October 31, 2012

advent calendar blog swap!!



i'm hosting my first blog swap with sara from miss v's busy bees!!

y'all- i love christmas. like a lot. like it was part of the reason that we got married in december- the church was decorated for christmas. it just makes me happy. so this year, since i'm not in the middle of wedding craziness i wanted to share christmas with all of you!

so sara and i are hosting an advent calendar blog swap. here's our timeline:
now-nov. 19th: sign up- follow the link below to sign up with our google doc
nov. 12th: we will assign partners & email you info
nov. 13th-23rd: get to know your partner & make their calendar
nov. 26th: mail day! be sure to send your creation out it time so your partner has hers by dec. 1
dec. 17th: share you calendar on your blog & ours! can't wait to see what y'all come up with!!

we are asking that you make something for your partner, not buy something. and i love the idea of having things to do with your significant other or family each day instead of just having chocolate or candy for each day (but chocolate and candy is a good addition!)

here are some ideas from pinterest to get you started:
Pinned Image
 
Pinned Image
all you have to do is search advent calendar on pinterest and you'll get tons of ideas.
 
if you want to join us, and we really hope you do just follow this link to our google doc to sign up- but it's only open to the first 30 people so sign up soon!!
 
 
love, mrs k
 
 

so what wednesday

So What Wednesday
linking up with shannon again for so what wednesday!
here's what i'm saying so what to this week:
 
*if i like getting emails from pinterest to see what other people pinned of mine?
 
*if when i see games on tv & 'my' team isn't playing i think of people that would be cheering for the teams that are playing? ie- when the tigers were playing in the world series i found myself thinking of this lady and this lady. Or when the broncos are playing i think of this gal or the steelers, this one.
 
*if the mr and i didn't go out for halloween last weekend and i'm not sure if we'll go out tonight? my costume went to waste :( but check back on monday to see my 'pintastic' halloween!!
 
*if looking at christmas card layouts makes me really excited to have babies & a family someday? there are so many cute cards out there that would be to die for with cute little kid pictures on them!
 
*if i could listen to adele all the time? love her.

*if i feel like we're living in the stone age since we don't have internet at home anymore? i used to think the fact that we had a desk top at home not a laptop was old school, not anymore...

*i'm i'm hosting my first blog swap and i'm super excited about it? although it might mean that my blog and my facebook will need to meet each other...
so far they haven't- since i work in youth ministry i'm friend with all of my kiddos on facebook and this has kind of been my little safe haven that they don't know about. but we'll see what happens.
come back later today to join the swap!!

what are you saying so what to this week?
head on over to life after i dew to see what everyone else
is so what-ing and to link up!

love, mrs k

October 30, 2012

closet challenge/what i wore/get loud

linking up with lindsey from the pleated poppy again to share what i wore!

oct 24
 cardi: wal*mart
white button up: old navy
white tank: JCP
flower: made by me
belt: maurices
dress/skirt: rummage sale
shoes: leopard print flats- burlington coat factory
 
here is what the dress/skirt really looks like
i found this beauty at the church rummage sale last spring and could not figure out how to style it for the longest time but i think it looks great with the button up & cardi.
that's a whole lotta stripes and if i wore it as a dress it would hit just below my knee. not a good look for me. side note: how do all rummage sale clothes smell the same? no matter where they came from??
 
see my oct 25 outfit on monday's 'pintastic' post
 
oct 26
scarf: target?
brown button up: old navy
yellow tank: JCP
white skinnies: JCP
boots: payless
 
come back next monday to see my oct 27 outfit in my halloween 'pintastic' post!
 
oct 28
four outfits- apparently i really like to laundry
 
oct 29
halloween tee & long sleeve tee: target
yoga pants: oldnavy
shoes: k*mart
 
oct 30
wearing blue today to get louder against bullying
a friend from high school is sponsering this event at the high school he works at now/we went to a few years ago.
check out the facebook page for more info
scarf: target
cardi: nordstrom rack
white skinnies: JCP
shoes: k*mart
side note- love these shoes!! so glad that i bought them!!
 
and i'm still doing good on my closet challenge with shannon- no new clothes this week!
love, mrs. k
 
 







October 29, 2012

hey! that's pintastic!

linking up with AP for another round of hey! that's pin-tastic!

**warning!! this is a picutre and link heavy post!!**

last thursday i hosted my first real dinner party :) i had the staff from the church and work at and their spouses over. all in all there were nine of us for dinner, nothing crazy. not only was it my first dinner party, it was my first pinterest dinner party. everything, the decor, the appetizers, main course, side dishes, heck! even my outfit came from pinterest!
 
here is my dining room before:
the floor under the north window was STILL home to left over wedding goodies
the built in hutch (part of the reason i chose to rent the place) with a wine rack, a sparkly winter wreath & candles, and assorted mail & craft projects waiting to be dealt with
the table with the fall runner down the middle and meal planning supplies at the far end
 
and after being 'pinterest-ified':
the hutch/buffet being used for it's intended purpose!! happy girl right here :)
the table with an upgraded fall runner, plates & napkins
i moved all of our wedding goodies into another room- but don't worry, i didn't do anything with the yet, just moved them. and i moved the bench that we got at the church rummage sale last spring into the dining room
 
the fireplace & mantle:
i moved the lights around a little from my 'project pinterest' post a few weeks ago- i like it much more this way. and it's all lit up for our guests. i love 'lighting' the fire place :)

the hostest with the mostest:
black tee dress! I need a plain black dress!
my outfit was inspired by this pin
but i found my jean jacket to be to heavy so i opted for my new chambray top
if i wear this again i'll pick a different necklace- this one got eaten by the girls all night long :)
but other than that it was a good outfit
 
center piece/table runner:
i searched for a while on pinterest but didn't pin anything. shocker i know! i just wandered around wal*mart for a while, picked out some fall-ish things, then went home and combined them with things that i already had and kept moving them around on our table until it looked right and this is what i got:
i've got candle sticks from target, some plain glass cylinders from wal*mart, some mason jars from who knows where, tea lights from ikea, un-popped popcorn, candy corn, pine cones, wine glasses, real pumpkins, fake pumpkins, some good smelly stuff (potpurrie?). and yes- we are 2 chairs short- we had to borrow folding chairs from the church.
i did use this pin to get the melted candles out of my mason jars, but the candles had epsome salt underneath them & it was a big mess. the mason jars still aren't clean. i don't know if it was the salt or if the pin just doesn't work as nice as it sounds like it does.
 
pumpkins:
the mr brought home 5 pumpkins for me early in october. up until last thur they had just been sitting on our front steps. no paint, no carving, nada. i had some painting ideas but they just never happend. but- since we had people coming over they had to happen.
naked pumpkins
address pumpkins
and more naked pumpkins
with the two infront after seeing this pin and this post from AP about stacked and painted pumpkins, i knew i wanted one with polka dots and one with chevron stripes
dots- not a problem
chevron- huge problem
i did not learn from AP to tape my pumpkin off first.
so i wiped, and taped
oh my goodness y'all- that takes for.ever.
then i had to paint it in 1/2's because you can't paint the bottom when the top is wet & vice versa.
and here is the finished product:
you should have seen the disappointment on my face.
the paint worked it's way under the tape and then the tape peeled the paint off with it.
this sad guy is now on our back steps.
and our front steps look like this:

the food! ok friends- i was really really really bad about taking pictures of the food for you BUT i have links and reviews.

appetizers:
Garlic Artichoke Dip
this was ok. people liked it. i don't know if i will make it again.
but the website is super easy to follow and explains things really well- i would totally use it again
Blue Cheese & Bacon Dip
oh my gosh! so good! i made this on tues (2 days before the party) and i needed to make a second batch to serve at the party.
then i had to make a third batch because the mr and i wanted more. it's so not good for you (sour cream, mayo, blue cheese, & bacon) but it's soooooooo good.
our guests liked it too.
 
main course:
A pinner says: This could be the BEST recipe I have found on here! Chicken Parmesan bake! No frying, just baking!
after reading reviews and seeing this all over pinterest i had high hopes.
i was let down.
it was ok. but not amazing.
the crutons don't stay as crispy as they claim to.
and my chicken did not cook evenly- the stuff on the outside was nicely done and the stuff in the middle needed to be put in the microwave to finish cooking before we could eat it. how embarassing for your first dinner party!!
 
italian potatos
i don't have a link or a picture for this because it's from my pampered chef cookbook that i got with my deep covered baker. if you have a deep covered baker and you'd like to make them here's what you do:
slice your potatos really thin (i used the thinnest setting on my mandolin; one potato per person)
put the potatos in the baker
add some EVOO, a few passes around the dish- you don't need a lot
1 tbsp butter per potato
italian seasoning & fresh cracked pepper to taste
bake at 350 for 45-60 mins
easy and yummie.
only non-pinterest thing of the evening :)
 
Skinny Ceaser dressing
i pinned this caesar dressing in hopes of making my own- it was a pinterest dinner party after all!
but that pin led me to a different link for Anne Burrell's Eggless Caesar Salad on the food network website. Anne's sounded easier.
wrong.
my dressing turned out to be a thick paste that tastes like EVOO and parm cheese. blech.
so i bought hidden valley caesar dressing. sorry pinterest.
 
Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
so good. big hit.
 
dessert:
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
caramel apple cheesecake
(pinterest won't open the link anymore, dont' know what happened in the past week!)
this was the first time i had made cheesecake totally from scratch and it was so good!!
this one i did take a pic of!!
 
take home:
everyone got a little soemthing to take home with them.
my guests 'little somethin' is curtesy of the lovely shannon dew. they all got the pumpkin spice muffins that she turned me on to.
two ingredient pumpkin muffins
hers
mine
closer
i like using the mini choco chips as sprinkles on top- so cute!
 
so there you have it! my pin-tastic dinner party!
love, mrs. k
 
come back next week to see my pin-tastic halloween!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 




October 26, 2012

where the magic happens

isn't that what everyone would say on 'cribs' when they showed the whole world their bedrooms? well, today you get to see our bedroom.

last weekend on our expensive trip to IKEA we finally got a new bedspread. y'all, we have been looking for one since we got married (almost 11 months ago) and we could NOT find something that we both agreed on. either it was to girly, or to manly, or we didn't like the color combo, or it was to expensive. you get the idea.

but IKEA to the rescue!

here is the before:
 
i got this bedding set at k*mart like two years ago. i really like it, but it's a little girly for the mr. lots of things that i like are too girly for the mr. he would prefer camo everything. not gunna happen. anywho, i love it because it's white and clean looking, but it's dry clean only. ugh... i also love the color combo- royal blue and lime green- umm hello! wedding colors! so the back side of the comforter is the blue and then there is green on the flowers. so i went with lime green sheets, naturally. but they're only 15" deep sheets on our pillowtop mattress- yea, we had to fix them every morning.
 
and it has pretty pillowcases too:
but they stayed on the floor most of the time. i make the bed every morening but these were apparently just to much work for me.

we need to do something about our headboard situation... pinterest here i come!

here is the beauty that we found at IKEA
it's a cream and white plaid duvet with strips on the other side. since it's a duvet we had to invest in a comforter to go underneath too $$.
 
for those of you that have duvets- how do you keep your comforter in place underneath it? i've had to fix ours every morning when i make the bed. it always gets bunched up at the bottom and we're left with just the thin duvet at the top. suggestions?
 
i didn't think the lime green sheets and polka dot body pillow would jive well with this plaid. so off to wal*mart i went. and i said hello to navy blue 400 thread count sheets. ahh... heaven. our old sheets were just the cheap wal*mart brand ones. these are so much better (and the price tag relects it!).\
but don't those colors go well together? i'm in love.

so there you have it- there's where the magic happens in the k household ;)

love, mrs. k




October 25, 2012

game day recap!

the mr had his adrain peterson birthday on sunday. ok, i think i'm really clever for calling it that. we live in minnesota, we cheer for the vikings, adrian peterson is number 28 and he's awesome, and the mr turned 28 and to celebrate we went to the vikings game. if you're from minnesota hopefully you think i'm clever, if you're not from minnesota you probs think i'm lame. whatevs.

as promised- here are the crafts that i did for the game.
left- my vikings glass
right- headbands for my mom and i
 
the glass was super easy. i bought a clear tumbler with a lid and the straw with the stopper on the bottom so it stays in the cup at the dollar tree store here in our northern town. i used large gold glitter and mod podge to make the outside all glittery. then i used my cricut to cut out 'sarah's vikings glass' in purple vinyl. i peeled the back off of the vinyl so it was sticky and stuck it down to the cup. then i added 3 more layers of mod podge. it's really fun. but i forgot it in the car when we went to the game :( i guess i'll just have to use it at home while we watch on tv next week.
 
i made some headbands this northern town's school colors during homecoming week and posted them on facebook. someone thought that they were vikings headbands because our colors are blue and gold. well after they suggested that they were vikings headbands i knew my mom and i needed some to wear to the game :)
 
so i started with supplies:
strechy headbands- i love these ones, i think they were $0.79 a piece at hobby lobby and i can wear them all day without them giving me a headache. i also used felt, fabric, flannel, scissors, hot glue, and glitter.
i made a bunch of flowers (way more than i needed)
then started picking and choosing and arrainging them in combos that i liked and these are the two that i ended up with:
mine is on top and mom's on the bottom.

the mr and i at the game

mom and i after the game

the game itself was great. our seats were up kinda high so it was hard to see some stuff but it's still fun to be at the game. and the vikings won 21-14!

love, mrs k



October 24, 2012

so what wednesday

So What Wednesday
time for a little so what wednesday with shannon
here's what i'm saying so what to this week:
 
*if i booked a picture session for christmas cards for sunday after church and i haven't told the mr yet? the vikings play on thur so it won't interrupt the game...
 
*if i only had 3 kids sign up for the synod gathering this year? and we had 12 last year? :(
 
*if i already ordered by bday gift 'from' the mr and my mom & i went halfsies on a gift? i know that come my bday this won't be a 'so what' and it'll be a let down instead
 
*if the mr and i aren't spending our first turkey day as a married couple together? my mom's family is getting together in the twin cities (7 hours away) and the mr has to work on black friday
 
*if we've already driven 3,500 miles in our new car?
 
*if i think it would be really sweet to have a diet coke iv?
 
*if i spent $180 at IKEA last weekend? it's 7 hours away, i almost never get to go there
 
*if i wish we lived in my college town?
 
*if i'm totally jealous of one of my high school besties baby announcement?
 
what are you 'so what-ing' this week?
head on over to life after i 'dew' to link up and see what
everyone else is saying so what to!
 
love, mrs. k