I started a new tradition a few years ago where our own little family has a “fancy” dinner together on the Sunday before Christmas and then we go see a local Christmas light display. It all kind of started because I wanted to learn to do a traditional Christmas meal but we usually go to Grandma’s house for Christmas eve and Christmas Day is too chaotic!
This year I decided to create a “menu”. The plan is to have Trevor and the kids downstairs and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas while I get everything wrapped up with the food and table. Then, they will all come up to a “restaurant” type setting where they will order from waitress Mom the food that they want! (I figured I am usually dishing up 5/7 plates anyways so I may as well make it part of the experience!)
The food and tables have changed a little over the years but the feeling of peace with my family to enjoy each other has stayed the same and it is one of my very favorite things to do every Christmas.
You guys, I have wanted a mantel/fireplace from the second I saw how easily it could be done over on NestingWithGrace’s instagram. but life is busy and we haven’t quite built up our supply of power tools so a year had passed and still no fireplace. This year I wasnt settling with hanging my stockings on a ladder so I started scowering pinterest and texting people with access to barn wood and powertools!
A week later and my makeshift version came to life! We were able to get 100 yr old barn wood from a neighbor and literally crow bared it off his old barn. It went through a lot of phases before I got to where it is today! Thats my favorite part about decorating, you can tweak and change over time to make it just what you want!
sub par phone pictures…Phase 1!
Phase 1 was okay. I was honestly a little nervous that we had just put so many large holes in the wall! I drew all my plans out on paper, measured the wood, cut, and assembled it all outside! Them we brought it in an attached it to the studs!
Phase 2
Phase 2…I really needed something behind it because the baseboard was driving me crazyyyyy! My mom suggested a backdrop and I was lucky to have this old one I don’t use for photography anymore! IT is thick vinyl and I just used two small nails to nail it to the wall in the top corners. It just hangs from there!
Phase 3
Phase 3. The last thing bothering me was the bottom…the backdrop just looked weird up against the carpet. Luckily I had a piece of scrap wood left that just needed a little bit sawed off to pit perfectly into the bottom part to finish it out! This piece is literally just wedged in there!
The final product! rearranging my furniture and decorating the mantel were also done in little phases! I used some fake garland (shown in the last picture) as my base, added some faux stems to the sides, and finally ended with pieces of real garland left over from decorating my kitchen! I love mixing faux with real, it gives such a great look!
Even just this little bit of a change has made our front room feel so cozy this holiday season! and it gave me the itch for a lot more projects to come in 2020!
It has been about 3 years since I painted our kitchen white in 4 days. (I know!) I can’t believe it either. I have answered SO many questions about this topic, so I figured I may as well save some breath (and my fingers) and write it all down in one place!
First of all, we started with AMAZING, like new, cabinets. The finish was “slick” and not ideal so I was nervous and decided to get a quote from a professional. it was $1,000 for my whole kitchen and that didn’t include all the work of taking them down and putting them back up. Wow.
Luckily, the painter was the sweetest and said, “you could totally do this by yourself!” and she gave me the run down on what to do!
THE PAINT/PRIMER. I believe this is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING! She recomended a regular Kilz primer but the paint is called Benjamin Moore ADVANCE paint. The thing about it, is that it is self leveling, giving you a sprayed on look by just rolling it! It dries harder than other paints as well. This paint at our local builder supply store cost $45 a gallon but to do my enitre kitchen + desk area + back doors + stair railing with 1.5 gallons. I have a LARGE kitchen. IT IS WORTH IT! Below is EXACTLY what my can looked like.
2. You start by taking off all the doors. Label them in the holes where the hardware goes. I didn’t do this. EVERY BLOG RECOMMENDED IT. It was a nightmare figuring out where they all went back.
3. Wash everything down with a degreaser. I used Dawn soap and warm water. Dont’ forget the boxes!
4. Sand your little heart out! I didnt own a sander but it would have made the job so much easier! Basically I just used a medium grit paper then a fine grit to rough it all up and remove some of the slick surface.
5. Brush the crevaces then roll the flats with the Kilz Primer. Here is the roller I recommend! It is washable and reusable and NOT foam. You can buy them on amazon, walmart, or any building supply store!
I did a coat on all the backs FIRST ( so that if anything happened when they got flipped it was on the back), then did the boxes in the house. Once they were all dry I flipped the doors over and did the front.
6. Next you repeat the same process from the primer but with the paint! I did 2 coats of paint on everything.
7. This next step I skipped. I wish I hadn’t. And I plan to go back and do it still. Benjamin Moore sells a top coat that is clear and protective and goes with the Advance paint line. My sister did a top coat on her cabinets and they are rock solid. That being said, I touched them up after one year and then again 2 years after that. They still look brand new after the touch up. But with kids, I’m pretty sure there would be A LOT less chips with a top coat.
Before
After
SOME TIPS:
Have someone to come help you mid way through the 1st coat of paint or for the second coat! Mentally that was my breaking point. I started a week before I was supposed to host Thanksgiving at my house though, so if you don’t have a hard deadline it might not be as stressful.
Dont skip the primer. I did on my desk area and it chips easier.
Putting the doors back up is a 2 person job!
Put hardware on your doors… it will SAVE them. We got ours from amazon!
When you touch up, use the roller! It makes the touchups UNNOTICEABLE!
3 years later they are holding up GREAT! GO FOR IT!!!!
We have a new favorite summer treat. Homemade whip cream! Since I finally jumped on the Kitchen aid bandwagon, it had given me to confidence to try new things! But don’t worry if you don’t have one, a hand mixer with the whisk attachment works just as well!
This recipe is super easy, fast and only takes three ingredients! My kids think it is a blast to try out all sorts of new things to dip into it, but my personal favorite are fresh peaches! Holy cow…heavenly.
My kids love to dip: Graham Crackers, Strawberries, Peaches, Bananas, Animal Crackers, Blueberries, Raspberries, Chocolate Chips
We got our recipe HERE. I’ll post the recipe below! I doubled the batch and used 1 TBS granulated sugar and 1 TBS confectioner’s sugar. But you can use all of one kind if you’d like!
Homemade Whipped Cream
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients
1 cup (240ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar*
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft/loose peaks and stiff peaks and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts.
Use immediately or cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Freezing prepared whipped cream sometimes causes it to lose its creamy texture, but it definitely works.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions: Use immediately or cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Freezing prepared whipped cream sometimes causes it to lose its creamy texture, but it definitely works. This freezing trick is handy!
Double Batch: This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
Sugar: some bakers swear by granulated sugar in whipped cream; others swear by confectioners’ sugar. If you’re only working with a couple Tablespoons of sugar as listed in the recipe above, it doesn’t really make a difference. But if you’re working in larger batches, you may begin to taste the granules of granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar is the way to go.
Summer is tomorrow! You guys, I am so excited and a little terrified. All the talk of chore charts and rewards is fun for me, but not the most fun part of the summer for my kids. Insert Summer Bucket Lists!
For our family this list looks like a lot of fun things that we will probably already do, but it is written down and gets checked off, helping us all to look back and see how much fun we had and what we did all summer! Plus, on those days of hearing the phrase “I’m bored” 1000 times, you can just pull out the list and shake things up a bit!
The free printables are below! There is a version with boxes that you can check off or a version that you can just randomly write all over the page (different colored markers would be cute) and just cross them off as you go! And as always, an idea list of what you can put on your Bucket List to help get your brain thinking!
These reward charts came from the idea that my kids are going to lack motivation about 2 days into summer. Am I wrong? Probably not.
The best part about these reward charts is that it can work with my chore charts or any other chore chart you might already be using! Heres how they work…
When your child you cross off the day. When they have completed each day they earn the reward at the end of the week!
From there you can set monthly rewards! When each week is completed, you will mark off the week number that was completed in that month. After 4 weeks you earn a monthly reward!
I aso included a list of weekly reward ideas and monthly reward ideas to help you get started! (and a blank one if you want to brainstorm ideas with your family!) These don’t have to be overwhelming big rewards! Think about what YOUR child would like!
It’s funny how every year around spring break I get the itch for some order and organization. I love a good list, and chore charts are right down that same alley.
I searched high and low on Pinterest and even printed off some chore charts (and wasted a lot of ink) just to fill them out and feel like it just wasn’t right! So I took matters into my own hands and made a custom chore chart that fits exactly what our family needs!
For now, my kids are excited about checking off their lists. Lets hope it lasts!
Our Idaho Life 