thursday at homes – make your eyes dance

December 8, 2011

Miscellaneous

When hanging frames in your home I like hanging them to look like a collection or art gallery instead of hanging them all in a grid. When your art is hung like the photos above it gives your pictures a collected look like you have been collecting them over time. All your pictures don’t have to be the same distance apart or even in the same colored frames, just as long as they look good together and compliment each other. A good way to view how they will look on your wall is to mark the space you want to hang your art on the floor with tape. Then arrange your photos on your floor in different arrangements until you are happy with how they collaborate with each other. You can then hang the photos on your wall how you want without needing to nail multiple nail wholes on the wall. The photos will end up looking beautiful and collected with out looking too contrived. This will make people’s eyes dance on your walls from photo to photo and start many conversations on your gallery like home.

chic diy – kettle corn

December 7, 2011

Miscellaneous

Sweet and Salty or Salty and Sweet?

Here is the recipe for the Kettle corn mentioned in the Weekend Update post! This savory popcorn recipe is quite similar to kettle corn served at movie theaters with the perfect sugar coated crunch. It can be topped with salt for that perfect salt/sweet combination or topped with cinnamon sugar for that ultra sweet tooth craver (I prefer salt while Camden prefers cinnamon sugar.). It’s extremely simple to make and turns out perfect almost every time!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Tools Needed
Large stove top pan with lid
1/2 Cup of popcorn (not microwavable)
1/3 Cup of sugar
1/4 Cup + 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/2 Tablespoon of butter
Salt/Cinammon sugar mix

Directions
1. Heat oil in cooking pan on medium heat for about a minute.
2. Add the popping corn, sugar, and butter. Stir until combined.
3. Put the lid on the pan and give the pan a shake every 30 sec or so. keep tossing the pan while the popcorn is popping to make sure it doesn’t burn. (keep an eye on the popcorn the whole time it is cooking because it can easily burn.)
4. After the popcorn popping has slowed down, remove from heat and poor into a large bowl. ( Remove it from the pan quickly to prevent popcorn burning.)
5. Top with salt or cinnamon sugar while popcorn is still warm.
6. ENJOY!

thought on tuesday – what are you?

December 6, 2011

Miscellaneous

Clothing Diary: Sweater- Anthropologie, Shirt- Target, Pants- Madewell toothpick jeans, Shoes- Nordstrom Vince Camuto Boots {Hand picked by my personal sales hunk Camden}
To do list:
-Go to Ikea
-Build a shelving unit
-Grocery shop (twice)
-Fold laundry (yes the same laundry washed last week … Hey don’t judge:))
-Play with Kramer
-Smile
Thoughts on Tuesday:
Tuesday is not particularly one of my favorite days. It’s not getting close to the weekend and it’s not the beginning day of the week either. It’s just kind of stuck right there in the middle looking for something exciting to come along and snuggle it’s way in to make Tuesday say “I have arrived !!” Well Tuesday, unfortunately for you I can not think of what that would be, but what I can say to you is I’m going to make you a day of positive thinking. Every negative nay sayer you shal be afraid of me with my positive out look on every situation that may look like a good time to turn Tuesday into “Blues-day!” Ha ha anyway this is what I will honestly try and make you, Tuesday. At least for today.

weekend update – under the tree

December 5, 2011

Miscellaneous

Our weekend kicked off with our annual sleep under the Christmas tree in the middle of our living room night. Since I was a kid every year we have dragged about a dozen blankets from our top floor closet down to the main floor to make a giant cozy bed by the Christmas tree. Its one of the traditions that I have kept going even since I have been married. Although we have traded the blanket made mattress for a blow up one it is still just as cozy and takes me back to the nostalgic memories of being a kid. My husband has even come to look forward to this time and sometimes will be the one to bring up the idea. As a kid we would always make a big bowl of caramel popcorn and watch a Christmas movie on our giant bed. As an adult I haven’t always carried on this part of the tradition but this year did manage to make a delicious homemade kettle corn. (I will post the recipe later on the week.)

Sunday we had family come over most of the day. I always enjoy having family come over and share stories and memories with each other. During the afternoon my dad and his family came over and saw our Christmas tree and we shared kettle corn with my younger siblings. ( I am the oldest of 10 between siblings and half sibling etc.) Then in the evening my mom and two younger sisters came over with pizza and giggles. When ever we get together we always manage to get overly silly, talkative, and reminisce over past times and childhood memories. We ended the weekend feeling grateful for our many clusters of families whether it be just the three of us or all of the other families gathered together  willing to share their lives with us.

All in all it was a very nice weekend even as low key and personal as it was. Now. . . Hello Monday!

fashion spotlight – bonlook

December 2, 2011

Miscellaneous

My all time favorite find this year is a chic sunglass and eyeglass boutique called Bonlook. These glasses have a one of a kind vintage look and are made with quality without the designer prices. At Bonlook they set you up with everything needed to find the right glasses for you, plus most frames and lenses are only a total of 99$!

Bonlook eyewear is not only good for your wallet but is also good for the environment. All shipments are shipped “greenly” with The UPS carbon neutral shipping program. Bonlook is also involved in carbon reducing projects. Find out more at http://www.bonlook.com/page/carbon-neutral-shipping

When picking out frames at Bonlook.com you don’t have to worry about how the glasses will look on you. They have a button you can click labeled try on where you can upload a picture of yourself and try the glasses on virtually. Even if you receive your glasses and aren’t satisfied you can send them back and be 100% refunded. Plus all eyewear ships for free which is a major bonus for me!

These are some of my favorite eyeglasses from Bonlook.com