2012 June

Keepin’ It Real…

June 28, 2012 by beth 8 Comments

K, so my cute little fam is getting packed up and ready to go on a big road trip. We leave tomorrow, and I have SO. MUCH. TO. DO.

Like this:

(I can’t believe I just showed you that!)

And this:

(Note to self: Stop by the store for sandwich bags, chips, and Diet DP.

Cuz somehow you are out!!?!)

Plus clean for the house sitters… :)

K, now that I’ve just posted that pic I realize there are some rogue arrows from PicMonkey on my ice chest. Oh well. I have way too much to do to change it. Consider it a little insight into the crazy.

I really wanted to blog today about something meaningful and helpful or make a super cool project that’ll be pinned 14 billion times just because it’s oozing with awesomeness.

But to be honest, with being out of town last week at Haven, and turning right around to go out of town again, I just don’t have a project. How’s that for total honesty?

I thought I could whip one up real quick. Trying to rid this home of way too much brown, I considered painting my entry table with a sample of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint I got as Haven swag.

But then I got to coloring with Pickle,

and took the little one to the doctor ;( ,

and I realized:

I just can’t do it all.

So. This is today’s post. Me. Being a mom. Running around like a crazy chicken trying to leave on a trip. Wishing I could give you some inspiration and great ideas.

Instead, I’m going to focus on my family and blog in the car. Cuz heaven knows my butt’s gonna be in that seat for a LOOOOOOOONG time.

If you’d like to follow me on Instagram (I’m pretty sure I’ll be taking pics on the trip!), you can find me at FreeStylinBeth.

(Anyone wanna come over and fold laundry with me?)

Filed Under: Family

Haven Conference 2012

June 27, 2012 by beth 15 Comments

haven conference button

K, so OH.MY.GOSH have I had a great week!!

Guys, I am thrilled to say that I was able to go to Haven Conference in Atlanta.

This was my first blogging conference, and it was the perfect one for me. DIY and home decor bloggers all in one spot? Sign.me.up.

There were really only two main things I wanted to do at Haven: meet Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick, and learn to be a better blogger. It’s so exciting to report that not only was I able to achieve both goals, I got to meet so many ROCK STAR women, make some wonderful new friends, and learn a boatload of information that is making my head swim with excitement.

I have been reading Sarah’s blog, Thrifty Decor Chick, since the beginning of time it seems. Sarah has amazing ideas, writes like she’s talking to YOU, her best friend, and is the first blog I ever read. She continues to inspire me with her thrifty DIY projects and creative and funny writing. Plus she loves Sarah McLachlan, NKOTB, and is 5’9″ like me. We were destined to be friends.

Meeting Sarah was #1 on my priority list, and I was nervous and excited that I met her within the first hour or two of landing in Atlanta. And can I tell y’all that I embarrassed myself? For reals. Ever have a picture in your head of how something’s gonna go, and then BAM! You’re a moron? Yeah. That’s me a little bit.

I walked into the room, saw Sarah, and literally cried out, “It’s you!!” Then I asked her for a hug and started crying. I am such a moron. Ms. Blubbery McBlubberson was too busy hugging and crying to even tell Sarah who the freak was hanging onto her. She was so sweet to me, though. She just smiled and hugged me until I could pull it together enough to tell her who the heck I was. Sarah was even kind enough to take a few pictures before calling security.

Check out my big fat cheeser smile. I am such a moron. But a happy one.

Sarah, Me the Stalker Face

I could have gone home right then and there and die happy, but there was still an awesome conference to attend. My roommates were my friends Jamie from C.R.A.F.T. and Allison from House of Hepworths. (We Austin girls gotta stick together!)

(K, here’s the warning. PICTURE OVERLOAD begins now…)

Gillian from Homes.com is AWESOME!! Jamie and I met her on the shuttle to the hotel and chatted it up! It was fun to run into her and the other “Homes Girls” everyday. They were so friendly and made us feel like rock stars!

Jamie, Gillian, Me

I adore The Nester. A fellow renter, she is amazing and inspires me to TRY without fear. It was so cool to get the chance to tell her in person that her encouraging words were in my head while I made my 42 Cent Abstract Art.

The Nester, Me

We’ll just call that fuzz “bokeh” and say it was planned, k?

The East Coast Creative girls are just as fun and friendly as they are on their blog (and Nate Berkus!) Jess and Monica have such seriously great ideas…it was so cool to finally meet them.

Me, Jess, Monica, and Jamie

I got to hang out with Angie of Angie in the Thick of It and Breida from Breida With a B. It’s amazing how you feel like you’ve known people for so long when you’ve only just met.

Angie, Me, Breida

Meeting Julia from Hooked on Houses was a dream!! She’s on my blogroll, and my sisters and I LOVE her blog. We share posts back and forth on Facebook and sometimes sit next to each other at one computer scouring her awesome blog. Julia is so kind and friendly, too. It was fun to get to know her throughout the week.

Me, Julia

Out to dinner with my friends!

Me, Angie, Jamie, and Allison

Sherry and John from Young House Love were the Keynote Speakers. It was so interesting to listen to them talk about the evolution of their blog. I could have sat there all day…they are such great speakers and very entertaining!! They stayed on our floor at the hotel (no, I didn’t go searching for their room!!). It was fun riding on the elevator with John and their cute dog Burger.

Sherry and John

The glamorous, beautiful, and talented “carpentress,” Ana White, was at Haven teaching us how to use power tools like a pro while still looking hot. She can make just about anyone (including me!) feel like they can build anything.

Ana White. I am LOVING the purple heels!

I have been reading Darlene Weir’s site, Fieldstone Hill, for sometime now. I absolutely love her “Ditto” posts. I was fortunate to attend a class she taught, and Darlene is just as kind and smart and full of great ideas and tips as she is online. She even helped give me some ideas to try out in my brown on tan on beige on boring kitchen.

Darlene and Me (in the worst lighting in the history of the world)

One day I found myself lucky enough to eat lunch with Beckie from Infarrantly Creative and the Shanty 2 Chic girls! I kept pinching myself…I have been reading both Infarrantly Creative and Shanty 2 Chic for years. Meeting these inspiring women was such a blessing!

Ashley, Beckie, Jamie, Me, and Whitney

After telling Beckie that my older sister also loved her blog, she made a video message for my sis on my phone!! Of course my sister loved it. And I took a class Beckie taught with Julia (Hooked on Houses) and Sarah (Thrifty Decor Chick) that was a wealth of knowledge.

One afternoon I found myself sitting next to a beautiful and sweet girl named “Melissa.” What’s your blog? “320 Sycamore.” Yeah, I’m a complete moron! I’ve read 320 Sycamore about a billion times because she continues to have such cool ideas. Once I recovered from my brain lapse, it was fun to hang out with Melissa and her cute sister, Kristin!

Melissa, Allison, and Me

Last year I met Gina (Miss Charming), from Charming Zebra, at Austin’s I Love Thrifting Day. It was fun to catch up with her, chat about anything and everything, and travel home together. Love ya girl!

Gina and Me

Traci, from Beneath My Heart, and I met last year at GE’s Momsperience. She is seriously a doll…it was so wonderful see her again. She is so beautiful, inside and out. Traci inspires me to be a better mom (and DIYer! Have you seen her kitchen?!). I was able to attend a session she taught about blogging and learned so much.

Traci and Me

Jamie and I happened to be sitting in the lobby when Layla and Kevin Palmer from The Lettered Cottage walked by. We were able to have a really great conversation with them which was AWESOME. I took their photography class the next day and took so many notes!

Me (with a scary face…what the?!), Layla, and Kevin

Kristi (Creative Kristi) is another friend from Momsperience and one of the Haven team members. It was so fun to reconnect with her! She is seriously a blogging genius!!

Jamie, Kristi, Me, My BFF Sarah

Some of the Haven Team Members: Beth (Home Stories A to Z), Chris (Just a Girl), and Kate (Centsational Girl). These ladies worked SO hard for us, and the conference was a success!!

Beth, Chris, Me, Kate

I am beyond grateful that I was able to attend Haven. Meeting people I have looked up to and admired for years was absolutely awesome. Learning tips and tricks to help me be a better blogger was invaluable. Making lasting friendships was the icing on the cake.

Haven 2013? I’m so there.

If you could meet a favorite blogger, who would it be? (I promise it’s okay to cry when you meet them.)

I’m linking up to Rhoda’s Haven Party!

Filed Under: Conference, Fun

Candy Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

June 18, 2012 by beth 8 Comments

Thank you to everyone who entered the JoMazing Accessories Giveaway!! Joanie has such cute stuff, huh?

So, wanna know if you won? Of course you do!

The winner of the pink headband set is Ashley C.,
and the winner of the purple set is Kristin W.

Congratulations, girls!! Look for an e-mail from Joanie!

************************************************************************************************************************

I hope you all had a wonderful Father’s Day! I have such great men in my life, and I wanted to make them an extra special treat for Father’s Day. My dad and grandpa are expert chocolate eaters, so I wanted to give them a yummy cookie that said, “I LOVE chocolate!”

I originally posted about easy Three Ingredient Cookies HERE. Seriously SO simple to make. Taking them up a notch was just as easy. I was inspired by the cute Lolly Jane girls’ post about Rolo cookies. YUM. Those gooey caramel cookies had me at hello. Since we’re peanut butter lovers around here, too, I just tweaked the recipes to add Rolos and Reese’s peanut butter cups.

So let’s break it down. You’ll need:

*1 box of devil’s food cake mix

*2 eggs

*1/2 cup of oil

*a bag of Rolos

*a bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups

*Combine the cake mix, eggs, and oil.

*Flatten a large spoonful of cookie dough. Add a Rolo or peanut butter cup to the middle.

*Wrap the dough around the candy, and roll into a ball.

*Bake for 8-11 minutes at 350*.

*Let them cool on the pan before moving them to a plate.

Oh my gosh these are so good I’ve had to stay out of the house all day to keep from eating them!! And, I’m happy to report they were a hit with my dad and grandpa! Whoohoo! I can definitely see this becoming a family favorite!

I’m linking up!

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia , A Bowl Full of Lemons, The Thrifty Home, Someday Crafts, Seven Thirty Three, Beyond the Picket Fence, House of Hepworths, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Made in a Day, Sassy Sites, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic, Beneath My Heart, Lolly Jane Boutique, Be Different Act Normal, C.R.A.F.T., Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, Under the Table and Dreaming, House of Grace, Primitive and Proper, Sugar Bee Crafts, Home Stories A 2 Z, Domestically Speaking, Southern Lovely, Somewhat Simple, One Artsy Mama, It’s Overflowing, Six Sister’s Stuff

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Filed Under: Recipes

My 42 Cent Abstract Art

June 16, 2012 by beth 23 Comments

K, so remember a few months ago when I showed you our family room? (Go HERE for a refresher…) Even though it isn’t completely magazine worthy, I wanted y’all to see how things were coming along since our move. One of the many things on my To Do list for this room was to find a suitable picture to place above the mantel.

We’ve had this Monet reproduction sitting on the mantel while my creative juices waited for some inspiration.

I like the picture, but we’ve had it for so long I couldn’t really see it anymore. Plus the frame was a bit too big. The original frame broke, and a few years ago I bought this Ikea frame as a replacement. Of course, it helps to know the size you need before you go all the way over to Ikea and buy a frame. But, since I like learning lessons the hard way, I decided to keep this too big frame as a ~~constant~~ gentle reminder to measure before I go off and buy something.

Anywhoo, about a year ago I saw this painting in the West Elm catalog that I just loved. It’s called Circles by artist Lourdes Sanchez.

West Elm

Unfortunately it’s no longer for sale through the store, but I just needed the inspiration to make something on my own. It’s paintings like Circles that make me think I could possibly be an artist. The same way John Grisham makes me believe I could possibly be a lawyer (yeah, right), or Ashley from the blog Make It and Love It makes me feel like I could sew (not happening!).

I found a few more inspiration paintings that helped me realize, YES! yes…you CAN paint your own picture to put over the mantel, Beth!

Pawleys Island Posh

I love Sanity Fair’s apartment! Her picture inspiration was from her stacked bracelets. Freakin’ genius.

Sanity Fair

David Kleinberg

As I gathered my materials to paint my own masterpiece, I was pretty thrilled to think I could make it for free.

First, I spray painted my Ikea frame black using spray paint from my stash.

I also grabbed black craft paint, a bowl, and a foam brush (which I ended up not really needing). I had originally intended to paint directly on the back of my Monet picture, but when I got it out of the frame I realized it was glued to a piece of board. That wasn’t going to work. :/ So, I had to actually open my wallet (yeah, call the papers…Beth’s spending some money) and buy a piece of white poster board. It was 42 cents. Yikes! Break the freakin’ bank, why don’t you?

The painting was seriously the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I just dipped the bowl into the paint and placed it on the poster board. Sometimes I twisted and turned the bowl around, sometimes I just lifted it right up.

(See that drip? It was intentional…just like my inspiration painting.)

The only hard part of this project was getting past my fear of failure. Really. It took me months to get up the nerve to take the picture down and out of the frame. Then a week or two of looking at the poster board sitting in front of the fireplace while I stared at the black frame already on the mantel. I was afraid that I would ruin the painting just by painting it. That people would come over and ask if I framed my kids’ artwork just to be nice. That someone would be rude enough to say, “Oh, you made that? Huh….well, you can always put something else in there.” Pretty sure I don’t have such rude friends anyway, but it still scared the crap out of me.

And guess what? No one has said anything rude. My friends and family really like it. And, more importantly, every time I look at the painting, I just smile. I personally love it. Like really really love it. (So if you don’t, please keep it to yourself.)

I think it’s going to look fab with the curtains I eventually put up. I’m actually just waiting for fabric samples to be come THE thing to put on your windows. Call me a trend setter. You saw it here first.

I’m pretty thrilled with the transformation…

P.S. Same paint color, by the way…just photographs differently during the day I guess.

And I’m glad I sucked it up, got up the guts, and painted it myself. And for 42 cents? Yeah, I’m pretty happy.

I’m linking up!

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Filed Under: Before and After, DIY, Family Room, Knock Off, Paint

Summer Salads

June 11, 2012 by beth 3 Comments

K, so it’s only the beginning of June, and I’m not sure about where you live but here in Texas it is HOT. Like the birds have to pick up worms with potholders hot.

And when it’s this hot, there really is no point in turning on the stove to cook if you can help it. I really like this time of year because I can eat a bunch of my favorite yummy salad recipes, or try out some fun new ones. Using fresh ingredients, right in their prime? It’s a perfect little party in my tummy.

Sometimes I make my salad up as I go, using whatever’s in the fridge. Like today for lunch, I chopped up some spinach, shredded some grilled chicken leftover from dinner the other night, and cut up an orange from the produce bin. A little salt, a little pepper, and about a teaspoon of olive oil…I was set. Yum, and fast, and no cooking required.

Here are a few easy summer salads that will *hopefully* get you out of the kitchen sooner and back into the pool faster.

We’re actually having this Martha Stewart recipe with dinner tonight:

Spinach and Grilled Corn Salad

Martha Stewart

Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad

Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers

Addictive Brussels Sprouts Salad

my first bowl

Shutterbean

Can you tell I think a good salad should often include avocado? Which brings me to my last “salad.” Not really a salad, but close enough, right?

Mango Guacamole

mango guacamole

A Baker’s House

I seriously can’t wait to make some of these ASAP. It’s making me hungry for sure. (Why do I always blog near dinner time?) Anyway, if you try them out, let me know! I’d love to hear how you liked them. Or do you have a favorite summer salad? Please share! I’d love a few new recipes.

***Don’t forget to enter the JoMazing Accessories Giveaway!! It ends Friday @ noon, so hurry before you miss out!***