Tips for a Great Day at the Beach With Kids & Super V Sweepstakes!
I remember spending long days at the beach in sunny San Diego when my sister and I were kids. I always remember our light blue, styrofoam cooler with rope handles packed with snacks for the day. My mom would lug it to the beach, and we would tag along with the rest of the gear.
Once I started surfing in high school, I didn't spend much time on the beach, just in the water. I pared my supply list down to a towel skirt I found at a thrift shop. No shoes, no snacks, just a towel and car keys.
Well times have changed once again now that I have my own family. Being the crazy organizer I am, combined with my love of the beach, I have come up with a system that works perfectly for our family with a few tips along the way! (BTW we use the same system for local Read more [...]
I am once again showing off my friend's beautiful home. This time we are checking out her dinning room/nook and family room both right off her amazing kitchen. Lets start with the eating area. The space is between the kitchen and family room and is tucked into a large bay window. Laree took her beautiful dark wood table and chairs and had them painted in this adorable aqua and white. I think they are so bright and fresh like this. For lighting I chose a green and crystal antique-ish chandelier to add a little whimsy. And the bright floral rug under the table was Laree's from a previous home.
To dress the bay window I opted for a dark wood rod to match the walnut wood floor. These rods are great. They are from Lowe's brand Allen + Roth.I love that they have "elbows" for the bay window corners that have an Read more [...]
Instagram is so fun and hip right now I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a free template for everyone. I've basically made a layout that is printable in 5X7 or 8X12. Here are a few uses for the template:
Perfect for a teen or pre-teen scrapbook. There are places to put the date, the event, who is in the photo, and what they were doing, and lets face it, way cooler than cutting and gluing pages together.
It's almost time for school to start again, and it seems every year one of my kids is supposed to bring a bunch of photos to tell the class about themselves. These are perfect. The one below shows an example of a boy showing off his swimming skills as well as lets the teacher know whats going on.
Invitations are always a fun way to get creative. Here a teen band made a concert poster using the Read more [...]
So this was almost a "Dumped & Found" project, but I figured if I was the one doing the dumping and the finding it didn't really count. We purchased two benches from Harbor Freight about five or so years ago. They were on a super sale, $35 each if I recall. They lived a good life under a tree for a season or two, in the flower beds, even on the grass. The weather and sprinklers took their toll on these two little guys and they were about to be dumped. When I "found" them again. I remembered that Justin and I had talked about painting them "Park Bench Green", or at least that's what we called it. You know, the color of the great well kept benches at fancy parks (or like the ones I image would be in Central Park, although I've never actually been there). So here is their makeover story.
First, the BEFORE:
Then, Read more [...]
This is Ryder's room. It was inspired from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and decked out in Star Wars gear. When his mom and I were designing the space she loved the idea of a rough wood ceiling, blue walls and a twin over full bunk bed. This is how it turned out.
We ordered the bed and bedding straight from P.B. Kids (similar bedding found HERE). His mom found the locker style chest of drawers and was nice enough to let him have a fish tank in his room! The ceiling is quarter sawn pine stained to match the "Rustic Chestnut" stain of the bunk bed (similar bed found HERE).
On a trip to Ikea, I picked up these great stainless steel shelves and brackets. They used to hold all of Ryder's Star Wars figurines, but now show off the important things in his life. They are the Ekby Mossby found HERE.
I felt the ceiling Read more [...]
On a recent trip to visit family in Laguna (in California), my honey and I explored the adorable shops in the quaint downtown area of Laguna Beach. I felt like I was home the minute I walked into the first little shop. It's called Seaside Interiors and is owned by Gina and her daughter Natasha. It is a small space packed with beautiful beach inspired furniture and accessories.
Here is their contact info:
Seaside Interiors
Gina & Natasha (mother/daughter owners/designers)
190 Beach Street Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-4735
Seaside Interiors Facebook page
When you first walk in from the street you are greeted with this amazing wine crate flooring. The planks ave varied in width and slightly in wood tone. Various logos are burned into the wood creating a fabulous and original Read more [...]
I have very specific things I like to take with me on trips. One must have is my Road Trip Chex Mix. It is full of everything yummy, chocolate, peanut butter, coconut and sugar! I took the original recipe from the Chex box itself, but have modified it a bit. This is a great recipe for all of you moms of Gluten intolerant kids since it is Gluten free!
Alright, here are all of the ingredients necessary to make this delectable little treat.
Ingredients:
8 cups Chocolate Chex (1 box)
1/2 medium bag M&Ms
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chunky peanut butter
16 sandwich Ziploc bags
In a large bowl, mix Chocolate Chex, M&ms, and coconut together. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, heat corn syrup and sugar until barely bubbling. (I Read more [...]
Erin Gappmayer, a Burlap & Denim reader, contacted me and wanted to share her BRILLIANT meal planning techniques. She calls it her Menu Board. I am honored that she has written the following tutorial for all of us to admire and recreate! Take it away Erin:
I love this menu board. It has been a work in progress for a long time and I absolutely would not do my meal planning any other way now. To create it in Microsoft Word, I first typed in any meal my family might eat during the month. I also typed in some things, like pizza, twice because we have a tendency to eat them more than once a month and “Out” to identify when we would be eating out that month. Then I changed the font color to reflect my own coding system – green for Mexican, purple for Italian, orange for sandwich-type meals, etc.
I printed off Read more [...]
I can't wait to share my friend Laree's kitchen with everyone! This is the same house with the Anthropologie Meets Glam Living Room I shared a bit ago. Laree and her husband let me be the designer on their remodel a few years ago, and let me tell you, they were a DREAM to work with AND their house turned out fabulous if I do say so myself. The house was only 5 years old and was the model for our track neighborhood, but it wasn't the right size or style for their family so a reno was in order. Why not move somewhere else where they could build or find the perfect house? Because our neighborhood is unbeatable. Seriously a dream, I happened to live two doors down from the reno so keeping up with every detail was a snap.
First of all the kitchen was tiny in the original design so with the help of a local architect and Read more [...]
Looking for a new fun way to display your YW Personal Progress? How about a poster or bulletin board like the social media site Instagram? Recently our Stake President asked each ward's YW leaders to provide a poster showing what the young women of our wards were working on for personal progress and include a photo of each girl. It would be displayed at a stake picnic. I decided to take up the challenge.
I wanted something fun but didn't know quite where it would take me. I grabbed my SLR camera and headed to church. Most of the girls did not want there picture taken. I found this quite comical since I follow many of them on Instagram and they can't STOP taking photos of themselves and posting them. So, I began prompting them "two of you get close and pretend I'm taking a picture for Instagram!". This Read more [...]
After snooping around Pinterest, I found these great decorated rocks for sale on Etsy. I decided to let the girls creativity come out and decorate their own. We brought up the "Prayer Rock" poem and explained the girls could use them to help them remember to say their prayers, or they could just doodle. I purchased two bags of rocks from the Dollar Store, one light one dark. I also bought "Extra Fine" black Sharpie permanent ink at the Dollar Store as well. A quick run to Hobby Lobby for a few white Paint Sharpies, the finer the better.
Here are a few of the sample rocks my boys and I made to show the girls.
This is a really easy simple craft that is a great filler for extra time at camp or a rainy day activity.
Linked Up: Tatertots & Jello
Read more [...]
Organization 
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