Tuck's Room "Do"

I say Tuck's Room "Do" instead of "Re-do" because there was never really anything to re-do! Ever since the poor little babe was born he has never had a wonderfully decorated, cozy lil' room to call his own!

Here is the story of Tuck's room... or lack there of...

You see, when Tuck came home from the hospital his sister Greta was only 15 months old and still sleeping in our one and only crib in the one and only room right across the hall from ours. So, little Tuck slept nicely in a bassinet snuggled right in Mommy and Daddy's room. That is until I heard babies slept better and started sleeping through the night faster if they weren't in Mommy and Daddy's room... but a room nice and quiet and all to there own.
Once I heard that we scrambled to make the transition!

Greta would move down to the other side of the house where we had another 2 bedrooms. She would have to give up her crib for her baby brother and make the quick transition to a big girl bed! And needless to say... after a couple nights of tears (from Greta & Mommy)...the transition happened. She started sleeping in an actual twin size bed and her new big girl room was painted a soft pink (thanks to the help of our friend Jonathan!) with an eclectic mix of white shabby chic furniture with accents of robins egg blue. It was and still is, beautiful. I remember thinking how little my baby girl looked in such a giant twin size bed! But, I was so happy my first baby had a new room all to her own. I mean after all she deserved it right?! ... giving up her room, her crib, her comfort... all for the sake of this new baby she never asked for!

So, back to Tuck... my little 4 week old peanut... he made the move into Greta's old room.
I took down the soft white curtains and the pink valances, changed the crib bedding, and got rid of any trace of pink! After that was done I thought about painting the light green walls to a tan... but that just seemed like a lot of work! I mean I wasn't getting any sleep because of this new hungry baby who was up all night and by day I was wrangling my 16 month old!
So, for the time being I hung some of Tuck's new room decor on the existing nails and called it a day... of course with the plans that as soon as he was sleeping through the night I would have the energy to do his room!

HA! Fast forward to last Sunday, August 1st - Tuck is now 15 months old!
I said enough is enough! I couldn't take it anymore! The whole "schlept" together boy room just wasn't cuttin' it anymore. So, we went ahead and went for it!

With a day off (hallelujah!), a FREE gallon of tanish/khaki paint (thanks Jes & B) and a years worth of camping-hunting-fishing-outdoorsy type decor stored in boxes... Loren and I were set to go!

We put the kids down for their naps - Tuck in a pack-n-play in our room - and we QUICKLY got down to business!

Here are the pictures to tell the story and show off Tuck's new, big boy, room!!!
(sorry no true before pictures... I was too excited and didn't think of that - bummer!)
It all started by testing the paint on the wall to make sure the color was right....

And it was! So while Mr. Appleberry did all the cutting in, I did the rolling...

After a ton of hours painting, my fam stopping by to hang out, Greta wanting to play house, and plenty of snacks to keep the babes busy...

At 2:00am the room was finally ready! (and we were ready for bed!)

Go ahead, step in and take a look!

As I mentioned earlier, we were going for this camping-hunting-fishing-outdoorsy type theme. Very boy... very much like his Daddy.

Here are some of the details...

My very talented and crafty hubby whipped together this authenticly rustic display of horns around midnight... and I LOVE it! I think it might just be one of my favorite parts of the room!

The Fisherman's Prayer! Too cute and found at my favorite store for .49 cents... The Goodwill!

And this shelf... oh how I love it and how it displays all this cuteness! ... I mean manliness! lol

Fish, pine trees, an old campfire kettle, deer, old Hardy Boy books, bears, antlers, mason jars....

ALL BOY!

And this hand carved wooden duck we found at an antique store on a Sunday afternoon date is one of my favs!

Well, Whataya' think?!

It turned out beyond cute and I am so pleased that it is finally done!!! Tuck definitely notices that something is different. Every time he is in there he points to all his new things and makes the cutest "fake" talking/grunting noises!

I think he likes it!

Finally, a room to call his own!
A room so cute it is worthy of the little boy who sleeps peacefully and dreams all his big dreams in there.

This one's for you Tuck! We love ya!

Chat later,

Jen

Saturday Night: Game Night!

Note: Be aware of picture overload! You may want to get comfy for this post.

So this past Saturday we had a bunch of friends over for our favorite type of get together.... GAME NIGHT!
You see Game Night started back in 2006 right after Loren and I got married. We lived in a tiny 800 sf. 2 bedroom apartment... however I never let that stop me from entertaining! We only had a couple game nights there before I got pregnant with Greta, then we bought our first house and had to say goodbye to our tiny, but wonderful, little apartment.

Entertaining has always been a love of mine as is spending time with friends... oh, and a little healthy competition! And that is pretty much how game night got it's start.

For a little fun, I took a quick trip down memory lane and grabbed some photo's of my favorite game nights! ................

Cinco De Mayo Game Night! Margarita's and Pictionary!
Murder Mystery Game Night!
Seriously, thee most fun.... EVER!

Halloween Game Night! Famous Couples and a Scavenger Hunt!

OH man, those were some good times! Hahaha.

Game Nights have definitely slowed down since we all had babies and for awhile there they almost came to a stop when I took on a part time job on the weekends!
But... we always manage to have some style of game night/get together for birthday's and this last weekend was true to Game Night style! .... no birthday... just some friends getting together to chat, eat some good food, chase their screaming kids around or find out who hit who first?! and actually get down to business and PLAY SOME GAMES!

In the past we have played catch phrase, pictionary, or my favorite... Mafia! Most of the time we have a theme, sometimes their are costumes involved, sometimes there are not! lol - But this time we decided to do Game Night: Minute To Win It style!

Ever watched that show? Minute To Win It?

You have 60 seconds to complete a challenge. After completion you move on to the next round. If you complete all 10 challenges you win a million dollars!
Well, there was no million to win at our Game Night... just this sweet trophy was up for grabs!


The challenges ranged from stacking cups to knocking over water bottles to getting a cookie to roll down your face with out dropping it on the floor! All the games were designed to be played with just standard ole' household items!
If you'd like a list and directions of all the fun games so you can have a Minute To Win It game night... check out this link here.

And with out further ado... I'll show you just how much fun we had and let the pictures do the talkin'.....
Elephant March: 60 seconds to knock down all 8 water bottles while wearing a pair of panty hose on your head with a baseball in them!
Cookie Face: Start with an oreo on your forehead and try to get it in your mouth just by wiggling your face. 60 seconds.... NO hands!
Check out Nick's face! Haha... that's some serious business!

This pic of Branden takes the "Picture of the Night" award! - He's so photogenic, isn't he?!
How's It Hangin'?: With a banana tied around your waist and 60 seconds on the clock, try to get 2 oranges in the hula hoop.
Movin' On Up: Player must hold a stack of blue cups with 1 red cup at the bottom and try to filter the red cup up the stack and back down to the bottom in 60 seconds!

Nose Dive: 60 seconds to get 5 cotton balls from one bowl to the other using only your nose and some vaseline!

Tied for first but taking home the trophy was none other than the highly competitive and pregnant, Jes!!! Way to show em' Sis!
Well as you can see... we had a blast!

Thanks to everyone who came, brought food to share, put on their game face, and had some fun! - Game Nights wouldn't be possible without our wonderful and super fun bunch of friends!

Love you guys!

Chat later,

Jen

Little Craft Project: Cheap Cake Platter!

Ok, so I got another great, inexpensive craft for you girls to try!
I saw this post on How Does She? - (I can't tell you how much I LOVE this site!)

And I figured... "You know what?" "I can make that!"
"And I might even have the stuff on hand!" - And I did!
As you will see, I didn't make a 3 tier cake stand like the one shown on HowDoesShe. - although I love it and think it is adorable! I just tried a single tier for now. I needed more glass plates and I actually wanted to glue mine not just rest the plates and stands on top of eachother... something about it didn't seem sturdy enough.

So, I went in my Goodwill Stash - you know my stash of random things I pick up at the Goodwill for super cheap knowing I will use one day! ie: Frames, plates, mugs, jars, etc.
Anyways, I went in my stash and I grabbed these 2 items.....

A glass plate and candle holder...
(The plate was a quarter and the candle stand was a buck!)

I actually used a little hot glue around the rim of the candle holder to adhere the holder to the plate....

After the glue dried, 10 seconds later, I flipped it right side up....

And there ya' go! Cute, Cheap, Easy!

I know mine is different than the HowDoesShe one... this was just my take on it with what I had on hand and what I thought would work best for us.

I didn't have any goodies to put on it right away so I thought it might find a nice little spot on my kitchen shelf! See it?! There to the left with a little frame on top of it?!

Who says cake stands have to be used for cake and not decoration?! I figure she can stay up there till I have to pull her down and actually use her for some treats.

These cake stands are ridiculously cute, cheap, and easy. I think I whipped mine up in about 5 minutes and like I stated earlier... it cost me a $1.25!!!!!!!

If you girls don't have a cake stand in your house... by all means whip one up! Or if you have a shower or party coming up and want to have some cute platters or stands to put goodies on, these stands would be perfect!

So head over to the Goodwill, or the Dollar Store, or just shop your cubbards and make one of these cuties! The next time you make cookies or cupcakes serve them on here and I guarantee you... you will feel tickled pink!

Chat later,

Jen

Breakfast for Dinner: Blueberry Sauce

Last night we had breakfast for dinner!

Any of you gals ever do that?! I love breakfast foods. Actually I would go as far as to say that "breakfast" is probably my favorite food group! And if you are like our house than you definitely do not have time to get up and make some lavished breakfast for you and your family! So, since early, early mornings are not a possibility, and huge breakfast buffets aren't either... a big ole' breakfast is great to serve for dinner instead! You know, on those nights where you have a bit more time, energy, and your hair is actually brushed and you're wearing a bra! lol

But honestly I just LOVE breakfast foods! Scrambled eggs, sausage links, cinnamon rolls, french toast, waffles, orange juice, donuts, pastries, hash browns... you name it, I LOVE it! (seriously, my mouth is watering right now!) - And the best part about breakfast style foods is that they usually don't take much time to make! I mean they are pretty easy to whip up and you don't even have to remember to pull something out of the freezer in the morning! They are a great, easy, go to meal!

So speaking of all this breakfast!..... last night we were in a crunch so I decided to whip up some french toast and scrambled eggs!
But I didn't just want boring old syrup on my french toast... I had a craving for that blueberry or blackberry sauce that Perkins has! You know what I'm talking about?
Well, I remembered seeing a recipe for a Truffle Cheesecake with a Raspberry Puree over on How Does She? - I still totally have to make this! It looks delish!

Anyways that Raspberry Puree stuck out in my head because I figured you could make it with any kind of fruit! Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries, etc.
And that is exactly what I did. I took her recipe, tweaked it a little and came up with my own version of her puree...

Homemade Blueberry Sauce!

All I did was throw a pint of blueberries in my food processor, added about 2/3 Cup of sugar, and a splash of vanilla! (about a teaspoon for those that need or like to measure) That was it!
I poured it into a good ole' mason jar and popped it in the microwave to warm it up.
After it was warm we poured it all over some hot, fresh, french toast!

Mmmmm! It was so stinkin' goooood! I felt like I was eating a treat, not dinner!

Wondering what else you could use this sauce for? Well here is my brainstorm as to what I am planning on doing with my left over batch....

*Pour it on ice cream for a Blueberry Sundae
*Drizzle it over Cheesecake
*Use it on Pancakes or Waffles
Or my favorite idea....
*I think I am gonna try and put it in our little Popsicle molds and make Homemade Fresh Fruit Blueberry Popsicles! I would think they would come out delicious! - I'll let you know if and when I try this!

So there ya' have it!
Whip up this easy Blueberry Sauce and start pouring it over all kinds of breakfast goodies and treats!

My plans for tonight are to take some strawberries that are just about done for and whip them into some Strawberry Sauce! Yum-O!

Chat later,
Jen

I HEART Chalkboard Paint!

This little can of paint is absolutely amazing! Remember how I said that old, chunky, frames are your new best friend?! Well, definitely add this chalkboard paint to your BFF list!
All it takes is 2 coats and about 12-24 hours of drying time and you can turn just about anything into a writable, chalkboard surface!
This paint cost about $10 at Walmart and trust me... it goes a very, very long way!
I bought it a couple months back and look at all I have used it for....

A pickle jar into a pen jar....

I taped off an area in my cupboard, now I know what's on the other side of the kitchen in the pantry...

I even painted the edges of my pantry shelves to be more organized...

And this handsome guy was whipped up last weekend by my wonderful hubby!....

I have been wanting to actually paint some of this chalkboard paint on my wall but never really knew where or what. Then I pulled this old wooden frame out of the garage and I knew it was perfect! - My father in law actually found this frame down in Missouri and gave it to me! I love that he knows I'm a "junker" and a sucker for old stuff!
After putting a super great quote on it (thanks Jes!) I am totally in LOVE with this piece!
This little chair is where I sit every morning and feed Tuck his bottle. We both sit back, snuggle in, and slowly wake up together! I also love to sit and read a good book or a magazine in this comfy chair... and now with this over sized chalkboard and super inspirational quote... this is probably one of my favorite "nooks" in the house!

Check out and get inspired by what some other gals are doing with chalkboard paint....

Genius right?! - How creative and fun!
Don't you girls totally want to go paint something with chalkboard now???
If you do paint something.... let us know! If you already have used this paint... share and share alike!

See, I told you I HEART CHALKBOARD PAINT!

Chat later,
Jen