (i.e. beach with the Motts). There are dozens of picture/text layouts to choose from and all you have to do is drag-and-drop your pictures wherever you want them and then add the text. The view below is during the editing process.
You can also preview your book to see how it will actually look once published.
I mentioned in the beginning that it's"book-store quality printing and binding" at incredibly reasonable prices. For a 200 page book, with a hard-bound cover, it's only $48.95. A 200 page book can easily hold 600-800 pictures. I know Blurb is not the only company doing this – it just happens to be the one we use. I searched for photo-book reviews and this website seems pretty accurate. It rated Blurb as 4 starts (out of 4) for quality, but lower scores for features and ease of use. Other sites have higher scores for ease of use/features but slightly lower scores for quality. I'm not looking for anything too crazy, so I'll sacrifice a little on the crazy layouts and customizability for quality. That's it. Now if only I could find a way to do something similar to the hours upon hours of home-videos we have, I'd be all set! Any suggestions? -Eric (Monica & Jess) Linked Up to: The Stories of A2Z
It's here! B2S Week (Back to School) here on the Real Houseviwes blog… We've got some pretty fabulous stuff planned and today we're talking about back to school fashion. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of the post because there's some crazy, exciting news we can't wait to share! B2S Fashion 2011 I must admit, I sorta dreaded back to school shopping this year. I have four kids and three of them are in school, so I had some serious shopping to do. My oldest is the only one that is a challenge. She's just developing her style and it's NOTHING frilly, NOTHING sparkly, NOTHING little kid, NOTHING that mom picks out- LOL. I think maybe I'll share this post with her. First off, here are the hot trends you should know about: Hot colors — jade, teal, bamboo, coffee, & orchid Nail polish colors — graphite, péridot and quartz Crackle nail polish Chunky funky bracelets — MeBands are cool & collectible Cool high tops, bold and bedazzled (Converse has an affordable line at Target) Funky jewelry — plastic bracelets Chunky rings Backpacks, multi-style and color Large watches Toms shoes — shoes that give back Retro sunglasses Trendy scarves (yes they are still in, and make great belts too.) Ballet flats Funky lunch bags — very eco-friendly. Think Green Feather earrings and hair accessories Crochet detailing Blazers Now, you might be thinking… hmm, I need this list, not my kids, but it can be for moms and their kiddos! (Oh, and just in case you don't know about hair feathers, you should… the trend moved from magazines, to Hollywood, to edgy women, and now to our kids!)
Source: noellesalon.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Now, let's get into some outfits. Here's the deal on where to shop… In case you missed the memo, department stores are back! I've read that, but I had to see it firsthand! JCPenney totally shocked me… My 9 year old LOVED the clothes and we did about 75% of our shopping there.
Source: jcpenney.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Macy's has some super preppy styles, but also plenty of retro looks as well. How happy do these catalog kids look? (hehe)
Source: macys.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest I'm a layers junkie and this year all the stores are not letting me down. Now everyone knows that Gymboree is the king of too matchy matchy for me accessorized outfits, but did you know that their sister store Crazy 8 has some pretty cool fall looks? I love this outfit for my son Kade. Plaid shirt, cool graphic tee, and a puffy vest. I <3 vests!
Source: crazy8.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
How do you feel about the return of Converse? Ok, I'll be honest… I'm a big fan of a solid color Chuck Taylor with a pair of jeans. Last year Kenz was rockin' out a black pair, but we might go a little crazier this year. Not quite this crazy. I'm not a bedazzled kind of gal, but if your kiddos are, Converse has some amazing ones!
Source: seventeen.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
Now, what about if your kiddo has to wear a uniform?? I think they look adorable, but I know that kids still like to have some style of their own. The key to uniforms is accessories. Think belts, socks, hair bows, ties, and jewelry.
Source: gap.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Even though my preschooler doesn't wear a uniform, I plan to order her some adorable hair accessories from Blossom Bands! Remember Bethany from her guest post? Well, click on her button on the sidebar to check out the adorableness that I'll be choosing from.
Source: littlelovely.typepad.com via Amy on Pinterest Let's talk about socks for the little ladies. Little MisMatched has awesome socks! There was even a pair with sykscrapers on them!
Source: littlemissmatched.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest I also found a fabulous tutorial to make some adorable embellished knee socks. Check these beauties out…
Source: alisaburke.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest There are about a million other cute trends, but I'm hoping you get the idea. Now, one last fashion tip… Don't let yourself be frumpy mom! This is the pot calling the kettle black, but it's something I at least try to work at. I work from home and have four kids. If that isn't a recipe for FRUMP, then I don't know what is. However, the days that I actually put an outfit on I feel so much better! I don't even mean fancy, I'm talking jeans and a tee if that's how you roll, but I'm convinced that I'm a better mom and wife when I'm not in my sweats all day. This outfit is simple and cute and I think the preschool moms would appreciate me showing up in this and not my sweats and the hub's old teeshirt.
Source: oldnavy.gap.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest So, go throw on a fun mom outfit and do some B2S shopping! Let us know what you find and where you shop!
And now for the EXCITING NEWS… We were told this weekend that we were nominated as finalists for CBS News' Best Blog of the Year for Philadelphia! Insane right? To win the final honor of MVB, we need you to vote for us! You can vote once a day now through September 9th, so please vote and tell your friends and family to do the same!
A s summer fades with each passing day, I find myself savoring the last of the roses. I will miss them come fall, but they're like an old friend that I know I'll gladly see again.
Today I'm doing a guest post over at Raenovate ! Rachel is away on a Cape Cod camping trip and she asked me to do a 'before' and 'after' post on our dining room. In fact, Rachel invited me to do this a couple of months ago so I have her to thank for helping to motivate us to finish the last details of the room. There's nothing like a fast approaching deadline to keep you on target!
Happy Monday, everyone! We are working our tails off this week on lots of Fall projects and fun blog stuff, so to help us out, we've asked a few of our bloggy pals to share some of their projects with you. But get ready, because next week, we'll be back in full force!: ) We're so pleased to introduce you to Rebecca fromMy Girlish Whims. We've been communicating the past several months through email and were fortunate enough to share ourtop wedding planning tips with her readers in February when Rebecca was busy getting married and going on her honeymoon. Rebecca is a really talented jewelry designer (make sure you check out her anthro jewelry knockoffs!), but we're in love with thisPaper Fan Banner she made. Isn't it darling?
Ok, take it away, Rebecca!
Hello East Coast Creative Readers!
My name is Rebecca and I blog over at My Girlish Whims
My blog is all about beading, crafting, and general life as a girl!
I'm so excited to be guest posting over here today, because I live very close to Jess & Monica! We haven't met in"real life" yet but I'm sure one day we will: )
I just got married in February and have been trying to repurpose a few of the items I DIYed for my big day so I don't waste them! I had a ton of these fabric flowers left over:
Which I had made to hang off the pews in the church.
My hubby and I recently bought our first house and so I've been working on collecting/making some home decor accents. I thought I could use the silver flowers from the pew cones for up in our bedroom, which is eventually getting a grey/silver color scheme.
I got this bucket from the"as-is" section of IKEA for $1.50. There was nothing wrong with it…I think they just aren't selling them anymore!
I spray painted it silver with leftover spray paint from another wedding project
I poured in some glass marbles (that were actually left-overs from my bridal shower!) and then stuck in my fabric flowers (this post has a full tutorial on how to make them if you are interested)
Here's the finished product:
Yay! I think it turned out so cute, and all it cost me was the $1.50 for the bucket! I put my little flower bucket up in our bedroom on our IKEA TV-holder-thing-a-ma-whatsit. Yes, that is the technical term.
Other side has a picture of us from our big day: )
And there are the flowers!
Slowly our house is becoming more decorated…and slowly I'm using up some of my wedding decor too: )
Thanks so much to Jess and Monica for letting me guest post! Please stop by my blog sometime to say hi, I'd love to meet you!: )
Thank YOU, Rebecca! You can't beat a cute project with that price tag!
Hey RHBC Regulars! Have you ever had one of those pinch me moments? Well, today is one of those moments for us! We're guest posting over at U Create and we're crazy excited about it. So, head over to U Create, to see our post for today and of course while you're at it, check out all the fabulous stuff Kari has going on at her blog. She's totally a blog superstar, so you'll probably want to follow her blog if you don't already! Click here to go to U Create
***Oh and while you're here… We just found out that our Fabric Wallpaper project is in the Top 6 over at Not Just a Housewife. Do you mind heading over and voting for us? Thanks a million! Vote Here!
Ok, are you ready for our last guest post for the Summer? We are thrilled with all of the projects our bloggy friends have shared with us, and this one from Christina of Christina's Adventures, is no exception! Christina is a local girl and has a sweet heart and some serious DIY skills. And oh my goodness, this nautical summer wreath of hers made my heart skip a beat. A.dor.a.ble.
She's a regular commenter on our posts, for which we are eternally grateful! Welcome, Christina!
Hey East Coast Creative readers! I’m super excited to be here! I live just a short drive away from Jess & Monica – and I share so many of their DIY passions! I have a blog (Christina’s Adventures) where I share my stories about thrifty decorating, DIY upcycling, and creative living.
I am a former Autism Support teacher (just resigned from my job in June!) who lives with my husband & “dog baby” in an apartment attached to my parent’s house while we save money to buy our own house (so we can have real babies)! This summer has been filled with all things wedding! I am a bridesmaid in one wedding, attending a great friend’s wedding next weekend, and my brother is getting married in a few days! We hosted a shower for my brother and his fiancée, and I had a lot of fun decorating for the shower. One of the guest’s favorite DIY items was this trough:
And YOU can easily make your own! Seriously! Added bonus – no power tools are required. Here’s how I made mine: I have been dying to make a trough for flowers for ages, and then I saw this one from Thrifty Décor Chick and I fell in love! I just needed the occasion/space to put the trough. When we were looking for something to fill the space at the kitchen table for the bridal shower, I knew this was my opportunity! I first planned out how big I wanted to make it. Our table was just about 6 feet long, so I decided to make this trough 4 feet long. I went to Lowe’s, and found some cedar wood in their lumber section. What I love about Lowes, is they will cut your wood for you! Just give them the measurements, and they’ll cut it. Seriously – best thing ever.
Here were the measurements I used:
2 planks: 3/4” x 7 1/2” – 4 feet long
1 plank: 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” – 4 feet long
2 squares (cut from the thicker piece): 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” – 5 1/2” long
I will be honest – the awesome lumber man from Lowe’s helped me out a lot with this part – he made sure they all fit together correctly and “shaved” off parts so they were even. I first glued them together with some Liquid Nails, and let that sit overnight:
In the morning, I hammered in some nails at the seams, just to make sure it was secure. I then roughly filled in some of the bigger cracks with wood filler, and sanded it down. I didn’t want this to look perfect – I knew I was going to paint and distress it, so I wanted imperfections.
I picked out a blue color I had in my stash (originally an “oops” can for $3). I didn’t prime the surface since I painted right onto the bare wood.
I let that dry, and then I painted with a very light gray over top (the same gray I used on this desk). I did not do this meticulously – I tried to leave some spots where you could see some of the blue coming through:
I then had some fun with glaze and sandpaper. There’s no science to this – I sanded down in certain spots, glazed over areas, and wiped down with a damp cloth. I like to use this glaze, which can be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Finally – I let it dry, and it was ready to be filled! I would have *loved* to fill it with fresh flowers, but it just wasn’t practical. We knew we wanted to keep the decoration in my mother’s living room after the shower, so she bought fake flowers from Michaels. I usually hate fake flowers, but these look surprisingly pretty!
What I love about this project is that it wasn’t just a “shower decoration”, but we are now able to use it in my mother’s living room (come follow my blog to see the full make-over of her room – coming soon!)
A few more glamour shots:
What are your thoughts? Have I convinced you that you can easily make yourself one of these as well? If you want to see more projects like this, come follow my blog! We have so much fun over there, and I’d love to get to know you better!
We're so thrilled to have Tam from Sew Dang Cute guest posting for us today. The name of her blog is perfect for describing her- she is so dang cute!: ) Tam is so creative, and hosts Crafting with the Stars, which we had so much fun being a part of! She was so encouraging and uplifting, and also extrememely understanding when we turned our weekly projects in really late. Ha! Welcome, Tam! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, my name it Tam of Sew Dang Cute Crafts and I am so excited to be here today at The Real Housewives of Buck County.
Some of you may know me from Crafting with the Stars, which I host on my site. I was blown away by Monica and Jess’s insane talent! They were definitely deserving to be Season 3’s champions, and I’m thrilled they asked me to guest post for you guys today. I don’t know about you guys, but my jewelry drawer was an absolute mess. Things were tangled up and completely unorganized. I’ve seen DIY jewelry organizers all over blogland, but none of them were quite what I was looking for. Then one day the wheels were turning, and I came up with the Jewelry Medicine Cabinet.
I can hang my earrings on the doors.
And store all my necklaces and bracelets inside.
It’s perfect and it all started with this frame I found at my local thrift store for $2.
My dad owns a cabinet shop, so when I was out-of-town visiting him this past weekend I took my frame with me and ran my idea by him. He took me to his shop and made it happen for me.
Obviously he has a lot of professional tools that make it so much easier, but don’t worry, you don’t need them to make this. Here’s how we did it: STEP ONE: Build a box the size of your frame. (Or if you have an old drawer your box would already be built – you’d just need to find a frame the same size). We took pieces that were 3.5” wide and mitered the corners, then used wood glue and small pins in the nail gun to put the sides together. If you don’t have a nail gun, you can use a hammer and nails.
You may have noticed that the pieces have a little cut-out in them.
My dad is a bit of a perfectionist, so he cut out an inlay in each piece, so the back piece could fit in the box and everything would be flush.
Then more wood glue and pinning the back piece in place with the nail gun.
My dad has a fancy machine that you can program to cut things for you, so he used that to cut out all the holes in the back piece. If I was just on my own, I would have used a drill bit and that would have worked just as well. We did 5mm holes because my dad had that size of dowels on hand.
STEP TWO: Make a face frame. Since we are attaching some hardware to this and don’t want to risk splitting the wood, my dad recommended adding a face frame to the top of the box.
The wood is just a bit wider and goes right on top with some wood glue and pins.
Go ahead and putty all the holes and cracks. Once it’s dry, sand the entire thing down.
STEP THREE: Make the doors. Cut the frame in half.
Add a strip of wood to the inside of the frame.
We glued it in place and used some vices to hold each door.
Then we also angled the nail gun and put some small pins in to really make it secure.
Put the wooden dowels in the holes and you are ready to paint. STEP FOUR: Spray paint. I went with white and apparently forgot to take a picture of this step. Oops! STEP FIVE: Add hardware.
I used my staple gun to add the wire mesh (hardware cloth/chicken wire) to the back of the doors. Then I added hinges to attach the doors to the box and put a catch at the top of each door.
It’s almost there.
The last thing I did was add some knobs on the front of the doors. Then I hung it up and filled it with my jewelry.
All done! Now my jewelry is organized and tangle free!
Thanks so much for having me today Monica and Jess! Have fun in Mexico and congrats on turning 30. I’ll be right there with you next week (30 that is, not Mexico). I hope you guys will all come visit me over at Sew Dang Cute Crafts!
Isn't that adorable? I'm definitely in need of something cute to help me organize all my jewelry, and I may have just found it! Also, we're super excited because we'll celebrating our one year blogiversary with our first annual:
Come back every day next week for new and awesome giveaways. Trust us, you'll love them! Adios, from Mexico! Have a great weekend-
Hey everyone! It's your lucky day. While I'm on family vacation this week, we've asked a few of our favorite people to guest post for us! One of the highlights of our trip to Haven was meeting Karah, fromthe space between. She's super cool, fun, easy to talk to, talented and oh yeah, lives in Curacao. Not fair. We loved hanging out with her while we ate breakfast at McDonalds (don't judge). Anyway, she does some amazing projects (just wait until you get the sneak peek of her rooftop bedroom!), so be sure to give her some EC2 love! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, hello East Coast Creative readers! How are you? I'm Karah from the space between and I really can't even tell you how excited I am to be here today.
Ummm, let's not tell the husband I used a photo of our wedding day to try to express my excitement over guest posting for EC2 today. K? Thanks. ;) I am a total blog stalker of these lovely gals, and when I got to stalk meet them in real life … Holy Caloni, I couldn't help but take random paparazzi like pics.
It truly is an honor for me to be here today. And I'm going to share with you how I made a perfectly functional and, I think adorable, storage crate out of a pallet.
One important thing to mention here is that we live in a rental property that is approximat ely the size of a breadbox, so I need to get creative with storage. Oh, and one other fun fact, although not relevant to the outcome of this story … is that we live in the Caribbean. Here's our new rooftop bedroom.
Aaaanyway, back to the crate.
I didn't actually take a before picture … but … it was a pallet.; ) Similar to this one. And I used the same technique to remove the slats, a hammer and pry bar along with some cursing and a blister on my forefinger. Those last two are totally optional.: ) I knew where I wanted my crate to go in my kitchen, so I measured my space and cut my slats to size (14 inches long). Based on the height I wanted, I needed 3 slats per side (one wide one and two narrow ones), so I cut 12 pieces the same length. I took a little piece of scrap wood (maybe a 1 x 1) I had and cut it so I could use it as the brace to attach each of the sides of my crate together. The height was measuring about 12 inches so I cut my little brackets, if you will, about 10 inches long. Just long enough so I could get one screw into each of the three pallet slats on each side of the soon-to-be-crate.
Ok, here's the thought process … I wanted the front to be only a view of the slats, meaning the front and back slats would overlap the slats on the sides. So, in the picture above, you see how I lined my brackets up flush with the edge of the slats for the sides of the crate. I attached the 4 brackets to both ends of the slats for both of the sides. Then, by lining up the slats for the front (and then back) of the crate, I was able to attach the brackets to the slats creating a bottomless and topless box. Confused yet? This pic is of the 2 sides with the brackets attached … ready to be attached to the front and the back sides of the crate. .
Why yes, I do work construction on the coffee table.: ) Which makes now seem like a good time for a few tips: 1. Don't do construction on the coffee table unless you're ok with a sawdusty mess.: ) 2. Drilling pilot holes for your screws (like I did here) is always a time saver … for those interested in saving time and sanity and maybe a little bit of finger flesh. 3. One might want to wash their pallet with some sort of disinfectant cleaner. 4. Sanding the slats before working with them, or wearing gloves while handling the slats would probably be a good idea. But, I'm not one to judge so if you happen to forego any of these tips your crate is still cool with me.: ) Ok, where were we … once I had all of the sides connected, I added a bottom. This is probably backwards carpentry, but that's how I roll. AND, so I didn't have to rip down the width of any of the pallet slats, I spaced them so they aren't wide enough apart for any canned goods to fall through, but not exactly a solid wood bottom. Like so.
Then I drilled holes on either side of my crate to run some rope through for handles. .
And because I didn't want people peaking at my canned goods (that's what she said), I added a top by just cutting more pallet slats the length I needed and adding a few pallet slats to the underside to attach them all together. Like so.
And because I love me some driftwood, I just screwed on a piece that I thought would work as a handle. I didn't even use the same color screws. And then added some not-so-random stenciling.
Thank goodness, because there is someone who doesn't like random stenciling around here. I finished her off by hand sanding the whole crate to distress the stenciling and smooth out the finish a bit. Oh, and just to clarify, all of the nail holes you see on the outside of the crate of from it's previous life as a pallet. Building the crate with the brackets on the inside eliminates any new visual nail or screws. And I really like the rustic look of the open holes from it's former life. And I really like that this project didn't cost me a penny! Score! Here is a little wider shot of the corner of our kitchen. If you want, you can learn how to make a little landing zone out of an old clipboard and wooden bin here.
So, what do you think? Do you like pallet projects? Do you like unique storage ideas? Do you live with anyone who doesn't like random stenciling? And, on a completely random note … do you watch the show the Bachelorette? I know, I know … I say, answer the question first, judge me later.; ) Anyway, the finale of the show is tonight and over at my blog today I have am giving a tour of the house where the final drama rose ceremony went down. What can I say, it's a small island.: ) If you have a chance, stop on over to the space between, it'd be great to meet you. Thank you, thank you so much to Jess & Monica for letting me come by today. Hopefully you are all enjoying your space today! ~Karah --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karah, you're awesome. End of story. You're welcome here anytime!: )
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are 100% mine.
You know that around here we pretty much dance to our own beat and love to decorate with a fun, out of the box style…have you seen my Fabric Christmas Tree post or my new mid-century modern fireplace? So when Bed Bath & Beyond asked us to help them celebrate"Holiday Your Way", we knew it was a perfect fit.
Not only do they have helpful tips for how to decorate and prepare your home for the holiday season, but they also have great advice on making houseguests happy. We're all about entertaining and making sure our guests are having a good time, and have a cozy place to sleep and relax as well. Remember our friends guestroom we helped give a face lift to…
Now, not everyone has the time or space to do an entire room makeover. So, that's why Bed Bath & Beyond is here to help you figure out what you do need for your guests with the space you have with their guest room checklist. Of course you first want to welcome them with love and a cool door mat like this one from BB&B, which is actually made from recycled rubber tires!
I only wish I had come across their Holiday Your Way articles before hosting a huge crew for Thanksgiving. We had 12 people sleeping at our house, we hosted friends and family for dinner & games on Wed. night- 27 people, and hosted Thanksgiving for 17. It was awesome!! But, to make Christmas hosting ever better I've rounded up some ideas from Bed Bath & Beyond for ya!
One way to make your guests comfortable if you don't have a spare bed is with an air mattress, which BB&B has a great selection of. This AeroBed has a really nice pillow top and I can vouch for it's comfort because my in-laws own it and I've slept on it before.
I especially love their tip about color coordinating your guests' bath towels, this will come in handy if you have a packed house and would like your guests to keep track of which towel they are using. This set of Lasting Color Cotton Towels by WestPoint Home look so soft… and I'd love you to share if you have any tips for keeping/getting your towels extra soft. My cousin Jacqui has such soft towels every time we stay there. This past Thanksgiving when she was down visiting I actually re-washed about 10 towels, just to try and get them to seem extra soft right before she arrived. I think I'll be making a BB&B trip soon for new guest towels. So if you have any tips, send them my way.
When you have guests over it's not just about a cozy air mattress to sleep on and soft towels to use, but about keeping them entertained as well. Bed Bath & Beyond has a smart tip about making sure your guests have your WiFi password so they can use their own tablets or laptops, as well as showing them how to use and turn on your entertainment consoles. Our pal Ann Marie from White House Black Shutters made a super fun Wi-fi artwork so guests could look over and have the code, but strangers would never know what it was! Genius I tell ya! I could have used this over the holiday, because I think I gave out the wi-fi 30 times.
One other guest must-have is a Keurig; it's the best way to make sure everyone has the drink they like, how they like it. Eric loves pumpkin coffee, my mom decaf, my aunt tea, the kids cocoa… you get the idea. Did you know there's a Keurig espresso machine?
Isn't she pretty! I like my k-cup Keurig machine, but if you enjoy a nice cup of Italian espresso every now and then, why not!
Bed Bath & Beyond is a great place to go for tips to survive the holiday season if you're expecting a house full of guests. Stop by their Holiday Entertaining section for more advice on important things to know and prepare for like guests' food allergies, activities for the kids, and more. I was pleasantly surprised how fun and helpful their articles were!
So tell us, what are some surviving and enjoying the holiday tips you've learned throughout the years?
I love entertaining, but I'm always looking for ways to improve!
It's the weekend, everyone! Woohoo! We have a fun giveaway for you today to start your weekend off right. Remember our bloggy friend, Denise, from The Painted Home? Well. she's throwing this awesome party called Dine & Design on November 17th.
This sounds like so much fun (espcially for us design-obsessed craftaholics who LOVE to eat, but we've been assured that you don't have to be crafty to enjoy this evening!). Flowers are the"it" accessory these days, so you'll be right on trend and can learn how to make them just in time for holiday gift-giving. Denise, the generous gal that she is, is giving away two tickets to this fab event to one of our lucky readers. And guess what? We'll be there too, and we can't wait to meet you IRL (in real life)! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's how you can enter: 1. Leave us a comment telling us why you want to win. (Mandatory) 2. Become a follower of RHBC and leave us a comment telling us you did. (Optional for an extra entry) 3."Like" us here on facebook and leave us a comment telling us you did. (Optional for an extra entry). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you just HAVE to be there and can't wait to see if you've won, you can order your tickets here. You don't want to miss this! Ok, enough of my rambling, go enter! We'll pick a winner and announce him/her on Monday, October 31st. Good luck!
*Oh yeah, one more thing! We'd love it if you'd head on over to the awesome blog, Craftaholics Anonymous. Our celebrity for Crafting with the Stars, Linda, invited us to guest post today! Thanks, Linda.: )
Well, it's time for another fabulous sponsor round up. We are so blessed to be able to work with these awesome companies- they really make this blog possible! If you haven't taken some time to take a look at these shops, do it now! You will be amazed at the craftsmanship and ohmygoodness, the talent in these people will blow you away!
1. This Merriam Pink paper pack from Moo & Puppy is super sweet. Use EC215 for 15% off your order! 2. I love this Vintage Metal Cup Pendant from Lucent Lampworks. It would add so much personality to a kitchen, don't you think? Use code ECTenOff for 10% of your order! 3. I can't get enough of this gorgeous Raspberry Suzani Pillow Cover from Chic Decor Pillows. Whatever your style is, you'll be able to find a pillow to fit right in, in their shop.
4. I'm in love with this Flying bird necklace from Belmonili. They're one of our NEWEST sponsors and we love the vintage feel of their products. Know anyone that's depressed that Downton is over this season… Belmonili has Grantham approved gifts for sure! Use the code BelmoniliECC for 10% off your order! 5 and 6. You can totally customize your look with this Henle headband and flower accessory. Plus, these headbands promise not to give you a headache! And, speaking from experience, it's true!
7. Remember Monica's"Shut the Front Door" letters? Well, now 163 Design Company offers Canvas-covered letters which are so fabulous. 8. If you're in need of some help organizing, look no further! Clean Mama's Printable Starter Kit includes the busy mama kit, the budget and bill pay kit, the cleaning kit, menu planning kit and the dockets and calendar kit. You'll be super mom in no time! 9. Isnt' this Get Ziggy with It Wall Stencil super fun? LOVE. Use the code ECC10 for 10% off your order.
10. Wood Wick candles from CJS Ecochic are made from soy and are extremely long-lasting. Plus, they smell amazing! 11. We've gone nuts over these inexpensive FoxGram prints. Print any instagram photo for just 25 cents! 12. We've recently found the DIYers solution to dirty, nasty nails. Gel manicures at Oasis Salon. Monica has been telling the entire world that her polish is lasting a full 4 weeks! I have to admit, they do look awesome even with all our DIYing. If you're local you HAVE to try out their amazing pedicures and gel manicures. We can't get enough. Visit Oasis, tell them EC2 sent you and get 10% OFF one visit! 13. This adorable"Love You" typewriter key bracelet from Junxtaposition is perfect for this month, but would look great all year long!
14. These One Word prints from Red Letter Words are so sweet and I think they would look adorable in a nursery or little girl's room.
15. Liberty Thrift Store is having a President's Day Sale all week long- get 25% of all furniture through February 23rd. What would you do to this piece? Can anyone say color blocking?!?
16. For every $31 you spend at Thirty-One Gifts, you can get a Keep-It Caddy for just $5. The perfect bag for while you're on the go, gift bag, cosmetic case, and so much more! But you KNOW we'd use it to store all those little craft odds and ends.: )
Also, our pal, Mandy, has found the job of a lifetime with Thirty-One Gifts and you can too! If you join now through April 1st and sell $1000 in your first 30 days, you'll get your $99 back! There is nothing to lose and so much to gain!! Last year one of our EC2 readers joined Mandy's team and was so glad she did! Check out Mandy's guest post HERE to hear more about her story and how she was able to leave her full-time job when she joined 31! Go ahead and contact Mandy at hajelfamily@yahoo.com or check out her website for more info. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now, the fun part…GO SHOP!; )
Because we're always slightly afraid you'll get bored of our crazy antics, we have a treat for you today in the form of a guest blogger! If you don't already know her, Sarah from The Ugly Duckling House is stinkin' hilarious and super talented.We love the design of her blog (which she did herself), the adorable pics of her splattered with paint, and hermagical touch with liquid gilding. Enjoy!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi there! I'm Sarah from The Ugly Duckling House, and I'm thrilled to be guest posting today on East Coast Creative! I met Monica and Jess at the Haven conference earlier this year, and I think they come up with some of the most amazing projects!
A little more about me: I'm awkward. I can't cook. I hate cleaning. But I love tearing my house apart and putting it back together again. I've been working on my"Ugg-Duck" for nearly three years now, and I'm determined — hissy fits and all — to turn my 1980s eyesore into a home I can be proud of. DIY-ing on my own isn't easy (especially with a full-time job and grad school on my plate), and I have had my fair share of weird stories with my house — like finding fingernails in my fridge. Or 4 A.M. catfights. Or freaking out that I had a water leak in my brand new powder room… and realizing it was (possibly) a guest missing my toilet. Yes, that happened. Right now, I'm working on remodeling my bathroom. But at any given moment, I have at least five other unfinished projects around the house. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of finishing up a full renovation, I use that momentum to give myself an extra push and do something smaller that I might otherwise put off — like my master bedroom jewelry organizer.
I've been spotting a lot of creative jewelry organization ideas on Pinterest, and even though I've been storing my jewelry neatly in a drawer in my closet, I realized I forget to throw on accessories when rushing off to work. These Rationell inserts from Ikea are meant to add storage space to pantries and other cabinets, but I saw the decorative pattern on top and thought it could really look snazzy (& functional, too!) as a jewelry holder.
It was so easy, I could even (sort of) hold my camera steady while putting the project together with one hand. Ha. I just measured…
Marked (simply pushing the tip of the screw into the wall will save you extra pencil marks)…
… and sunk the first screw into place.
And this is where I realized I'd forgotten my level in the bathroom! Ugh. Thankfully, I had a nifty iPhone app with a level that I could use to make sure I kept things straight and even.
By placing the organizer in between my remodeled master bedroom closet and the master bath, I have a great new spot for my jewelry — and less of an excuse to bypass the accessories in the morning!
There you have it — a simple and inexpensive way to get your jewelry in a prime notice me and wear me spot. Thank you so much to Jess and Monica for letting me stop by, and I hope you visit me (and whatever current mess I'm making) over at The Ugly Duckling House soon! Sarah Psst: Want more? I love to post sneak peeks on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find me on Hometalk and Twitter at uglyducklingDIY. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks so much for visiting, Sarah! You're welcome back in our houses anytime.: )
Ok, it's time to get really real with you. About us and our blog. It involves a little something we like to call:
We recently received a very nice comment from a regular follower that prompted us to write this post. Before you read it, I have to say that we were very grateful for this reader's honesty, and the sweet way she voiced her concerns. There's nothing we love more than good, honest feedback from the lovely people who visit our blog every day!
Ack! She nailed our current dilemma right on the head! Let me give you a little back story…when we started this blog a little over a year ago, we did not anticipate it interrupting our lives at all. It was just a place to throw all our ideas and projects. We literallythought that only our moms would read it. Then came Nate (not once, but four times!),
Crafting with the Stars…
local TV coverage, newspaper articles (you get the point) which equalled rapid blog growth. AND WE LOVED IT. All of these amazing opportunities meant that we were doing loads of projects, pouring hours of our time into the blog, and spending a lot of money to keep it all together. The blog is the most important, most rewarding and most fun thing we do (yes, even more than the Nate Show! It's our first love.), so we make every effort to put 5 great posts out per week. We LOVE this blog and it has become bigger and better than we ever expected.
But here's where our dilemma comes in: In addition to the blog, we both work other jobs, raise a bunch of kids and try to be good wives, friends, daughters, sisters etc. Realistically we could not possibly keep up the pace we had been going for the first year, even though we would like to. Not only did this little blog take a lot of time away from our families, but we also spent a lot of our own money to do all those projects! We need to find a better way. We are trying to adjust our own expectations (which, believe me, are sky-high!) and are experimenting a bit with our posts.
So what does all this mean for the blog you love to read? 1 You'll probably see only a few DIY projects a week from us. Instead of scrambling to come up with a DIY project just for the sake of having one to post about, we're being more intentional about our projects so that they're well done, and have a purpose in our homes.
2. We'll be highlighting our wonderful sponsors every once in a while to expose you to their awesomeness and also, to express our gratitude for their support of our blog that allows us to keep doing our projects. Don't worry we won't be throwing them in your faces at every turn, and we promise to only accept sponsor whose products we absolutely love!
3. We might host a guest poster, or highlight other blogs we feel like are worthy of notice! The design blog world is like a family, and we want to promote other people, like others have promoted us!
4. We'll keep bringing you our thoughts on all those fun, crazy and fabulous design trends out there, and how we're incorporating them in our homes!
So, in conclusion (are you still there?), we are crazy about this blog and all of you, and hope to continue doing this for a long time, and even (crossing our fingers) turn it into a full-time job. We hope you'll stick around for the long haul, and be understanding as we try to find balance and a system that works for us. And now, a question for all you bloggers/mothers/wives etc. out there: How do YOU find balance?
P.S. We'll be doing a follow-up post on our top tips for Part-Time Bloggers, so get excited!; )
Last week I introduced you to the huge DIY patio project we're in the midst of. (If you missed the intro post, you can check it out HERE.) Well, the past week has been full of lots of and lots of hard work, but we've made some awesome progress!
Although my mind is completely preoccupied with planning our first patio party, and all the fun accessorizing DIYs I can't wait to get started on, I had to stick to the Patio Plan and stay focused! Our last post ended with us beginning to measure and plan. Here's what we've accomplished since then!
Step # 3- Measure & Plan Now, we already had our plan on paper and even roughly spray painted on the grass, but now it was time for the dreaded exact numbers. Now, I'll admit, my hubs is one smart guy (remember, Chemist by day, DIYer by night?) but we called in the big guns for this one. Meet Mark & Connie (you might remember their guest room??)
Well these two love math and nerdy stuff, so we said hey come over for dinner and help us do patio math. They couldn't resist the offer. I'm not going to give you all the exact equations etc (because I don't understand them) but I'll just emphasize that the math does matter. We used string tied on to rebar to get straight lines.
We marked, measured, did little intersection things etc.
Then it was time to DIG! I helped with this part (some of it at least). Eric used the pickaxe and I'll shovel in the wheelbarrow and dump. Fun Times, let me tell ya.
We've had a TON of rain lately and we live in ROCKhill Township, so it took a while to get the entire thing dug. I loved seeing the outline begin to take shape!
While we were digging, look what arrived from Stone Depot and EP Henry?
We didn't have time to waste, so we were on to Step #4- Remove the Patio Grass Nothing fancy to this part, just dig away at the grass and haul it into the woods. By this point Eric was still okay with me saying,"Wait! Pose! Let me take a picture!" Not so much anymore! I knew it would ware off eventually!
Another Delivery! This is the 3/4 Modified stone that goes down first.
Step # 5- Build Boarder Wall The first part to building the wall was filling in the trench we just dug! WHAT??!! I was totally not cool with this at first. It seemed like a waste, but the wall needs a solid foundation. We filled the trench with stone, raked it, and tamped. What Eric is using is a tamp. You just bang it really hard over and over and over. Again, fun times!
My job was to bring load after load after load of stone. It was a good upper body workout!
Oops! Step # 4.5- Run Electrical Wires We almost forgot about this step. We're adding lights on the sitting wall, and four pillar lights. Eric did all the electrical himself because he's experienced in this area, but if you're a rookie, call in a pro to help.
Finally we were ready to lay some pavers! These were the first ones and I can't tell you how excited I was when they went in!
There are some definite DIY tips and tricks we've learned about building a wall, so we'll be back next week with a post chock-full of helpful tips! So, how are we doing so far? Any guesses on how long this DIY is going to take us?
Happy Monday, guys! We've had a busy weekend filming back to back episodes for Knock It Off, but we wanted to pop in and give you a round-up of our favorite summer items from some of our favorite companies! These wonderfully talented people make this blog possible, and we've gotta say, they're stuff is stinkin' awesome! Check them out, show them some love and don't forget to look for special coupon codes just for you!
1. I am LOVING this Tangerine Braid Headband from Henle Headbands- that color just calls my name! 2. Monica is obsessed with these Slim Cool Salmon flip-flops from Havaianas that come in lots of cool colors. 3.Isn't this Flower Leather Cuff Bracelet from Belmonili super cute? You ALWAYS get free shipping within continental US. Use the code BelmoniliECC for 10% off your order!
4. Our absolute favorite thrift store is having a 50% off sale on all media items at Liberty Thrift Stores, which- need we remind you?- includes books! Thrift stores are treasure troves of books with great covers, perfect for styling your home. (Picture Source) 5. Guys, you know we love a good DIY project, but some of you complain you don't where to begin or even what to do once you start. You have no excuse anymore because Bareroot Design Studios offers Design Workshops that will teach you how to get the look you want for your home. For all you locals, Bareroot Design Studio is hosting anOPEN HOUSE on Saturday, June 15th from 1-3pm. You do not want to miss this!
6. We have shared our love for Lucent Lampworks over and over again, but this Cylinder Glass Shade with Antique Bronze Down Rod just made us fall in love all over again. Save 10% when you use the code EC2tenoff.
7. I love the simple design of this Blessings Carafe from Blessings Unlimited. What a beautiful way to dress up your summer table. 8. This Affection Small Art Print from Red Letter Words is such a thoughtful and stylish gift for all of those graduates in your life. With lots of different saying, you'll be able to find the perfect one for that baby shower, wedding or graduation gift and you know what the best part is? They're only $19 each! 9. We love our phrases from 163 Design Company (see them here and here) and now they've come out with these NEST Chalkboard painted letter s, which are awesome. So cool just as they are, but even cooler that you can doodle all over them!
10. For a non-green-person like me, this Garden Planning Kit from Clean Mama Printables is clutch. This baby will help you achieve the garden you've always wanted It includes: *Planter Planner*Garden Plan Grid*Plant Record (keep track of all your plants in one place — glue on a large envelope and keep your receipts and plant info to keep track of plants that need to be returned or relocated)*Garden Plans — This Year + Next Year*Yearly Annuals, Perennials, and Trees + Shrubs Tracker*Yearly Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs Tracker 11. I know it says"Spring" in the title, but this Riley Spring Paper Pack from Moo & Puppy screams summer to me! Are you making a summer bucket list this year? Use this paper as a background for your big list of activities for your family! Use EC215 for 15% off your order! 12. Don't forget to check out the c urrent issue of Smart, Blonde and Craft y for loads of fun and creative DIY ideas to fill your summer and it's totally FREE! Also, make sure you take a look at all the fun blogs listed- you might come across one you've never heard of before!
13. I'm sorry but these Typewriter Key Bracelet from Junxtaposition are just so dang fun. Choose your design or pick one out as a one-of-a-kind gift for a friend. 14. I love the smell of citrus in the summer, and the NEW! Wood Wick Candles from CJS EcoChic are soy so that sweet smell will last a loooooong time. 15. Remember that faux stained glass window I made two years ago? I used this Artscape Window Film. It adheres to any window, is easy to customize and is a breeze to install. This stuff makes a HUGE statement without working hard for it. Plus, it can add some privacy and style where there is none!
16. I got this XXL Utility tote from Thirty-One Gifts and it is fabulous! It can hold so much stuff, and it easily collapses when I'm ready to put it away. I'm a huge fan of the nautical look, so the navy and white just stole my heart.: ) My bag holds a lot of the typical summer items you need when you're a mom of two little ones: towels, swimmies, suntan lotion, toys, but still looks good! C heck out Mandy's guest post HERE to hear more about her story and how she was able to leave her full-time job when she joined 31! Go ahead and contact Mandy at hajelfamily@yahoo.com or check out her website for more info.
17. We've recently found the DIYers solution to dirty, nasty nails. Gel manicures at Oasis Salon. Monica has been telling the entire world that her polish is lasting over 3 weeks! I have to admit, they do look awesome even with all our DIYing. If you're local you HAVE to try out their amazing pedicures and gel manicures. We can't get enough. Visit Oasis, tell them EC2 sent you and get 10% OFF one visit!
18. Ahhhh, how amazing is this Herringbone Shuffle Stencil from Royal Design Studio? I've been wracking my brain trying to find a place for it in my house. Think the baby would like it? Use the code ECC10 for 10% off your order.
19. And last, but not least, our favorite family photographer (and the official photographer of EC2. Ha!) Stacy of Salvatori Photography. This girl is seriously talented and has a fun personality to boot! She just did our gender reveal photo shoot and a few months ago, photographed Monica's family doing their thing on a Saturday morning. Make sure you like her facebook page because she's always running fun contests. We promise that you will LOVE working with Stacy and will have fabulous photos that will last forever! Ok, folks, time to shop! Have fun.: )
We're so happy to welcome Becca from Home Beccanomics (isn't that a fabulous name?) here at RHBC. She's the mastermind behind loads of amazing recipes that have been tested by the toughest critics: kids! That's right, she's a Family and Consumer Science Teacher, so you know her recipes have been tried and tried and tried until they passed the test! Clean up the drool after looking at this guacamole and head on over to her blog for tons of other delicious recipes! Creamy Guacamole with Homemade Tortilla Chips
When I introduce the homely avocado to my high schoolers, some girl inevitably raises her hand and states, “avocados are super fatty and bad for you”. Gasp! You lie, little girl, and I won’t have you speaking badly of the avocado. Avocados DO actually have a lot of fat, but it’s the GOOD for you fat that you can eat as much as you want of; true story, as much as you want. It’s called monounsaturated fat and it lowers your bad cholesterol and raises your good. Also, Oprah said it reduces belly fat (and we know she probably has some intense fact checkers). Buy your avocados when they’re hard and let them ripen at room temperature (to speed up this process put them in a brown paper bag with a banana). When one of your avocados “gives” when you press on it, put it into the fridge. When all four avocados are in your fridge, you’re ready to guac it up. My husband likes guacamole. He is, in fact, crazy about it. I have made eggs with guac, guacamole chicken salad; sometimes I just give it to him in a bowl and he eats it with a spoon. I pretty sure he’s not alone in his love affair. I bet you don’t know anyone who dislikes the green happiness that is guacamole. If want a crowd pleasing appetizer, this wins every time. As long as the avocados are ripe and you add enough salt, guacamole is SUPER easy to make. The add-ins are really up to you. Love cilantro? Or lime? Add in small amounts and taste as you go. If you prefer to just follow a recipe then I can assure you, this one is legit. Creamy Guacamole with Homemade Tortilla ChipsServes 8
Chips: 8 Medium Flour tortillas ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil ¼ tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper ¼ tsp. garlic powder Sprinkle chili powder or paprika, to taste Dip: 4 ripe avocados ¼ c. minced onion 2 garlic cloves, pressed through garlic pressed or minced 2 c. quartered cherry tomatoes 2 partially seeded jalapenos, minced ¼ c. sliced green onions (or scallions, same thing) ¼ c. nonfat plain Greek yogurt ¾ tsp. kosher salt Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste Pinch garlic salt, or to taste Tomatoes and green onions for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush olive oil over tortillas.
2. Stack tortillas and cut into 8 wedges.
3. Grease two cookie sheets or cover with parchment paper. Arrange wedges in an even layer on cookie sheets.Sprinkle salt and spices over wedges.
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until starting to turn light brown. Let cool, and store in a Ziploc bag at room temperature. These chips will be good for several days. 5. Cut avocados in half vertically. To remove pit, chop your knife into it and give it a twist. Remove any part of avocado that is brown.
6. Scoop out flesh of the avocado and place in a mixing bowl. Mash with a fork, breaking up the large chunks.
7. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos, and green onions. Mix to combine. To prep the jalapeno, slice in half vertically.You must remove the white part of the pepper. Leave seeds if you like a lot of heat; remove all seeds if you don’t. I usually keep about half.
Here’s a tomato tip: Take two Tupperware lids and put your cherry tomatoes in the middle in an even layer. Slice across with a sharp, serrated knife, while pressing down on the top lid. A great way to slice them all at once! If your tomatoes are small you might only need to halve them; if they are large like mine were, quarter them.
8. Add Greek yogurt, salt cayenne, and garlic salt. Stir. Taste, and add more salt and cayenne according to how you like it.
9. Scrape mixture into a serving bowl. Garnish with tomatoes and green onions, if desired. Guacamole is best served the day it’s made. If planning to serve it several hours after making it, store in the fridge with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed against the surface.
Mmmmm…We can't wait to try this! Thanks so much for stopping by today, Becca! Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! Any fun plans that include guacamole?
It's actually incredibly hard to believe that we are 2 years in to this whole blogging thing. Last year we celebrated our one year blogiversary with loads of talented guest posters, giveaways and fun facts about our crazy first year. This year, we have soooo much going on that we just couldn't swing all that, but we still wanted to recognize some of the funny, ridiculous and amazing things that have happened to us over the past two years. But before that we want to thank YOU guys, whether you're a brand new reader or have been here for the long haul, for your support and encouragement to us. We would be nothing without you guys!! So thank you. Now, for the fun part;
Three Posts We Wished We'd Never Written We seriously laugh out loud sometimes about the posts we wrote when we first started. Let's just say it took us awhile to figure out our niche.; ) I'm sure there are tons of other lousy posts, but these are a few of the ones we love to hate. 1. In our second month of blogging we wrote a post entitled, For All You Tomboys Out There about how to braid your hair. Ha! As if we are experts about anything related to hair. Hilarious. (Our friend, Jane, did the braid, and she IS awesome at doing hair, but us? Not so much.)
2. I threw an Angelina Ballerina-themed 3rd birthday party and posted about it way back when. The party was cute enough, but nothing over the top, and the pictures are pitifully bad. The funny part is that this is one of our most successful posts! I guess there aren't too many people throwing Angelina birthday parties??
3. Monica shared her adventures in trying to DIY a belt out of fabric in this post. Even her daughter was like,"Ewww…Mom, don't wear that." Love that.
Blog Design for Beginners We prided ourselves on doing everything by ourself- including our blog design. We did ok for novices, and actually have done everything related to the way our blog runs and looks ourselves until the last 6 months or so. Now, we happily turn our ideas over to Kim, at 733 Design, for our custom blog design. Anyway, take a look at the way things used to be… Header 1… Designed at 12am the night we randomly decided to start a blog…
Header 2… About 3 months in…
Header 4… this one lasted about 2 minutes. We hated it!
Header 5… this one lasted for almost a year until we had to play the name swaparoo game…
Ahh… How much we love Kim and her design expertise. She"gets" us and did a great job on our logo and header!
Five Incredible Opportunities We've Received as a result of this Blog All that goofiness aside, we have been blessed to have some awesome experiences because of this little ol' blog and we're sure we're on the verge of lots more. 1. The Nate Show: Last year we had the priviledge of being on four episodes of Nate's 2011-2012 season and it was a blast. Nate is a sweetie, and we fell in love with live TV, for sure. This will forever remain as one of the highlights of our blogging careers.
2. Mexico: Thanks to our buddy, Nate, we won a trip for 6 days to Cancun, Mexico that totally rocked. We had such a blast with two other girlfriends and enjoyed loads of down time and really great food. Without this blog= no Mexico= sad girls.
3. HGTV Magazine and Ladies Home Journal
4. Feautred on Young House Love! I think every blogger wants to be featured by John and Sherry (if you're living under a rock, they are THE biggest and most successful home bloggers out there) and we got our opportunity with the Guest Room Makeover we did for a friend. Check that off the bucket list.: )
5. Creating with the Stars. It's crazy how things come full circle, isn't it? We LOVED being a part of this contest, and are even more thrilled to be hosting it this year! Speaking of CWTS, TODAY is the last day to enter your projects! Over the next week, we (with the help of the 12 stars) will be poring over the submissions to choose the best contestants! Don't forget- the contestants and their blog star partners will be announced next Friday, March 1st! Get excited, people, get very excited.
So, we've shared our highs and lows from the past two years, and again we want to say that we are so honored to have had you on this amazing journey with us. 2013 promises to be our BIGGEST year yet, so hold on tight, we're all in for a crazy ride! In honor of 2 Rockin' Years of Blogging, we're gonna open the floor for a little Q and A… Leave a comment asking us anything under the sun and we'll respond. It can be about blogging, life, our friendship, how to braid hair (haha!) or whatever you want to know. We'll comment back throughout the day! So… what do you want to know??
