House of Smith's

Our Joss & Main Curator Collection is Live!

2012-02-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

Remember last week when I told you about our exciting curator's collection event we put together over at Joss & Main, filled with lots of happy, colorful decor?...

Well, today's the day! Our event is live and I'm literally giddy with excitement!

To see ALL of the decor we've selected, that literally screams "House of Smiths style"... then head on over and take a peek!

If you still haven't signed up over at Joss & Main, you can use this invitation link to become a member, view our collection, and stay tuned in to all of the other great events that Joss & Main offers every day!

Happy Shopping!

ALSO, one last quick reminder about the fun blogger event tonight in Provo! I hope to see you there!

Finding the Strength to Keep Going - My Weight Loss Journey Continues

2012-02-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Friday marked 13 weeks into my new lifestyle change. As I head into week 14, I thought I'd share some more thoughts and a little update about how things have been going.

First, I have to be totally honest... week 11 and 12 were probably some of my most frustrating to date (well, with the exception of the 2nd and 3rd week... when I felt like I literally would have given my right arm for just a small dose of carbs). Remember my "awesome 30lb loss" that I was so proud of? Well, I guess that my body wanted me to REALLY appreciate it, because for almost two weeks after my post... I was just STUCK at that 30lb mark. :(

I was doing EVERYTHING right! I even switched to having fish instead of chicken or beef for dinners at night, thinking that it would be better and "less heavy" for when I slept and processed my food, ha! Matt (my amazing lifestyle coach) gave me the advice, on week 11 to change up my workout a bit, and do one day a week where my cardio went 45 minutes to 1 hour. (instead of the regular 26 or so minutes of interval type cardio that I was doing every time) in hopes of kick-starting things up again.

I didn't weigh myself until the end of week 12 and STILL I was stuck, only losing ounces, instead of pounds. Aaahhrrrrg!

I had been really swamped with all of our show shooting and family obligations, so I didn't actually go in and see Matt these two weeks. (big mistake) I just did a few phone 'check-ups' with him...and really, I was feeling kind of like a failure without his usual motivating words and healthy living lessons. PLUS, I had just posted about being so inspired and driven, and now my stupid body just STOPS consistently losing weight!? What the CRAP!?

I remember one morning coming home from the gym with a "this sucks attitude" after a just "okay" workout session, (you know, the ones where you don't push yourself as hard as you KNOW you can go, and end up feeling like you might as well have just stayed in bed and gotten the extra sleep instead?) when I met Cason in the garage, as he was headed out for work. He hugged me and said, "You're doing SO good. Don't get frustrated." Of course, it sent me into bawling hysterics. (in case you're wondering, this weight loss stuff can make a person QUITE emotional. Maybe carbs help absorb tears?, because I don't remember crying as much before. hmm.)

Really... he was right. I KNEW this wasn't going to be easy by ANY means. It took me 29 years to pack on this weight, and I was well aware that it wouldn't all come off in the matter of 3 months, but let me tell ya, when you don't see any change on the scale at the end of a 6 day work out week... you definitely start to lose that "weight-loss high".

I made a commitment. I was NOT giving up. I would just have to work harder and keep going. This last week and a half, I have really pushed myself and found my second wind.

(yikes... sweat much?)

I don't know if it was out of anger, because I'm sick of being overweight, or if it's because I'm naturally stubborn and I refuse to fail this time around... but whatever it was, I ROCKED that gym AND my body!... slapped it right upside the head, kicked it's butt and FINALLY yesterday, blew right past my 30lb mark!!!

Like a total nerd, once I got home from the gym that day, I snapped these pictures of myself on my phone, so I could always have them to remember how GREAT it feels, if you JUST KEEP GOING!

Yup... that's inner-elbow-crease sweat in the last picture on my shirt. That's how I roll.

Some weeks/days/moments are easier then others. Sometimes finding the strength to give up the things I WANT, for the things that I know my body NEEDS, is really hard.
(especially during candy-heavy holidays)

Not a day goes by that I don't wish for a slice of pizza in place of that grilled chicken, or a big frosted brownie, instead of a piece of sugar-free candy...But it's the moments when you realized that you officially weight less then you did on your wedding day, or that you can now comfortably sit on the ground and play with your kids better, that make all of those stupid cravings and insignificant thoughts of not being strong enough... just disappear.

Losing 3 pounds in a week will ALWAYS feel better then losing none, this is just a fact. But making the decision to give up or keep going when those discouraging moments happen, will have to be the choice that you make, when doing anything in your life that you FEEL is impossible.

I'm comin' to get ya 50... so watch out! I'm on a ROLL!

(it may be carb free, with no butter... but I'M ON ONE!)

*** Thanks for stickin' through all of the ridiculous self-portraits. Don't worry... in the future, you'll be seeing less and less of me... literally. (hardy-har-har). Okay... I'm stopping now.

The Twins Turn Six! & Utah Blogger Meet Up - YOU'RE Invited!

2012-02-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh... it really happened. My babies are 6 years old TODAY!

It only seems like yesterday, that I took this 5 year old picture of them in our living room, at the very same spot! I know I say this EVERY birthday, but I swear, time is just flying right by. It all goes so quickly. I'm so thankful for the power of photography, to help me remember them at each special stage.

One of our most exciting things that happened this year so far, has been the loss of the twins' first teeth! The same one, on the same day, to be exact. ha! So funny.

If I could choose to freeze these sweet kiddos at any moment, from now, since the day they were born... I would choose today. These girls are beyond sweet. They're smart, loving, helpful, happy, and oh-so-cuddly. I feel incredibly blessed to be their Mother. They make my job such a joy.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girls!

In other exciting news, over the past year or so I've gotten countless emails from fellow local bloggers asking me if and when I know of events where fellow bloggers mingle... will I let them know!? Well, this is for you!

Hosted by Jane from the See Jane Blog, this fun filled night at Soel Boutique on Wednesday February 22nd will be the social blogger event of the month! :) From bloggers and yummy goodies, to giveaways and fabulous new clothing styles... this party will have it all, and YOU are invited!

So grab some friends, come on out and say hi!

I can't wait to meet you!

♥ sponsored by ♥

soel * see jane blog * milkglass and honey * becky kimball * armelle *freshly picked * elsa bags * cotton & curls *modern palm * annily green * fifth and hazel * sycamore street press zupas * {collected} * gatehouse no.1 mer mag * the Alison show * the house of Smith's * Studio 5

A House Peepers Confession and the Perfect Cure - House Hunters on HGTV!

2012-02-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

*This post is sponsored by me and Cason's ever-growing obsession: HGTV's House Hunters*

Hi. My name is Shelley, and I have a problem.

I'm a house peeper.

(or at least that's what Cason likes to call it) ha!

I'm literally OBSESSED with trying to get a peek into peoples homes, to see what they look like! Forget the people... I just want to see what sort of layout you have, what your kitchen cabinets look like, or what paint colors are on your walls.

Cason first became aware of my little 'guilty pleasure' when we were newly married and taking a walk at night in his parents neighborhood. More then once I stopped dead in my tracks to try and get a good look through a few homes lit up windows... always squinting to sneak a peek at how other people decorate, live, and what kind of things they surround themselves with.

Come ON! Don't you want to know if more people in this world live like this:

or like THIS!?

Yeah... well I do.

Do I sound like a total creeper now, or what!? jeesh. Okay, just for the record, I don't actually walk UP to houses or peer in windows for strange amounts of time with a black ski mask on... it's just more of a once-over "how are ya'll livin' in there?" kinda look.

Still think it's creepy? Well then let me pose this question...

Who here LOVES going through model homes?

I'm pretty sure that most of you are thinking... "Oh yeah! Can't get enough!"

Well... it's basically the same thing. Those homes are set up like people are living in them, no? From fake fruit out on the counter, to the never worn his & hers bathrobes in the master bedroom closet. It's the intrigue of living life in a beautiful, new space that makes us crave those model home experiences.

Who's with me?

So that being said, it's only natural that between my nosey nature, and Cason's need to one day visit far off places, that House Hunters and House Hunters International, are pretty much two of our favorite shows on HGTV. Really... it's perfect. Now we can just lay in our bed while other people do the work of showing us beautiful new countries and sneak peeks into complete strangers homes.

;)

If you're not familiar with the show then you can check out the House Hunters Facebook page and also tune into the all new House Hunters International Season Premier, TONIGHT on HGTV at 10:30/9:30c.
While you're waiting, you can catch up on past episodes online.

Oh, and you DEFINITELY don't want to miss this next part... My cute friend Allison from Petit Elefant will be hosting a live Twitter Chat party during the House Hunters International premier tonight, and she'll be telling you all about how to win an iPad 2, with the new HGTV to GO App on it!
Party, Party!

You can also download these fun House Hunters Bingo cards here.

Ya, you better believe that I've already got mine ready. Cason and I are super competitive and we always try to see who's going to be right about which house the buyers will pick on the show.

I'll admit, I'm usually wrong, so maybe having a leg-up on bingo will help. ha!

Whada' say?...Are you ready to join in the obsession of peeking into homes with me!? You never know what kind of ideas or styles that you may be exposed to, just by simply seeing how "the other half" lives.

Where to Start when Re-Doing a Space & My Inspiration Tool

2012-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

Remember how our word for this year is RISK?

Well, I got an email a couple of days ago from a reader that said this:

I really love your style and your house seems like it's filled with happiness. I live in a condo and it's so dark! No sunlight and some of the walls are even painted dark brown. I want to have a fresher looking space, but I don't know where to start, and I'm scared to jump in because I don't know what style I'm even going for!? It all seem so overwhelming! Any advice as to where I should begin?

Thanks for your help and inspiration,

Sharon R.

I can't tell you how many times I get emails like this from readers. I TOTALLY feel your pain, and know exactly what you're going through. When we started priming our home... that's the ONLY plan we had. ha! We didn't know if we wanted a modern, contemporary or cottage-type look. We just knew we needed a change, and that paint was the least expensive, least risky way to start.

My number one response to Sharon's email was... "PAINT, PAINT, PAINT!" Followed up closely by... "Take it one space/wall at a time". If we look at the big picture of trying to transform our ENTIRE house all in a short period of time... well then you WILL get overwhelmed. Heck! We've been "re-doing" our upstairs for over 2 years now, and it's STILL not done! But one of the easiest ways to transform ANY space is to freshen up your room with a new coat of paint on the walls AND the trim. If you know that you're going to be keeping existing furniture, then pick a new paint color that will compliment it. If you feel like you want to start over with all new things, then begin with a beautiful neutral wall, until you can decide if you want to accent with other colors later.

I recommend Autumn Haze by Glidden.

I know that everyone is already aware of my obsession with it, but really... it's the best neutral we've ever used, with the perfect mix of yellow and green tones to cancel out any pink-y hues, that sometimes neutral paints can send off.

I really am loving the My Colortopia blog, that I posted about a few weeks back, because some of the best painting advice has been coming from there!

I loved the latest article from Melissa titled: Don't Panic! You've got to read it. It ties in perfectly with our word "RISK" this year. Melissa talks all about taking the risk of trying a new, bright paint color in her bathroom and the thought process she went through.

Also on the My Colortopia site right now, they have this really great tool called My Image Inspiration. It's a great way to kick-start your rooms 're-do' process. You can upload a picture of something you like, a piece of art, furniture or fabric, and you'll get a selection of color pallets to look through as paint suggestions for your next room!

I chose this adorable grey pillow to use as my inspiration piece, because we're looking for a REALLY light grey paint color for our bedroom. Here were my results...

I think I'm going to have to try out that Shaded Ice color, looks kinda promising :)

Again, you can access the My Image Inspiration tool at My Colortopia.com, and read about lots of helpful paint tips and tricks over at the My Colortopia blog.

Just keep in mind... it's not about having the "perfect space"... it's about having a home that reflects who you and your family really are! If you're only worried about going along with what everyone else is doing, then you'll never feel accomplished, and may even talk yourself out of starting, AT ALL!

First and foremost, before anything else... gather up ideas of spaces, textures or patterns that YOU love... instead of stressing about how things will work out in the end, or what specific style you'll have to pin yourself into. To me, it's all about a "feeling". I knew I wanted a space that felt happy, clean, organized and welcoming. A place where I felt like I could take on "the every-day" (even when it dished out it's worst) and in the end... still feel like I had the perfect place (for me) to just sit, relax, and be content in my home, surrounded by the people I loved.

* I have been sponsored by Glidden brand paint to write this post,

but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Valentine's Day and My Joss & Main Curated Event!

2012-02-14T12:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!!
Our morning has been filled with chocolate, flowers and lots of PINK! We want all of you to know how MUCH we love and appreciate you today... and we hope that everyone has a fabulous day filled with lots of love
:)

ALSO... a fun announcement!

Remember when I talked about some of those "secrets"... that really aren't secrets, but more just some things that I couldn't really talk about yet, until they actually happened?

Well, this is one of them!

I'm thrilled to finally tell all of you fine people that I have partnered with Joss & Main to host one of their amazing curator events! I was so happy when they asked if I'd be interested in picking some of my most favorite Home decor items for a personalized House of Smiths sale!

Okay, let me back up, I know I've talked about Joss & Main before, but just in case you're new... Joss & Main is a high-end flash sale, all-things-home-decor site, that sells tons of on-trend, amazing products at 20-50% off retail. You DO have to be a member to receive the best deals, but it's quick, easy, and you can sign up here.

Here are a few sneak peeks of a couple of items that will be included in my event!

Eeek! So cute right! My event will be titled "A Cheerful Welcome". With the basic concept that each of these pieces I picked (together or separately) will be able to help you create the feeling of a bright, airy, happy home, perfect for welcoming your family and friends into.

As I was picking the items for my sale I always had the thought in mind... "Would I put that in my OWN home?" And I can honestly answer YES to every piece. This meant that I had to be a bit more picky in my selection processes, but it was totally worth it, now that I can see the entire event put together. As I was choosing my pieces I also tried to keep in mind all different kinds of price ranges that my readers may have for their home decor budget, so you'll see some VERY affordable finds! My sale starts next week on Tuesday the 21st over at Joss & Main, so make sure that you sign up here, with this personal invitation link from me, so you don't get put on a waiting list.

Joss & Main Invitation from House of Smiths

*** I will receive a small referral fee for new member's signing up, just like YOU will too, when you share the Joss & Main site with your friends!

Whoo-hoo I'm seriously excited for next week and can't wait till you see all the fun colors and styles that I've picked for the sale...so mark it on your calenders and don't forget!

Happy Tuesday!

A Precious Person, Playing, Pretty Pillows & More!

2012-02-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have been quite busy!
We've got a new nephew/cousin in our family and had a chance to head North for his sweet blessing,

been having lots of fun outside, mostly playing in the unseasonably warm weather here in Utah, with just a few snowflakes every couple of weeks,

and are also getting accustom to having homework everyday and learning how to read!
:)

This past weekend we even shot our little episodes for My Craft Channel, that will air in a few months. It was VERY stressful to get everything ready and put together, but once we started filming (and got past the first few episodes) it was actually pretty fun! Having to talk in front of a camera without a host of some sort, is really hard!

The episodes are basically just a live look at some of the popular projects and tutorials we've done on our blog, a couple of FAQ's from our readers and really simple, beginner tool tips from our awesome handy-dad! The episodes won't go live until probably around April, so we'll keep you posted when they're ready!

As for Project: Entryway Closet Makeover... I'm STILL waiting on some pillows I ordered to finish everything off. I received two of them in the mail on Saturday and I'm in LOVE!

The yellow pillow actually ended up having a lot of green in it, so I'm not sure how it will work in the nook yet, but I LOVE the print. And I'm really diggin' the navy, grey-blue and white ikat pillow, it works great with the grey walls. We're getting closer people! I'm going to go searching on Etsy for a large 26x26 inch pillow next. Wish me luck!

Have a Great Day Everyone!

Brightsides Designs Giveaway - Simple Art for Rad People!

2012-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Who's ready for a giveaway!? It's been a while.

I'm really excited about today's giveaway from Brightsides Designs by my friend Amelia! I have gabbed all about Amelia's unique prints before, but it wasn't until emails started pouring in from people wanting to know where to find them that I KNEW I had to offer up some of these cute prints to a lucky reader.

First, a little about Amelia...

I have always loved art and everything that goes along with it. It keeps me running! After studying Art & Business in College and not having a clue as to what I wanted to do, I think I've finally found my two passions, Digital Art & Photography. Wanting to develop unique, personalized pieces for my own home, I began designing what i love- sentimental, inspirational & "bright" art. My vision continues to be "distinctive simplicity". Clean lines, bold shapes, and color are my inspirations. After some grateful coaxing from friends, family & the blogging community, I decided to start selling my art.

Striving to create a little something for everyone, I have included neutral colors and customization capabilities for most of my pieces, as well as effortless pairing and grouping possibilities to aid in cohesive décor.

Thank you for your interest in Brightsides Designs! I hope you enjoy the shop!

Here are a few samples of her 'rad designs' from the Brightsides Design shop...

Amelia and I have known each other for about 5 years, and I must say that I have ALWAYS loved her personal style, so when she told me about her new line of prints I almost didn't even need to see them to know I was going to want some for my own home :)

I actually have this print on it's way...

I'm thinking of blowing it up and putting it behind our front door next to our almost finished hallway nook! A great thing about Amelia's work is that you can customize your prints to match YOUR homes decor.

Love that!

Okay, so now that you've had a chance to see a little bit of what Amelia has to offer, here's how to

win a $50 credit to her shop:

How to Enter:

Simply head over to Brightsides Desings, pick your favorite print and then come back and let me know which you would like to have in your home!

Extra Entry:

Like Brightsides Designs on Facebook.

Easy peazy! Don't forget to leave an email if you don't have it attached to your profile.

I'll announce a winner next week!

Ooo, and right now Amelia has a 4x6 $1.25 printable in her shop especially for Valentine's day!

So cute, AND affordable! I love instant gratification online shopping

Amelia is also offering a discount to House of Smiths readers!

*** BUY 2 get ONE FREE!***

Simply specify the free print of your choice (of equal or lesser value) in the 'comment to seller' box. Be sure to include size, color, customization's, etc...

Have a Great Day Everyone!

Project Entryway Closet Makeover: Part 2 - Design

2012-02-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Yay! We're back with Part 2 of the "Project Entryway Closet Makeover!"

Start at Part 1, if you missed it earlier.

I think I should clear something up first... This closet makeover, to-this-day STILL isn't totally done. So when everyone sends me emails asking to see the finished product ASAP... well, I don't have much to show you yet, because I'm still working on all the finishing touches! I PROMISE that nobody wants to see it completely D.O.N.E more then ME! lol

So that being said, here is Part 2, the designing stage of our closet. Part 3 will be our LAST stage for this project so don't worry, I'm not just stringing you along. ha! I literally will be searching for the perfect pillows and accessories to finish off the space tomorrow (wish me luck). And once those are found...

YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR FINISHED ENTRYWAY NOOK!!!

(said with one fist in the air and in my best Mel Gibson, Brave Heart impersonation)

Okay, so let's get this party started...

You know by now that pretty much everything around here starts with a sketch, and this project was no different. We knew that we wanted this space to serve a few different functions.

1. Beauty (visual interest and more open space)

2. Storage (for coats, gloves, hats, boots, batteries, light bulbs, extension cords, etc...)

3. Seating (a place to relax, take off/put on your shoes, talk on the phone, etc...)

So once we knocked down our walls and measured the space that we had available, we started working up our design plan. First things first, rip up the small patch of carpet and build a platform for the bottom of our nook, along with a bench above it.

We did this by building sort of a grid with 2x4's and 3 inch screws, like below.

Then we bought inexpensive pieces of 3/4 inch thick plywood, notched out the corners (to make room for the nooks opening) and laid those on top.

Once Cason and my Dad had that done I got to work painting everything with 2 good coats of primer. After that was finished we used our nail gun to adhere the bench really well to the 2x4 grid we built earlier.

Now it was time to decided what type of medium I wanted to use for the walls. For a LONG time I was determined to use wallpaper. I even found a really awesome design...

But in the end, after a lot of discussion with Cason, we decided that wallpaper probably wouldn't hold up to the wet coats and "kid traffic" that would be flowing through here everyday, and since we really wanted this space to be durable... beadboard it was! BUT, instead of putting the sheets vertical, I decided to flip them on their sides, so it resembled more of a paneled look.

The second I saw it coming together I let out a little squeal because I loved it so much!

Next was storage, so a killer-awesome shelf was in need! I designed a two shelf system for my Dad to help me build where the top level would be for baskets to house those batteries, extension cords and light bulbs in... and then the lower level shelf would be for wire baskets that would hold kid papers and mail.

Instead of just two regular shelves, one over the other at the same level, we scattered them a bit and made these custom dividers. I used the dividers as not only support for the top shelf and sectioning agents for the wire baskets (you can see in the photo below, that without all the dividers the baskets up top would be too heavy and the shelf would droop) but also as a decorative element. See below, how they mimic the shape of the corbels below on the bottom shelf?

(corbels bought at Home Depot)

** In the long run the baskets in these pictures ended up being too tall and not working, so I returned them and bought a smaller size.

Cason finished off the plywood shelving with decorative trim on the fronts to give the space a more finished, manicured look.

Yeah, I don't know HOW I didn't realize there was a big ol' fly in this picture when I took it. ha!...

oh well.

So after all was said and done, this is what the shelving unit looked like!

Before we started decorating anything we had to finish off the outsides of the nook with some pretty trim. I pre-painted all the trim before hand to cut down on work later, and then my Dad and Cason assembled the top part of molding the way I designed it. It consisted of 3 pieces. A small, thin piece of trim turned on it's side for the bottom, a 4 inch board for the middle rise and then a chunky piece of brick molding for the top, to make a 'crown molding' look.

After that was installed we finished off the rest of the nook with boards around the edges. For ME, this is the BEST part! I love the difference finishing details make!

Now it was MY turn to really get to work. I filled 2,367 nail holes (wink), sanded down everything and primed it all white. I have to say that this process was DEFINITELY the most time consuming.

For the longest time I figured we would just keep the whole nook white, and accent with color, but Cason was obsessed with the idea of having deep grey planked walls in this space... so I went with it!

I actually really like the way it makes the white 'pop' and since we're pretty much using the grey and white color scheme in the rest of our projects lately... why not? ha!

Alright, so this is about where we are in the processes, minus a few decor items that we've added. It took about a MONTH for me to find the RIGHT fabric for the bench cushion, but I finally decided on that small swatch of grey circle fabric from Dwell Studios. I actually have my cute sewing-genius-friend Katie working on assembling the bench cushion cover as we speak! Normally I would have attempted it, but I really wanted the cushion to be piped along the edges... and that is NOT a 'basic-sewer skill' ha!

I'm still struggling with exactly what pillows I want in this space, so that's my next step.

I'm getting really excited to pull all of this together! It's been a long-time coming, believe me. Hopefully everything will be done by next week so I can share!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Valentine's Day Mini Cards from Brighside Prints

2012-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to drop in this weekend to tell all of you lovely people about something super ADORABLE!... Mini Custom Valentine's Day cards and labels for your kiddos from Brightside Prints!

Honestly... could these designs be any sweeter!? I knew I wanted the girls' pictures on their Valentine's Day cards this year, because those were always MY favorite in Elementary school to get, and so I snapped a few poses of them last week and sent them off to Jill. She worked wonders with the color matching and placing the photos just right....And yes, all Brightside Print orders include complimentary printing on the backs of each card. I love that!

Jill and her amazing team of designers were also the ones responsible for Aubrielle's fairy ballerina birthday announcement too, remember? I always order a set of coordinating custom labels with my cards as well, because I'm obsessed with how they complete the whole package and add that little 'extra'

The girls were THRILLED when they saw their little Valentine's come in the mail. They're already listing off all of their friends who they want to give them to, and writing little love notes on the backs of the "special ones". ha!

You've GOT to jump over to Brightside Prints to see all of the different Valentine's Day mini or full size card designs. I promise you'll love them! I'll be totally honest and say that I don't really trust anybody else with my custom cards, announcements or invitations other then Jill and her team. Their designs are trendy yet classic and my products always come super quick!

If you're wanting to order some of these cute cards here are some things to know:

* If you order before the 7th of February you can guarantee to have your cards before Valentine's Day.

* Use the code "SMITHS" at check out, and you can get 10% off of your entire order.

* Become a fan of Brightside Prints on Facebook and get an additional 10 cards FREE!

And even if you're not in need of Valentine's cards right now, you've still got to check out all of the cute designs, if you haven't already. Brightside Prints has pretty much covered EVERY occasion :)

And just ONE more share...
Jill gave me a sneak peek into some new baby announcements that they'll be adding this week.
Oh my gosh, I Die. Totally amazing.

Photo-a-day Linky Party - January

2012-02-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Whoohoo! Welcome to our first EVER linky party! Are you as excited as I am?

Finding out about the January photo-a-day challenge from Fat Mum Slim was so exciting for me in 2012 because I have a goal this year to document EVERY DAY in a photo. At first it sounded completely overwhelming, but with the power of Instagram, Picframe and the My365 apps, the photo-a-day challenge has really been enjoyable, fun and easy!

It wasn't until about a week ago when I got my first set of January photo-a-day StickyGram Magnets I ordered, that I realized how MUCH I really loved having these simple, everyday memories to look back on!

This sparked my idea to find a way that everyone could share their January wrap up posts with each other, and so...the photo-a-day linky party was born!

I honestly have to say that my only motive with doing this linky party each month, (besides the fact that I LOVE getting to know people through creative, pretty photos) is that hopefully at least even a handful of people will feel inspired to take the photo-a-day challenges and post about them on their blogs.
I really feel like life passes us by too quickly, and we rarely take the appropriate amount of time to stop and appreciate some of the most important things. People we love, Meals we are blessed to have, Happy moments that make you smile, etc...
This photo challenge has really stopped me in my tracks during my busiest days and made me slow down, and think about how to capture that days photo subject in the most meaningful way possible. I believe that every picture should tell a story, and these photo-a-day topics challenge us to do just that.

So Here we go! MY roundup of January's photos!...
you can also follow us daily on Instagram under the name "houseofsmiths"

It was a VERY busy month, between traveling, kids, conferences, weight loss and blogging. It's so fun to look back over these images and remember all of it :)

Now it's YOUR turn! If you feel comfortable enough to share your photos from this past month with me (and others) go on ahead and link up below! I'd love to see YOUR take on January's topics!

If you want to spread the word about our little party, feel free! You can use either of these images here.

If not, I'm totally cool with that too :) And if you need help finding out HOW to link your photo-a-day post up, you can read more about that here.

Don't forget to start your challenge for February as well! You can find the list of photo topics from Fat Mum Slim, here. Thank you Chantelle for all your hard work in putting these challenge lists together each month! Also, while you're in link up mode, head on over to Kellie's blog, she's hosting a linky party too!
Happy photographing everyone!

Converting Closets into Offices & a Pinterest Contest at Homes.com!

2012-02-02T07:05:00.002-08:00

As I mentioned before, I've been writing weekly articles over at Homes.com and it's been so fun to be able to explore the internet for some of the best decorating and organizing ideas this past month! I'll be sharing one of my articles here on the blog and also links to my other articles at the end of each month, so you're sure not to miss anything! :)

Also make sure to stay tuned at the end of this post for a really fun Pinterest Contest announcement from Homes.com!

"I believe in small spaces; a place where comfort, beauty and practicality can all co-exist in harmony. Any fool can make things bigger and more complex, but it takes a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction." - Thoreau & Gower

I adore this quote and truly believe that it is the best way to describe the latest trend of regular closets, nooks and furniture, turned extraordinary home offices. There is a big "wow factor" to these innovative, space-maximizing transformations that really has started a new trend... especially for home owners who find themselves short on square footage, or additional space for a traditional office.

These small, yet multi-functional 'rooms' are actually becoming more and more popular in homes of all sizes. If you've been looking for a great way to create more space out of an underutilized closet, here are some great ideas!

1. 2. 3. 4

As you can see, simple shelving inside of a closet office is the key to adding room for additional storage.

If you have a small nook or closet that no longer has usable doors, but you still want to be able to close off your new office to others when not using it, try some inexpensive curtains or draperies to section off your space.

1. 2. 3

If you think there's no hope for a cool, space-saving office in your home because all of your closets are already being used and you don't have an empty little nook... don't worry, you're in luck! You can make your own with just a simple re-purposed piece of furniture!

From a bookshelf to an old TV cabinet, almost anything can be made into a small home office with just a little imagination.

1. 2. 3. 4

Here are some things to keep in mind when constructing YOUR new innovative office space.

Pinpoint what Functions you'll need to Preform:

These makeshift offices can have a big impact but are still small on organizational space, so make sure you scale down on clutter and paper mess to keep your office as organized as possible. Also, when building your new office keep in mind the KINDS of storage you'll need room for. Will it be standing files or flat boxes? Knowing what sorts of storage containers you'll be working with in the beginning will help you eliminate any space requirement headaches later on.

Get Comfortable.

Nowadays we tend to spend a LOT of time in our home offices, especially when using the computer. So find a counter top height and office chair that will be comfortable and easy on your body. Think about possibly finding a place in your new office to store a small throw, if you should get chilly or lumbar pillow for your back. Since the biggest allure about a home office is that it's in the comfort of your own home, make sure to take this factor into account!

Create an Inspiring Environment.

Sometimes working within cramped spaces can make people irritable. One way to combat that is to surround yourself with inspiring color and design. Pick a paint, wallpaper or color scheme in your space that will make you WANT to dwell there. When we feel happy and content in our surroundings it reflects heavily in our work and attitude.

. . .

You can catch all of our other organizational posts for this past month and lots of other great room design ideas from Beth, over at the Homes.com blog!

Kitchen Organization Ideas

Budget Friendly Garage Organizational Ideas

Unique Closet Organizing Ideas

Now for the FUN news!
If you haven't heard already, Homes.com is hosting a
Valentine's Day, Pin it if you Love it Contest!

There are five $250 gift cards up for grabs, and all you have to do is create a virtual pin board featuring 10 homes you love on Homes.com!

Here's exactly how to play:

1. Create a Homes.com 'Pin it if you Love it' board on Pinterest.

2. Head on over to Homes.com and look through all of the homes for sale or rent. Then Pin your top 10 favorite homes based on interior design, exterior beauty or whatever else seems to catch your eye!

3. Then simply input your 'Pin it if you Love it' board link to the Homes.com contest page, for a chance to win one of five $250 home improvement gift cards!

You can see MY 'Pin it if you Love it' house picks with comments here:

If you're not familiar with Pinterest, you can read all about how to use it here. And if you need an invitation to Pinterest, you can send your email address to contest@homes.com, and they'll hook you up!

Contest ends on February 15th, 2012. Winners will be judged on creativity and originality based on the discription provided and selections made, composition of board and overall relevancy to the contests theme.

I have to say that I had way too much fun searching through all these gorgeous house pictures, so go get started! Looking for a beautiful home is WAY more enjoyable when you can spend whatever you want!
:)

A Weight Loss Journey - From the Beginning

2012-01-31T15:17:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I've been putting this post off for a while now... mostly because of the fact that I knew it would take me a LONG time to write, but also because I have been a bit skeptical to "put it all out there", due to being completely exposed. But after an inbox full of emails from women who struggle with the same challenge in life that I do and wanted to know what I was doing to overcome it... I knew I couldn't wait anymore... So, today we're going to take a sharp left turn here at the House of Smiths and chat a little bit about one of the biggest (literally) challenges in MY life... Weight.

Bleehk, ugh, grrr, ahhh, blahhh

Yup, I could pretty much end the post with that last gargle of written sounds and we could be done, because it describes to a T, how I feel about the subject of me and my fat. But because I have always had the tendency to talk too much, this post shall go on...

Strap on your seat belts and hold tight, you will now be taken through the super-turbo-fast-flyin' tale of Shelley and her lifetime struggle with weight, and how she's slowly trying to conquer it. If at any point you get bored, wonder why we're even talking about this, because it has nothing to do with a DIY home project or feel that the post has gotten way out of control, due to it's length... then please feel free to jump off this ride at anytime.

My weight problem started around 10 years old. I remember not being able to shop in the "normal girl" clothing section in stores and how frustrated it made my Mom and me. (probably more my mom) I remember feeling different, fat, and sometimes self conscious as I noticed that I was a lot bigger then other girls my age. At that time there was no "missy plus" section in stores. It was either girls or women's sizes... not much in-between, like today.

Let me preface this by saying that I grew up in a AWESOME household environment. I always felt loved, never needed for anything, had smart, caring, successful parents and for the most part... got along with my siblings pretty well! (minus a few spitting fights and screaming matches...totally normal though right?. ha!) I was an all-around really happy kid! Even though I struggled with my weight, it never made me feel like less of a person. This mentality has carried on throughout my entire life and I couldn't be more grateful for it.
I know that a lot of people with weight issues can suffer from a lack of self worth.

My elementary years were... elementary? (ha!) Lots of fun friends and recesses. Middle school was pretty much the same. I remember being called fat one time by a little boy from a younger class...and then also remember him promptly getting punched in the face by one of my best guy friends who overheard. Needless to say, I have always had ridiculously amazing friends. I was the epitome of a social butterfly.
(red flag for future social media job, ha!)

High School was awesome. I found myself never hanging out with just one specific group or people. I always jumped from one little clan to another, having really great friends wherever I ended up! I definitely had my few "best friends" but always felt free to make new friends and talk with all sorts of people on campus. From the nerds to the party crowd and jocks, I felt comfortable with all sorts of people and their lifestyles. I'm still a lot of the same way today. I've always had the notion that you can't judge a book by it's cover. (maybe because MY "cover" has never really expressed the REAL me?)

I liked boys, they liked me back. I dated, I partied, AND got into my fair share of mildly-dramatic teenage trouble. (hee hee) And through all of that... even ended up making some pretty decent grades on my report cards! Pretty much, life was FUN and most of the time... a breeze! And YES, contrary to what television and movies depict, I did all of this WHILE being overweight! From about 9th grade until I graduated, I pretty much hovered around the same body size.

Then collage came... and I don't know if I missed the memo in high school, but guess what!? COLLEGE IS HARD! (said in true valley-girl, socialite fashion). Really! I went to my first few classes and thought... "WOAH! This is WAY more then I can handle!" So I did the only thing I knew how to do, well... Socialize and party with my friends.

ack! don't ask...

Yes, I sound quite shallow right now, but give me a break, it was my first time away from home, I was living in a different state, and I was 19.

After the college scene ended (only a year later) my Dad lit a fire under my butt and said... "Shelley, what do you REALLY want to do in life?" After a brainstorming session, I decided I wanted to go to Cosmetology school.

And this my friends... is where I really started packing on the pounds.

I'm not quite sure what I was thinking, but during my 18 months in Cosmetology school, I bet I put at least 60-75 pounds onto my already overweight frame! We ordered lunch in EVERYDAY, and our classrooms were always filled with some kind of sweet treat. It's like I had no sensor. I would just consume whatever was put out, because it was there! And for anyone who's been to Cosmetology school, you KNOW that more of your days are filled working in a cramped back room on mannequin heads, then actually working on real clients. This lead to boredom and LOTS of mindless eating.

Although Cosmetology school was bad for my body, and I no longer actually "do hair", I must say that it's the first experience in my life that really sparked my creative talents and passion for design. And for that, I will forever be grateful.

Once I graduated from Cosmetology school I moved back home, fatter then ever! I honestly couldn't find a photo, because I don't think I even allowed pictures to be taken of me. I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, I had a dead-end job at a haircut chain establishment and for the first time, not because of anyone else's mistakes, but my own... I started feeling like "less".

It was about this time that I realized I needed to make some monumental changes. Religion plays a huge roll in this portion of my life, but I won't get too deeply into that. (Just a FYI)

After eventually "finding myself" I started a series of crash diets and lost about 40+lbs. I found that "happy person" again, I met and married Cason in less then 6 months...

about a year later we had twin girls, and only 19 months after that... our third sweet baby arrived.

WHEW!

Needless to say, I was exhausted!... but still fat. Grrrr.

Fast-forward to 2011.

Our kids were growing up, I was busy with my blog, Cason's work was going well, and I started to feel the stress of being a "baby Mommy" lift off my shoulders. You know... the moment when you suddenly realize that you no longer have to carry a diaper bag or haul a bulky stroller around? That your kids can now pour milk into their cereal for breakfast (best day EVER) and you spend more time sleeping then you do awake, between the hours of 11pm - 8am!?... I was in a GREAT place, and I felt like all of the balls I had been juggling were finally disappearing! But no matter how hard I tried, I still had one big HEAVY ball left in my hands, that made it nearly impossible for me to do all the things I really wanted to... My Weight.

So 2011 turned out to be, what I like to call... THE YEAR OF DIETS. And I'm sure what Cason would like to call... THE YEAR OF WASTED MONEY.

I tried EVERYTHING. From Juices and pills, to shakes and exercise. Sometimes all of those at once.

I even called in the "big-dawgs"... A Queen, Jennifer and Marie!

I would always lose about 10-15 pounds, but in the long run, nothing worked (for me). Don't get me wrong, I believe that ANY diet CAN work, if you're in the right mind set to do it... but clearly, I was NOT. We even spent 4 hours and hundreds of dollars going through the motions of preparing for gastric bypass surgery. (which in the end, wound up not even being a good option for me at the time).

I remember one night sitting in my bed, head in my hands bawling to Cason about my weight troubles (something that had been done multiple times in our marriage and which never really did much good because Cason always reassured me that he loved me like crazy no matter WHAT size I was)... but this time I was at a breaking point. I was feeling better then EVER with my spirit, my family, my relationship with my husband, my work, and my kids... but as hard as I tried, I just couldn't get a grip on this endless trial that I had been given, of conquering my OWN BODY!

Was my FAT seriously going to define me the rest of my life!?

I don't know what it was, but during the months of July through November... something snapped. Not being fat anymore was the ONLY thing I could think about. Usually I could shake these feelings off or overshadow them with other projects and responsibilities, but this time was different. I'm pretty sure that if you were a close friend of mine between these 4-5 months and got me alone long enough, you witnessed me breaking down to you about my "big-fat-problem". (sorry Susan, Lara, Jen, Amy and Kristine. ha!)

I remember telling my friend Susan one night that I was ready to REALLY do something about this weight problem of mine, but I felt like I was missing something or someone. This imaginary "KEY" to my success that hadn't been found yet in any other plan or diet that I'd tried. I'm sure she thought I was mildly crazy, but nodded and agreed with me anyway... coaxing me to be proactive in trying to find it!...

So I did. Or should I say, Cason did.
:)

Only a few weeks later Cason came home from work and we had this conversation:

Me: "Why do you look suspicious?"

Cason: "Well, I did something, but you can't get mad"

Me: "Ugh, WHAT?"

Cason: "I signed us up to go to a weight loss seminar"

Me: "WHAT!? NO! Why did you do that? I'm not going!"

Cason: "Come on, just go with me. It sounds really good. It's a program that a girl at work told me about called Body Metrix, and it's led by an ex NFL football player and doctor!"

Me: "Ugggggggh! I'm DEFINITELY not going! I'm sure he only works with skinny cheerleaders who want to be skinnier, and football players who want those crazy bodies where they have no necks!"

Cason: "Look, I love you, and I know this is something that makes you really uncomfortable... but YOU ARE GOING!"

Me: "FINE! Whatever!"

There was a swift smack on my behind from my smiley husband who was more then happy that he had won this little battle, and honestly... I was really busy with blog stuff for the holidays, so I just pushed it to the back of my mind until I REALLY had to deal with it.

Well, Friday of that week came, and Cason reminded me about our "seminar". I reluctantly got into the car with him and headed to our appointment.

That night, I met Doc. (aka: Dr. Hall) and Matt (aka: my "KEY")

In a nutshell, the seminar was actually really good! I didn't feel weird at all and everyone was totally laid back and nice. (plus I wasn't the only person there, so that helped) ha!

Basically, Matt and Doc had created this really amazing rapid weight loss and health optimization program called Body Metrix.

They had come up with some of the best products and techniques to kick start your body into it's fat burn zone, all while maintaining muscle mass.
Want to know all that I heard? ... "WE CAN MAKE YOU HEALTHIER AND SKINNER"... and that's all that mattered at that moment. I was sold, and honestly just had the attitude of "Eh, why not?" So I signed up and started the Body Metrix journey on November 18th 2011. Yup! Right before Thanksgiving, my birthday, our anniversary, Christmas and New Years. Total weight-loss no-no, right? Well... my reasoning behind it was simple. If I can succeed during the WORST time to lose weight in the whole year, then I can do it ANYTIME. I was out of excuses, and quite frankly, Matt was probably more excited about me losing weight at this point then I was, ha!... and I didn't want to let him down.

So, even longer story longer... It's been about 11 weeks and even though I've been posting updates about my weight loss journey through Facebook, I have been waiting until now, to REALLY come out and talk about it.

Why? Because...

1. I finally feel like I am strong enough to keep going.

2. I now understand what it takes to ACTUALLY lose weight.

hint: A good clean diet and the RIGHT kinds of exercise... go figure! :)

3. I'm DONE letting my fat define me, I'm sick of being a "before" and I'm ready to share my journey with someone else who feels the same way I do.

I wake up every day with the realization that this is it, that there's only one shot at this life and I can either enjoy the ride, live it to its fullest and highest potential... or I can stay the way I am.

Instead of FEELING like less, I want to LOOK like it.

To today's date, I have officially lost 30 pounds.

(fist pumps in the air!)

To celebrate my small victory in this war, I threw out 6 pairs of these today...

As Cason was trying to stuff my workout pants onto a full shelf in our closet after folding the laundry he ripped down my jean pile and said... "If you can button and zip any of these pants up and then slide them off without UN-buttoning or UN-zipping them... then they HAVE to go"

Guess what? I only have one pair of jeans left in my entire wardrobe, ha! And although that should make me a bit frustrated, when trying to find something to wear in the morning... it doesn't.

I can do this... I know I can!

The fit, fun, spunky girl inside of me is just WAITING to feel as good on the outside as she does on the inside!

I feel like I can honestly say that the first 4 weeks were the absolute hardest... an uphill climb, if you will. Anyone can start a diet or exercise routine and do it for a week... maybe even two. But once I passed that 4th week I had the thought...

"Okay then, this is really how I'm going to live from now on!"

*Answering to my health coach every week

* No sugar

* VERY low carb

* Lots of fiber

* Gym 6 days a week

* Enough water everyday to make my eyeballs float.

It was then that I realized this was going to be WAY harder then I thought, and since then... my body has been fighting me EVERY step of the way. Each pound has been a struggle to get off and some weeks are better then others.

There is NO EASY WAY to loose weight, if you want to do it the RIGHT way.

I figured that if I made myself this way, then I was going to have to UN-make myself this way. And no juice, pill, shot or procedure was going to magically do the work for me... even if I did have crappy-fatty genetics.

Do I still have a loooong way to go before I'm the healthiest, best looking me???... Um, yeah.

But now I feel empowered, knowledgeable, stronger and hopeful. It may take a year, it may take TWO... but I know that I'll get there eventually. And once I do, I'm NEVER going back.

This may not make sense to anyone else, but now that I've seen my first results and have dropped some noticeable inches, I can't decided if I'm more scared to actually LOOSE the weight or gain it back. My weight has been a part of me for 29 years. And as odd as it sounds, I can't imagine life without it.

But this IS the year...and I'm willing to take the RISK.

Photo-a-day Linky Party Announcement

2012-01-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yes! It's true, I'm actually going to be hosting my very FIRST linky party, here at The House of Smiths. shocking! :)

Honestly, I haven't really felt passionate enough about something to learn the 'linky party ropes' (or pay for it) until I started this monthly photo-a-day challenge with Fat Mum Slim. Here were the January photo-a-day topics from Chantelle's site in case you missed them or want to play catch-up. You can also head to Chantelle's blog to read about HOW to participate!

I got such amazing feedback from all of you about how much this photo-a-day challenge really helped you to capture those special moments in life everyday, and so I thought, what better time then NOW to spread my wings and try my hand at all of the linky party fun!

I'm sure that about 99.9% of you have linked up on a party before, but because it's a new feature for MY blog and for those of you who haven't ever linked up anywhere, here's a little bit more about how to actually participate!

1. Write a post on YOUR blog about your photo-a-day challenge for the month and publish it. You can share each photo, put it in a collage, just take a phone screen shot of all of your little thumbnails, or simply just jot down your thoughts from this months challenge with your favorite picture from one of the topics.

2. Then head back over here on the 3rd of February, click on the icon that looks like this:

And then you'll be directed to these boxes to fill out:

URL: Remember to use the URL for your actual individual BLOG POST,

not just the main address of your blog.

Name: In this box you'll want to put the name of your blog or the title of your blog post. Whichever you choose.

Email:You must input this, but it won't be shared with anyone but me :)

3. You will then be directed to a page where all of your photos for that specific post will be listed and you can pick out a picture for your thumbnail image and crop it.

Once you have the area cropped like you want, just click "Crop the selected area" and you're done!

Your little photo icon, with description and link to your photo-a-day post will appear on our linky party! Easy as that!

I'm actually having a bit of party hosting anxiety, so SOMEBODY better show up and party with me or I'll be throwing a different kind of party for myself the rest of the week... you know, the pity kind.

Alrighty you fabulous picture-takin'- peeps, you have a few days to get goin' on those posts until the linky party on Friday the 3rd. Now get movin' so I can sneak a peek into my favorite readers' guilty pleasures, daily routines and refrigerators!... I'm feelin' nosey :)

PS. If you didn't have a chance to participate in January's photo-a-day challenge, you can start with February! Read about the second month's topics here. I'll be hosting a photo-a-day linky party at the end of every month, so jump on the train as soon as you can!

Self Improvement - Working on your OWN Exterior + BeautyMint

2012-01-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

This past year as we've been making more improvements on our home I've also been making a few personal improvements myself. It's definitely something that has been in the works for a while and believe it or not, has taken almost as much time and energy as redoing our house!

The whole reason our blog started was because after I became a wife and mother, I realized that it was up to me to create a surrounding and life for our family that was beautiful, welcoming and safe. I also knew that it had to be a space that I felt 'at home', because as a stay-at-home Mom I knew that I would be IN my house, most of the day.

As Cason and I started making improvements on our space and finally found a style that worked perfectly for us, I also felt this overwhelming need to work on myself as well. I don't know if the feeling eventually came around because my kids were old enough and I finally had a few seconds to focus on ME, or if it was because I was quickly approaching the big 3-0 and I refused to feel the same at thirty, as I did at 28...

Whatever this new motivation was, it felt GREAT and after focusing all of my time for the last 4 years on 3 babies and going through the journey of finding ourselves unemployed and having to look for a new job... I was ready to take some time out for myself. Some might say that it's selfish, but I am a firm believer that if you're not happy with yourself as a Mother and wife, then you can't be the kind of caregiver and spouse your children and husband deserve and need.

Funny enough a quote I stumbled upon last year from Dr. Seuss really summed it all up for me...

Deciding to make changes to our home came a lot easier for me then I thought it would. Once we finished our first small space, felt accomplished and excited... it was almost like an addiction and we just wanted to keep going, because it was SO rewarding! The same thing can be said about how I started to feel towards my own personal makeover...

After a little list making I decided to start from the top... literally, like the top of me... more specifically, my head. I don't know if any of you have the same problem, but I'm pretty sure that I totally skipped the "awesome thick hair line" before I got sent to earth... and as a result, have had to deal with somewhat body-less, thin hair. So that being said, hair extensions were first on my list of things to try. You can read more about that here

I loved the look of having thicker hair, so I headed down a few inches on that head of mine and took the big leap of plumping up my lashes as well, with eyelash extensions. Long story short... it's been over 6 months and I'm still in love! Read more about that here and here

Moving forward, it was now time to get a full checkup from the neck-up! Either due to crazy hormones from having kids or maybe just the weird life changing experience of approaching 30, my skin needed a little help. So I jumped at the chance to try the new BeautyMint skincare product line, from the wonderful people at BeachMint.com.

After a quick survey online about how I would describe my skin type on the BeautyMint site, I was matched up with a skincare line that would best suit me. Since I'm prone to ocassional breakouts and dry skin I received the Essential Cleanser, Ultra Replenishing Serum, Sculpting Treatment and Replenishing Moisturizer for my daily skincare routine.

After about 2 weeks of using the BeautyMint product, here are my thoughts:

First, I'm actually thrilled to have a COMPLETE skincare line to use... It's been way too long.

Second, I can definitely tell a difference in the texture and tone of my skin. Since I'm naturally freckle-y and a bit fair, I'm usually pretty sensitive to new skincare, but I haven't noticed any irritation at all with the BeautyMint products. Everything is really mild and completely natural and scent free.

One thing that I did have to get used to with the products, was the feel of them on my skin. The cleanser is a little runnier then I'm used to and the sculpting treatment is a bit sticky when first applied. I felt like I needed a lot more lotion on my skin then what my recommended line called for, but really, I was surprised at how good my skin felt and how much better my makeup went on, when applied afterward! Maybe LESS moisturizer on my face is what I needed all along, because my breakouts are now virtually gone!

Below are a few photos I wanted to share. (we're in a no judgment zone, right?)

The first photo was taken makeup free and blemish rich :)

The second was taken today with no makeup, nearly blemish free and may I say a bit more glow-y!

The third one is a photo with a little Prep & Prime from Mac and foundation from Mary Kay, to cancel out a bit of my red tones.

Pretty dang good, right!? Something I've also noticed is that some of the darker spots on my face that I had around my mouth have really lightened up too!

You can take your own skincare survey on BeautyMint.com and find out what products work best for you and your skins needs. Compared to JUST the cleanser and lotion I was using before, the entire BeautyMint line is about half the price and definitely a bigger bang for my buck. Also, right now, if you use the code "SMITHS" at checkout, you can receive a $20 discount!

Taking the challenge to work on my OWN exterior has actually been quite the journey, but I'll admit... extremely rewarding. For those of you who follow us on Facebook or Instagram I've also been posting updates the past few months on my "total body renovation" as well, and will definitely have more on that, in the near future

I know that I've been a bit of a quote freak lately, but I just have to leave you with this last great one from Emerson...

What have you done for YOU lately!? Are you taking the time to work on your own interior/exterior as well as your homes!? If not, then definitely give it a try. It can REALLY make a difference in your attitude and outlook on life when you're a happier, healthier, prettier, better... you.

This conversation was sponsored on behalf of BeautyMint. I was sent samples of BeautyMint product for free.
All opinions are 100% my own.

Alt Summit 2012 Recap

2012-01-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

Yay! Time for an Alt Summit recap!

First off I have to give a huge THANK YOU to my sponsor this year, Rue la la for being such an amazing company to work with. The ladies on their team are top-notch :)

And secondly, this post would be MOST boring without all the amazing photography talents of Justin Hackworth, Brooke and Moss and Isaac.

So here we go!

Wednesday night of the conference started out with a bang. I headed to a yummy dinner at the wonderful Cucina Tuscana Restaurant with the fabulous ladies from Rue La La and a few fellow bloggers. It was delicious and I had such a good time chatting with new friends and learning about how Rue la la came to be one of the largest online fashion-forward flash sites, with over 5 million users!

(no wonder all the best stuff is always sold out so quickly!)

After dinner Jen, Megan and I headed to Ruth's Chris for a speaker cocktail party hosted by Mail Chimp. It was done beautifully and so fun to meet face to face with lots of fabulous bloggers.

Don't ask... I have no idea what I'm doing in this photo. ha!

Thursday was filled with wonderful, informative panels and a keynote speaker session to boot!

I had the opportunity to get advice from experts like Danielle from Sway, Erin from Design for Mankind, Gabrielle from Design Mom and Maxwell from Apartment Therapy.

The food and gifts were both equally as impressive and always presented so beautifully!

Thursday night was The Winter Wonderland party. I don't think I've seen so many stylish, cute ladies in one place... ever! Such beautiful clothes and accessories. I spent most of the night soaking it all in.

The round table discussion groups started bright and yearly on Friday morning. Jen and I led the discussion on "How to use Facebook as an effective tool to connect." It was the perfect laid back atmosphere for bloggers and business owners to sit around and ask questions and discuss the topics at hand.

One of the biggest highlights from Alt this year was being able to hear Ben Silbermann speak. The creator of Pinterest. He was such a humble, kind, inspiring keynote speaker and really stressed the fact that "Pinterest should inspire you to go out and do the things you love!" One of my favorite quotes from this conference came from him:

"If you don't bet on yourself, no one else will"

I truly believe in this, and after hearing how and why Pinterest came to be, I must say that I'm an even bigger fan then before... if that's at all possible.

I rounded out my Alt experience this year by helping host the oh-so-stylish Rue la la mini party on Friday night. It was perfect! Hot tomato soup and mini grill cheese, caprese skewers and pink pomegranate campaign! The environment was beautiful as well. A fun photo booth and crystals dripping from every corner.

After a night of partying I thought that my excitement had come to an end... but a quick delicious brunch on Saturday with the fabulous Anna and Dan from Big Cartel was the icing on the cake for my wonderful weekend. During a little raffle I became the VERY proud winner of a "Shop for Life" gift certificate!!! Meaning that the nice folks at Big Cartel will now host my House of Smiths Design Shop, free of charge every month! WOWZERS!

if you were wondering, no, my smile couldn't be any cheesier

As a small business owner I was already smitten with using Big Cartel for my shops site hosting needs, but now I'm completely in love after meeting Anna and Dan :)

The ability to list our products exactly how we want in a clean, customizable format has totally changed the way that we do business and at the same time has made it 10 times more successful then before.

My good friend Susan from Freshly Picked also uses Big Cartel to sell her adorable handmade leather goods. This brilliant video was shot by the Big Cartel crew, about her experiences using their site for her business, and I can't tell you how MUCH I love it. You MUST check it out!

So my final thoughts about Alt?

As a newcomer, I have to say that I had some pretty high expectations. I had been told by fellow Alt attendees from past years that Alt was quite the event and to be prepared for greatness. Now that I've experienced this fabulously-fashion-forward conference for myself... I must admit, Alt turned out to be even more then I had hoped for. I was so impressed by the sponsorship interaction, the attention to detail and the vast amount of wisdom and insight shared from the speakers. I left Alt feeling inspired, more connected and probably most of all... yearning for a far more trend-setting fashionable wardrobe... preferably one that includes some thick black framed glasses and brightly colored tights :)

All around amazing conference with pretty people, parties and priceless information. I will definitely be heading back next year.

Post and conference sponsorship were provided by Rue La La. All opinions are 100% my own.

Project Entryway Closet Makeover: Part 1 - Demo

2012-01-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

A few months back as I was frantically trying to get the kids ready for school, something happened.

...I fell.

Yup! Wanna know where?...Believe it or not, right INTO my entryway closet. Yes, you read that right. As I was shuffling through the collection of coats and backpacks on the floor (because that's where they live, duh) of my extremely cluttered entryway closet, and was simultaneously fighting with my vacuum hose and elbowing my way through random empty hangers... I lost my balance on a ziplock bag full of batteries and FELL... right onto the floor in the closet.

(aka: the dark pit of clutter-prone despair)

From the outside, this closet doesn't seem to appear as much of a threat or pit... just a regular ol' coat closet.

And even in these next pictures you can see that it doesn't look so bad (because I actually picked it up, for the photo) but let me assure you, this random, space-sucking-dumping-ground has definitely been an issue for us in this house! It never stays clean, there is virtually no storage, and the huge 36 inch door either has to be completely open or shut to allow for anyone to even pass through the already small entryway.

So, on with my story... while I was sitting on the ground in our embarrassingly messy closet and coats continued to tumble down on top of me, I realized something...
This closet was actually really HUGE!
Literally it was just a big open cavity of space that had been installed under this decorative garden shelf and it was TOTALLY being wasted! I then stood up and starting taking inventory of how deep the closet was on each side and even knocked on the walls a bit to quickly do a "is there anything really behind here" test and surprisingly, nothing seemed to be in my way from making this closet a LOT more functional!

Once I realized this fact, I pretty much did what any normal DIY girl would do, who just realized that there was an un-decorated space in her house that COULD be better organized and utilized...

I started ripping everything out, throwing it on the floor and grabbed my hammer.

Once I had most everything down in the closet, that I could do on my own without any major tools... I called in reinforcements. (aka: My Dad). Only a few hours later he pulled up with his truck full of goodies and we were elbow deep into a full closet demo in no time flat.

Welcome, my friends to a short little series on my blog that will now be referred to as:

Part one of this series will be...

How to effectively remove a door, it's molding and casing from a wall, in just 3 easy steps!

Step1: Use a utility knife and cut into any caulk or putty that has been used to gap spaces between pieces of molding on your wall or trim.

Step 2: Using a large and small crowbar, start to work your way under the trim around your door and pull back the molding to remove it.

Step 3: Once your molding is all removed, take a crowbar and wiggle free the door casing. At this point, you may also need to remove any door shims and/or use a hammer to bang the casing free out of it's tight fit.

Ta-da! Now you're door is out! Wasn't that so easy!?

I have to say that people remodel their homes everyday, but knowing simple steps to removing a door with the LEAST amount of damage is definitely some valuable information, don't you think!? When Cason and I did this for the first time, in another location in our home, we just stood there and weren't even quite sure where to start! So even though this little mini tutorial may be common knowledge for SOME of you, I have to say that I would have appreciated it about 2 years ago when we were starting in on our home remodel and were totally clueless.

Okay, so now that the door was gone, and the shelving unit was outta there, we were in business! With no plans at all, just my wild dreams of a beautifully organized, functional spaces in my head and my Dad's insanely-impressive knowledge of all things home improvement... we started in on sketching out lines for a larger space.

Since we were taking risks and goin' all "This Old House style" up in this space, I knew that we HAD to find the best way to really create a feeling of a larger overall entryway for our home. So with a little guidance from my 'handyman' telling me what I could and couldn't do... I decided to take my little hallway closet to the MAX!

Let the drywall cutting begin!

First we started by measuring out where we wanted our cuts to be with a level and pencil. Then in order for us to make sure we had the straightest lines, we used a chalk string marker.

Once everything was measured and marked correctly we got out our multipurpose tool, attached on the drywall saw blade and went to town!

Demo Tip: Be smarter then me and COVER any furniture that you don't want blanketed in a 2-inch-thick pile of fine, hard to clean-up drywall dust, BEFORE you start cutting into your walls. Bleehk!

Guess who came home from work riiiiight at this point in the demolition process?...

Welcome home honey! (blush)

So... something you have to know about me and my Dad, is that we are VERY similar. Both a bit OCD, very creatively hands-on, and quite a determined people. So once we had made up our minds that this project was happening... we may or may not have just jumped in head first with little explanation to the somewhat clueless guy on the right (in the above photo), about what was REALLY goin' down. ha!

No worries though, once he got his head wrapped around it and I frantically explained my "vision" he hopped right on that crazy train and started sketching and brainstorming along side us.

While the cutting process was underway, my Dad and Cason yelled at me... "Okay, figure out what you want to do next, Shelley!" Gah! I honestly can't tell you what a HUGE rush this was for me. Building and designing something from scratch! Literally able to make all of the decisions on my own, so that my space turned out EXACTLY how I wanted it! So my first stop, was Pinterest... of course.

There have already been SO MANY great closet/mudroom transformations done and posted online, so I wanted to get a feel for a few of my favorites and what elements I liked BEST in them, before I did anything else.

Here were a few photos that I really loved:

1. 2. 3. 4

After a little inspiration, I shut down the computer and the next few weeks were full of hardware store trips, sketching, painting, painting and ... oh, did I mention painting!?

Stay tuned for part 2 of our Project: "Entryway Closet makeover" series.

It will be all about how we planned and implemented the perfect customizable look for our new entryway nook! (also known as... The Fun Stuff!)

Till then... Happy Tuesday!

February Photo-a-day Challenge!

2012-01-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! How was everyone's weekend!?

I had the most amazing time at Alt Summit and shared some of my adventures through Facebook, twitter and Instagram (via 'houseofsmiths')...

but have LOTS more to tell all of you about the amazing speakers I heard and classes I attended! So much learned and so many great people met!... but that's for another post.

Today I just wanted to drop in quickly to see how everyone is doing with their January photoaday challenge!? As you can see from my photos above, I've been trying to stay pretty loyal to the challenge and it's definitely paying off. I already LOVE looking back at photos from the beginning of the month, and I'm so happy to report that I'm not stopping with January... Thanks to Fat Mum Slim I will be headed into February with a brand new creative list of topics to photograph, and I want you to come with me!!!

Even if you didn't participate in the January photoaday, think about starting in February! It is so personally rewarding to be able to thumb through memories from everyday events that happen in life! It really helps you appreciate the little things.

So what do ya say... are you in!?

I'm also excited this week to share some more fun posts! As I mentioned before I'll have my Alt Summit round-up to chat about, as well as a post that has been a LONG time in the works. One of those "secrets" that I mentioned before, remember? :) Really, we've been working overtime on a few projects that ended up turning into bigger tasks then we ever thought they would.

Here's a little sneak peek!

Lots of tools, dust and trial & error...
Welcome to almost EVERY home improvement project here at The House of Smiths. ha!

Oh! And can we get a conversation started about this whole Picnik fiasco!?!? Have you heard? They are shutting down! Please don't judge me, but I actually got a lump in my throat when I heard the news!

It's really changed the whole way I edit and blog my photos. I'm so sad! I've read all the information and from what I understand, it sounds like to ME, that they are just moving their system over to Google+ (and maybe just renaming it?), so HOPEFULLY everything will stay remotely the same and we can still use their awesome, easy to navigate editing program (fingers DOUBLE crossed).

Does anyone else know more on this subject then I do? Please discuss...

Alrighty friends, I hope you have a great day and get everything accomplished that you've set out to do. Here's to an AWESOME week!

RISK: My 2012 Word of the Year

2012-01-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

How many of us play the would'a, should'a, could'a game in life... almost daily?

I'm not even talking during big life altering events, just things as simple as...

"Oh, I SHOULD have bought those sparkly high heels, instead of playing it safe with these plain black flats"...

"I totally COULD have cut my hair into that cute little bob I really wanted, if I didn't have such a round face".

Either because of insecurities, self-doubt, or just being afraid of trying something new... a lot of us do this to ourselves from time to time. I know I do.

Starting about 3 or 4 months ago I decided that enough was enough, and I was going to start taking more chances in life. So... I started small. VERY small :)

Until last year, I had never worn bright lipstick. Seems trivial I know. But whenever I tried to walk out of the house wearing it, I would stop myself and think... "What if someone thinks I look like a clown???"... "What if it's too bright? What if I get it on my teeth and don't know it!?"

I REALLY liked the look of "sassy bold lips" on others, but I could never convince myself to actually follow through, for the fear of looking ridiculous. Well... a few weeks ago (after a little coaxing from my good friend Laci, who is the QUEEN of fabulous lip color) I finally got the courage, bought myself a tube of Mac's Full Fuchsia lipstick and wore those pretty pink lips IN PUBLIC, for the very first time.

And Guess what? Besides an eyebrow raise from my husband (who thought hot-pink lips were just an ulterior motive for something else)... nobody really said anything! The lipstick police didn't pull me over, and not even one person assumed I had rode in on a unicycle.
I quickly realized that I was my own worst critic. The only person who held me back from doing things that I thought I couldn't... was ME. So I pose this questions...

My word for 2012 is:

The great thing about taking risks in life, is that there are only two possible outcomes:

1. You realize your risk was TOTALLY worth it, you forget about your feelings of inadequacy and become wildly successful and happy...
or
2. You fail and have to go through the full gamut of emotions, from embarrassed to sad, hurt or silly.

I love the quote by Fredrick Wilcox...
Progress always involves risk; you can't expect to steal second base, and still keep your foot on first.

When I started blogging I never even dreamed that it would take me to where I am today. An opportunity to experience new things, meet fabulous new people, make amazing new friends and have a full time job doing something I truly love. But in order for me to get to where I am, I've had to take some pretty big risks. Until this last year, I also realized how many of those "risks" I also shy away from for fear of failing or looking stupid. It wasn't until I found this quote about a month ago, that I really started finding the courage to change all that.

My older brother once said to me... "Nobody happy and successful got that way by playing it safe." It was like a light bulb went off in my brain, and I realized that even in the few times in my life that I HAVE taken risks and they've turned out like outcome #2, where I feel totally silly or embarrassed afterwards, I've also walked away with something else...

Life experience and the overall great feeling of knowing that I TRIED.

When I'm old, wrinkly and grey, I want to be able to look back on my life and know that I did everything that I wanted to do. And even if I didn't succeed... I sure as heck tried my hardest.

So my challenge to YOU this year, is to take some RISKS. Start small if you have to.
* Wear a trendy hair accessory or try sporting skinny jeans with a pair of killer boots, for the first time.
* Call that neighbor who you feel like you could possibly be friends with, and ask her if she wants to meet up for dinner or shopping.
* Stop looking for the 'perfect swatch color' and just paint that DAMN WALL ALREADY!

Quit being a roadblock for yourself. Get out of your own way, and start living a fuller life.
Just simply making the decision to start taking more risks...
is half the battle.

Rue La La & The Altitude Design Summit

2012-01-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

You know how December is SUPER busy, and you always say to yourself... "Self, if you just get through December, then January will be a breeze!"... Well, I'm thinking that February is the new January. ha!

I can't believe how busy and fun January has already been, and it's not stopping anytime soon! Starting tonight I'll be headed to the Altitude Design Summit, right here in my own backyard! If you haven't heard of Alt Summit, basically it's a social media conference that is centralized around lifestyle, food and amazing fashion blogs. Here's a little more about what you'll find at Alt:

We've created a place where design and lifestyle bloggers in all their forms— foodies, photographers, travelers, fashionistas, interior designers, product placers, adventurers — come together, share ideas and connect with marketers. There will be discussions on how to grow your site, how to fund your site, how to keep your site above the fray. You'll find panels on blogging etiquette and blogging ethics. People will share good advice for creative entrepreneurs. Friends will be made. Contact books will be filled. ~Alt

I have to admit that this is my very FIRST year attending Alt and I couldn't be more excited! Not only do I get to attend, but I'm also going to be leading a round-table discussion with my good friend Jen on Friday that is titled: Using Facebook as an Effective Tool to Connect. Something that we both feel very passionate about!

I also have to say that I'm beyond thrilled to finally meet some of these blogging icons in the social media industry. I mean come on, just check out this speaker line-up...VERY exiting! And just as equally exciting, are the top-notch companies and brands that will be sponsoring Alt this year. From HGTV and Sherwin Willliams to HP and Rue La La!

I've recently had the pleasure of working with the fabulous people from Rue La La and have been able to purchase some really amazing items from their site.

Definitely my favorite so far has been this yellow leather Linea Pelle bag that I've been toting around on my shoulder this past weekend. The quality is impeccable and I'm also just the kind of girl who can't say 'no' to a good zebra stripe lining :)

...okay let's get real, cute bags in bright fun colors are my personal kryptonite

Originally these totes can be super pricey, but I got mine at more then 50% off retail, when Rue la la ran their sale. The same goes for this adorable chunky bracelet and these oh-so-fabulously-dramatic chandelier earrings I ordered. (still trying to decide if I can pull them off) ha!

Only a fraction of the price from what you normally pay for high end name-brand products. I don't claim to be a fashionista or really even know THAT much about the latest trends in clothing or jewelry, but I think that's what I like about Rue la la the most. Everything they carry, from clothing fashion to home fashion products is always on trend!

So my question now is... Do you Rue!?!? If not, then here's a little more about why you should

We are the invitation-only destination for a life of style. Where Members delight in discovering private sale Boutiques that open daily – and stay open only for a short time. A community where Members shape the experience – and enhance the excitement – by inviting their friends. A place where they discover some of the most sought-after brands in fashion, accessories, footwear, home, travel, wine, gourmet food, local services, and more.

Our mission is to partner with innovative brands, offering them a powerful online sales and marketing opportunity – while creating the most engaging shopping experience in the world for our Members.. And we do it with one key mantra – we respect and maintain the core integrity of each and every brand with which we partner. ~ Rue la la

All you have to do to sign up is click on this link here:

Invite me to Rue La La

Simply enter your info and just wait for all of the amazing sales to start popping up! New products launch each morning at 11am.

You can thank me later :)

Okay folks, I'm off to Alt, whoo hoo! I'll be keeping you posted with photos and updates through lots of Facebook and Twitter feed like always, so if you want to see how things are going, (real-time) make sure to follow us there too!

Happy Wednesday!

Posts, products and conference sponsorship were provided by Rue La La. All opinions are 100% my own.

How to Add your Logo or Text to a Photo using Photoshop

2012-01-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Cason and I have been living it up here in Southern Florida. It's BEAUTIFUL and sunny. All of the locals are bundled up because it's only 70 degrees and a little windy, but Cas and I are sporting shorts, flip-flops and big smiles!

More on THAT later...

While I'm gone trying to soak up the last bits of sun before we come home on Tuesday, I wanted to leave you with an awesome photo tip/tutorial from our favorite girl, Emilie from Photo by Emilie!

Today Emilie is sharing her easy how-to, when it comes to putting your blog/business logo or just simply some text on each of your edited photos in Photoshop. One of the most basic, but important skills that every armature OR professional photographer should know.

Take it away Emilie!

Open your image and your logo in Photoshop. Your logo needs to be in a psd or png format
(these formats allow a translucent background).

Use the Move tool (short cut "V") to click and drag your logo onto your image.

Be sure there is a check mark in front of "Show Transform Controls". This allows you to change the size of the logo.

Use the Move tool (short cut "V") to change the size of your logo and place it where you would like it on the image.

Now let's learn another little trick...

Open an image and select the text tool (short cut "T").

Create a text box and type the text that you would like on your image. Select the font, size and color from the control panel.

Adjust the font, size and color until it's just the way you want it.

Thanks Emilie!
You can learn great tips just like these and MORE during Emilie's online Photoshop classes.

Just use the code "HOS" and receive a $20 discount.
CLICK HERE for all the information. CLICK HERE to request lesson dates.
Expires January 30th

My Colortopia by Glidden

2012-01-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Today I'm excited to tell you about a new blog that just launched called My Colortopia. It's a must-see site filled with a great lineup of bloggers who will be writing about their main sources of inspiration and personal experiences with all things paint and color!

Check out the talent, some of my favorite friends!

Kate, Melissa and Stephanie!

And that's not all of them. Check out the rest of the My Colortopia contributors, along with their bios, at the My Colortopia site.

I love the concept of My Colortopia. It's a site full of great ideas on how to decorate with color, and bring your house to life, with tips and tricks shared by lots of your favorite bloggers! It's a destination where people who are easily overwhelmed by interior design decisions and painting can easily get advice, guidance and inspiration.

Let's go ahead and admit... picking out the perfect paint color for a living room wall, learning new painting techniques or knowing what colors look best together is not easy! So these pros are here to help you out!

To get started, My Colortopia has created this awesome new widget (below) called My Life, My Colors, that helps you to find out what color schemes best represent YOU, based on a few multiple choice questions that you answer about your personality and lifestyle.

There are so many things that inspire me, but mostly I'm drawn to comfortable, mixes of modern, natural country and vintage elements.

Take the quick My Colortopia by Glidden paint personality test and see what colors could best suite you, for YOUR next home painting or decor project!

* I have partnered with Glidden/Akzo Nobel Paints to participate in the My Colortopia program. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Feature - Squeeeal!

2012-01-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

So, would you totally dislike me if I told you that 2011 has been FILLED with tons of secret keeping over here at our house? Literally I am THE WORST secret-keeper, when I'm excited about something...and I hate to say it, but I have a few 'secrets' that I've HAD to keep, and I feel like I'm about to burst!

I guess I should clarify and say that some of these so-called "secrets" really aren't secrets at all. Mostly just things that I didn't want to talk much about until they REALLY happened. (in fear of jinxing them) Does anyone else do this?

There have been a few times in my life that I've gabbed about something that COULD happen and get really excited... just to find out that it's not going to really work out that way in the end. (makes you feel quite silly, especially if you've told almost everyone you know) So... I've learned my lesson, and even though it's EXTREMELY hard for me, I've tried to foster the talent of just being patient and waiting for the "right" time to reveal things. (which usually means when they're ACTUALLY in motion, or have already happened)

Have I lost you yet?

No? Good...

So on with my story.

A few months back I was contacted by the cute editor at Cottages and Bungalows magazine. She asked if I'd be interested in submitting my pantry for a feature in their January organizing issue.

Um... someone pinch me!...

When I got the email I ran straight upstairs to where Cason was and almost burst into tears out of pure excitement! (okay, I actually did). Being featured in a magazine has been on my "bucket-list" since we started getting a little bit more exposure for our projects. And for me, Cottages and Bungalows was one of my top 5 "Oh my gosh I'd totally freak out and be massively flattered if they ever featured anything I've done" magazines. It's such a great publication, and really speaks to my style as a DIY'er and self-proclaimed 'designer'. (I use that term for myself loosely)

As January rolled around I waited anxiously for my copy to come in the mail, and nothing! So I searched high and low for one in our local stores, but had no luck :(

Finally a fabulous reader and fellow twitter-er-er (?) did me the ultimate favor and mailed me a copy herself.

(LOVE MY READERS! Thank you Gloria @ Potentially Beautiful!)

Only a few days later C&B sent me a couple of copies to have... yes, I was THAT impatient

I really wasn't sure what to expect from the feature, but even if a teeny photo at the bottom of a page was included of one of our projects, I would be ecstatic! So you can imagine my excitement when I opened to about page 68 and gasped over this ridiculously awesome 2-page spread!!!

I'm about to get dramatic... but, you know those moments in life when you feel so happy that your stomach turns, your heart feels like it's going to burst and you do that weird subconscious 'cup-your-hands-over-your-mouth, squeal-like-a-baby-pig and dance-from-side-to-side-like-you-have-to-pee...jig' ???...

Yeah...That happened.

I know, I know. It's probably old news to most of you... "bloggers and their projects being featured in magazines"... but for me, it was a first. A freakin' awesome, I couldn't be more surprised, thrilled and amazed...first! It really made me stop and think about just how far that our little hobby, blog and family have truly come in the past two years. From jobless and directionless, to being published in one of our favorite magazines.

Blogging has changed our lives. It's given us ambition, drive, income, passion and (for me)... purpose. It's been such an amazing journey for us and even through those 'face-plant-to-the-palm' moments, while learning through trial and error how to manage and cultivate our talents and blog ... we still feel like it's one of the best decisions/risks we've ever made.

Thank you for the endless amounts of support. We are beyond thrilled and anxious to share all of our latest adventures with you in this new year... sticking strictly to our original 'game-plan'of keeping our blog authentic, real, personal and as easily relateable to the everyday DIY'er and decorator, as possible.

Catch more H of S goodness now on the Homes.com blog!

2012-01-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! I can't believe how FAST this week went by... crazy!

I just wanted to drop in to let you know about something exciting and new for us, here at The House of Smiths. A few months back we were contacted by the great people at Homes.com. to see if we would be interested in writing some Home DIY and decorating idea articles for a weekly slot on their blogroll!

Of course, my first thought was... "Heck yes!"

So now, one day each week you'll see a new post from us over on the Homes.com blog, as well! So make sure you head on over and subscribe or follow along, so you don't miss all the fun :)
This month I'm going to be focusing specifically on organization, since it's such a hot topic during the first of the year.
I'm so excited to have a place to share all the fun, inspiration ideas that all of my fellow bloggers and creative peeps come up with! And I'm even happier that we get the opportunity to work with such a great name in the "online home" industry!
Check out our first article, Closet Organization Ideas!

1. 2. 3
I was literally drooling over all the creative ways that people have found to "prett-ify" those cluttered spaces.

Documenting 2012 Through Photography: Project Life by Becky Higgins & Photo-a-Day Challenge

2012-01-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

We all know that I'm obsessed with beautiful photos... no surprise. But in this new year I have put a challenge on myself to really try and capture those special daily moments through photography. My talented, cute friend Becky Higgins lit a fire to this little spark-of-an-idea when I had a chat with her at the Creative Connection Event.

Becky is the creator of a little something you may have heard of called... The Project Life kit.

photos via The TomKat Studio

A hands on and/or digital experience that gives you all the tools you need to archive your photos into an easy, back-to-basics approach that solely focuses on the pictures and stories of your everyday life.

Literally EVERYTHING is provided for you to create something amazing. You can go as simple or as 'bananas' as you want with project life, and that's what I love about it.

I'm not sure about how all of you other creative women feel, but having an easy, think-free way to journal my stories/memories is something that I honestly feel so grateful to Becky for... especially after a long day.
A lot of the time I would find myself getting completely overwhelmed by scrapbooking... wondering which pretty paper to choose, how to layer it, what to cut it with, should I add a brad, a button, a flower, some glitter.... AHHH!
It was all too much, so I would quit.
The Project Life kit gives me a no excuse, sure-fire way to make certain that no matter HOW I assemble my albums pages, it will turn out stunning every time. Literally an answer to my prayers. And because Becky is a trend-setting designer, blogger, Mother and entrepreneur, you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the products included are high quality, timeless in style... but right on trend.
You can view and purchase all of Becky's products on the Project Life site, get inspired through daily posts on Becky's Blog and even follower her on Facebook and twitter, to receive inspirational quotes and photo ideas for unique ways to capture all of those special moments you won't want to miss.

The reason I wanted to share this with you is (mainly because I love it, and knew you would too) but also, because I've had a bunch of readers wondering what is going on with all of my Instagram feed and Facebook updates lately. More specifically, the "photo-a-day" challenge images.

So here's the low-down...
I know that not everyone has phones compatible to take part in this little venture, but nonetheless, I wanted to share with you what I've been up to and how I've been documenting MY daily photos "on-the-go", so far. Just recently I did a post on the Instagram and Picframe apps so you can check that out as a resource, as to how I get the specific look to my images.
However, I've only touched on this a bit... but you can now print your Instagram'd photos into magnets,

canvases, cards, posters, and even mini books.

Perfect for sliding right into some of those Project Life pocket pages!

I've also recently discovered a great new app (to me) called 'My365'.

An easy way for me to keep all of my daily phone photos in order, so I know what days and months I took them. Genius!

So are you overwhelmed yet? ha! Don't be... because here's the thing, once you have everything downloaded and ready to go on your phone, you're basically done. All you need to do now is take pictures of those cute kids, love-able pets, amazing projects and funny moments. Stylize them to your liking... and then post them for friends, ~~creepy stalker bloggers like me~~ and family to see!

I got started by playing along in a little Instagram photo-a-day in January challenge made by Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim. Here is the list I've been using that she created...

Currently I'm on day 3!...and a little worried about tomorrows day 4 topic.

Is 'letterbox' a fancy-shamncy way to say mail box???

Basically it's just a fun way to have some direction, photograph things you maybe hadn't thought of and really... just a great way to GET STARTED!

You can follow our 365 photo-a-day journey on Instagram at username 'houseofsmiths'.

I will also be updating images on the House of Smiths Facebook page as well.

Again, you don't have to have a phone to play along, you can use ANY camera to document daily life, and then just post it to your Facebook page, blog or twitter feed to share! Or if 'sharing' isn't your thing... then just simply start a folder on your desktop and drop your "photo-a-day" picture in there every night.

All this being said, I do still VERY STRONGLY believe in the amazing-once-in-a-while-beautifully-staged photograph. Whether it's with a professional or just with your own SLR camera. There's just a magic that happens within those types of high-quality stunning images, during the really memorable moments in life that make my heart sing.

Even if it feels impossible, make it a goal to remember the BEST parts of your life this year, cherishing the sweet and simple moments, through photography... however you can. I promise that if you do, you will be blown away by the happiness that comes from reflecting upon those precious images in the future.

2011: The House of Smiths - A Year in Review

2011-12-30T22:27:00.001-08:00

Can you even believe that 2012 is almost here!? I feel like this past year has been a whirlwind of crazy-awesomeness! We've had so much going on around our house, with the blog and Cason's new job, that I feel like time has just flown right by! How is it that some days seem to NEVER end, but then when you look back on an entire year... you can't believe that 365 of them have passed so quickly?

I wanted to do a little recap of some of our favorite and YOUR favorite posts from 2012! We went through our posts from this past year, and along with a little breakdown for you of what we were up to, we gathered our most popular projects and listed them here for any of you who may have missed them!

We started off our year with one of our most popular posts, believe it or not...

Are you a noreply-commenter!?

A simple quick tutorial on how to change your blogger.com settings so that I can respond to your comments that I love so much! Because let's get real... asking a question about a project or specific decoration in a comment and then having NO WAY for me to respond back... is just plain ol' silly.

February flew in and love was in the air! We decorated and crafted up some new Valentines Decorating Ideas and shared them with everyone!

March was an EXTRA exciting month around the Smith house! I was contacted to see if my girls wanted to attend a little tea party at the Plaza Hotel in New York with Miss Kelly and Electrolux, to support an amazing cause.

One of our favorite blogging related experiences, to date. SUCH a fun opportunity. I quickly started realizing how much of an impact blogging and social media have in the world!

After arriving home, we didn't waste anytime getting back to work. We started the next month off with an easy, inexpensive Painted Chevron Rug Tutorial. Thanks to one of my best-bloggin'-friends Jen from Tatertots and Jello, and her obsession with all things chevron... our rugs turned out fabulously!

We were so happy with our new aqua rug, that we decided to scatter the happy color throughout, with a massive Gallery wall using IKEA picture frames and some easy tips and tricks. Shortly after, our personalized Address Subway art was born...

Our next project, to complete our living room ensemble was our Console Table Makeover with bright yellow lamps to boot!...

For the month following, we shifted gears and got started on our master bathroom renovation...

who knew THIS project would go straight into 2012!? LOL. Probably because we spent too much time messing around with the camera taking silly pictures then actually WORKING... oh well. ha!

In true House of Smiths fashion, we got sidetracked and wandered out into the kitchen to do a little summer decorating...

...but in the end, it was just way too nice to work inside, so we headed outdoors to spruce up the yard!

With the Summer months in full swing, blogging conferences started up, and I was a traveling fool!

Having WAY too much fun at EVO with tons of inspiring women...

then off to meet and hang out with new friends in San Diego at the Blogher conference, all while honing in on blogging skills, networking and finding out the best ways to survive the fast-paced world of social media.

Quickly after returning home we were approached by a local production studio here in Utah about shooting some fun new shows. All dealing with projects, tips, tricks and topics frequently seen on our blog! We loved the idea of being able to present our readers with another great option to connect with us, so the plans for shooting 12 episodes in the fall were announced!

Whew! At this point, we were feeling a bit overwhelmed... but incredibly blessed. Crafting and creating new things always helps me regain a bit of perspective, so I whipped up a little Stenciled Cake Stand as I prepared for Aubrielle's 4yr old birthday party...

A need for a stylish way to store coats, gloves, hats and other random winter-type items came to head as the days got chillier, so we constructed a few DIY vintage wood crates...

(that will also be incorporated into a big new project in 2012!)

In September I was jet setting to Minnesota to join in on all the fun at The Creative Connection Event, as a social media corespondent. Learned a TON and had the chance to rub shoulders with some truly talented people.

October started out with a re-purposed little aqua striped table for that 'awkward space' between our kitchen and living room...

and with gobs of sleepless nights and massive amounts of help and support from Cason and my brother... we officially launched our new House of Smiths vinyl design shop!!!

But October couldn't leave without a bang! Aubrielle turned 4, and we found ourselves knee deep in tulle, pink, and all things girly, as we threw an epic Fairy Ballerina Party for that sweet, spunky kiddo.

After an even MORE epic "after-party-clean-up"... we did a quick switcha-roo from pinks and polka dots, to pumpkins and turkeys! Thanksgiving decorating was in full swing!

But as we all know, it doesn't last long... December approached rapidly as we geared up for the holidays, with a little Christmas crafting and present wrapping.

YEOW!

Do you see what I mean now!? We wouldn't have changed a THING... but needless to say, things were QUITE busy around here in 2011. We have currently been getting a bit more organized for the new year with our latest Magnetic Organizational board tutorial...

the great toy purge, and yet AGAIN... the good ol' garage organization and clean up routine.

(so we can actually FIND our tools again, for the next set of upcoming projects)

Thank you SO MUCH for all of the support that you've given our blog and for coming along on our family's DIY adventures! We sincerely consider all of our readers some of our closest friends, and hope that all of YOU have a productive, happy and safe New Year!

If you haven't been around 'the house' for very long, you can also check out our 2010, year in review post! Lots of room makeovers in the beginning stages and additional projects too!

DIY Magnetic Organizational Board from a Thrifted Frame

2011-12-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

DIY Magnetic Organizational Board

I don't know about your house, but ours is filled with lists, coupons and receipts floating around here all the time. It's almost enough to drive me nuts, so I wanted to come up with an easy, accessible, stylish way to keep track of all of those little papers.

We don't have a ton of wall space in our kitchen to add much of an organizing system, so I decided to makeover a thrifted large frame into a functional magnetic organizational board that we could hang on the inside of our pantry door. Here's how it turned out!

I love the pop of happy yellow, and how all of those random little papers now have a specific place!

Here's how we did it:

First we started off with a large thrifted frame, in the size that we wanted the organizational board to be.

Then we bought a large piece of magnetic metal from Lowe's, and cut it to fit the inside of the frame.

The metal was so large that in the end it made two organizational boards.

Then we bought a piece of decorative radiator covering (that, FYI, is not magnetic) and cut it to fit the inside of the frame as well. Mostly this was just for visual interest. I love the texture that the metal has to offer, and they come in different styles too! Home Depot doesn't carry these, they are only at Lowe's.

We used a piece of cardboard for a template and drew out exactly how big each piece of metal needed to be, to fit each frame.

To cut the metal we used some heavy duty tin snips.

After everything was all cut, the painting started!

I used this Krylon Farm & Implement yellow spray paint for the metal backing. I chose this kind of spray paint because it works really well on metal, and I wanted the paint to be as durable as possible, since our organizational board would be getting a lot of use.

After a few coats of yellow on the metal, I spray painted our thrifted frame white and sanded it down a bit, to give it a distressed look.

I left the decorative metal just the way it came, and then layered the pieces inside the frame, like so!

I added a few small wooden plaques with decorative paper and vinyl labels on them to the board as well. I just adhered those with command picture hanging strips, so they would stay in place well, and the magnets were bought from Hobby Lobby.

We have our board hung on the back of our pantry door, with a bunch of picture hanging strips. It's the perfect place, because it's where everything and everyONE tend to gather :)

Also next to my coupons I have a little i-Slice cutting tool that's magnetic from Pampered Chef that I use to "clip coupons". It's a lifesaver!

I'm excited to get organized for the new year, and having creative, cute ways to STAY organized is the key for me... because it just makes it more fun.

Have you started de-cluttering your space for 2012 yet!? What are some of your favorite ways to get organized?

Oreck Magnesium Vacuum & Ultimate handheld vac Review and Giveaway

2011-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Who's ready for some serious giveaway goodness today!?

Cason and I have teamed up with the ever-fabulous Oreck vacuum cleaner company to share with you one of our newest favorite things!

The Oreck Magnesium Vacuum!

It may sound silly, but I'm a bit of a vacuum snob, (heaven knows we've had enough in our married lifetime) and very rarely do new vacuums actually 'fit the bill'. Here are a few things that are MUSTS when it comes to the perfect vacuum for our family.

* Long cord

* Super-sucking power

* No crumb-kick-back when vacuuming hardwood floors

* Lightweight (so kids can vacuum the basement, which is one of their chores)

* Compact enough to go under furniture (so I don't have to move it)

* High and low speed

* No hose attachment system (they always break, slow down suction and just get gross)

At this point you're either thinking... "AMEN! I want the same things!" or...
"Oookay, this family is way too picky about their vacuum's"

Well... being a self confessed OCD clean freak, I have to admit that our vacuum comes out at LEAST 3 times a week. To me, there is something about a freshly vacuumed house that screams "STRESS RELIEF". I have a really hard time functioning or focusing on much else when my house is a disaster, and knowing that everything is clean enough to actually accommodate a good vacuum job is probably more of the reason that I feel that 'stress' lift off my shoulders.

Is anyone with me here? (I'm starting to feel exposed) ha!

So now that you know all about me and my 'crazy ways', you can imagine how excited I was to actually try out this new Oreck Magnesium vacuum for myself...

Two words. TOTALLY AWESOME!

Really... I never thought I would say this about a vacuum, but I'm completely smitten by how well this little guy works, and he literally passed my "check-list" with flying colors.

Extra long 30ft. cord, to reach almost every corner of my house from just ONE outlet?...

Check!

Super-sucking power, to pick up crumbs, pine-needles and Christmas packaging aftermath, but gentle enough to use on even my nicest rug? And also still have the ability to knock down it's power to a lower speed, with it's Quickswitch two speed function, so that there is no crumb-kick-back on hardwood floors?...

Check, Check!

Yes, I vacuum in bare feet :) And if you understand or know about "crumb-kick-back" on hardwood floors with vacuums, then you will TOTALLY appreciate this feature.

Lightweight, compact, and able to reach those tricky places?

Triple Check!

At only about 7 pounds this baby is by far the lightest vacuum we've ever had. Definitely a whole lot easier to bring up and down the stairs then our last vacuum. And I love that my kids can use it too.

Oh! and remember how I hate the hose attachment ON my vacuum, but I still need one? Well, Oreck has this awesome Ultimate Handheld Vac that is perfect for corners, baseboards, blinds and all those other small jobs around the house.

We have used ours a TON for our latest master bathroom DIY projects. It's super light, at a measly 5lbs and slings right on your shoulder for easy use.

Especially great for sawdust cleanup, when installing new hardware on bathroom cabinets

Alright, so now that I've gushed about how fab these new Oreck products are, and how much WE love them... are YOU ready to win a set for yourself!?

Oreck has generously offered their new Magnesium upright vacuum and Ultimate Handheld Vac combo, as giveaway items to one lucky House of Smiths reader!

That's a $600 + value!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Here's how to enter:

Visit Oreck.com and then come back and leave me a comment letting me know which specific feature you love the MOST about the newest Oreck Magnesium vacuum, and something you learned about it.

Additional entries:

* Follow @Oreck on twitter

* Like Oreck on Facebook

* Tweet about this giveaway, mentioning @Oreck in your post.

Example: I'm entering to win an @Oreck Magnesium vacuum and Ultimate handheld vac combo @houseofsmiths http://bit.ly/slMtpz

...

Also, through 12/31, if you enter the code KPGIVING at checkout, you can get 15% off your entire order on Oreck.com

When entering giveaways please make sure to leave your email/contact information so that I can get back to you if you're the winner! Please also take a quick minute to subscribe to The House of Smiths blog for lots of inspirational ideas, tutorials and projects! Having awesome readers like YOU is what make all of our great giveaways possible!

Giveaway Rules: This giveaway is open to US {48 contiguous states} RESIDENTS ONLY. You must be 18 years and older to enter. There will be one winner of the Oreck Magnesium Vacuum & Ultimate Hand Vac package. Facebook does not sponsor or endorse this giveaway. Winner will be determined via drawing on random.org. Odds of winning will be dependent upon total number of entries.

Disclosure – I was given the Oreck Magnesium Vacuum with Ultimate Hand Vac to review from Oreck. All opinions stated in this post are entirely my own opinion. Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.

GOOD LUCK everyone!

Merry Christmas from our Family to yours!

2011-12-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to drop our amazing readers and friends a little virtual note to say, MERRY CHRISTMAS and happy holidays, from our family to yours!

We hope that all of you have had an amazing day so far, and want you to know that this year (and especially today) Cason and I have reflected often on how thankful we are for all of the love and support that each and every one of our readers have given us over this past 2+ years. We truly couldn't have asked for a better present this year. We can say it over and over again, but no words can express how much we enjoy sharing our home projects, family and adventures with you, through our blog.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for allowing us to be part of your daily reads. We have such fun, exciting, new projects and experiences planned for 2012, and we can't wait to share them all.

We love you SO much! Happy Christmas!

Group Albums by KODAK Gallery

2011-12-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

So we've all been there... Christmas day, or holiday get-togethers, where everyone is snapping pictures, but when you get home, you realize you don't have even ONE good one of the actual event. grrr.

Even being the pathological picture taker that I am, I've been found guilty of this on occasion. I get SO caught up in the social moment of things, that I count on someone else to capture those fun, exciting memorable moments, and then it takes FOREVER for me to find out who actually took pictures!

Well, KODAK Gallery has come up with a great solution. It's called Group Albums. A place where multiple people can now upload, comment and share photos all in one place, for free! So even if you're not there with YOUR camera to capture those special moments, you can still be part of them, once your friends or family upload THEIR images to your KODAK Gallery Group Album!

One of my favorite memories that took me FOREVER to track down was one that a sister-in-law took of Aubrielle and I on her first Christmas. I had bought her this over-the-top leopard print coat and I wanted a photo to remember it! Luckily I finally got it in my possession, and now I have it forever... but I'll admit, it was kind of a pain to track it down.

Yes... I still think it was a fabulous look for her. ha!

KODAK's Gallery Group Albums would be PERFECT for my family. Seeing that we are all huge photographers, but seldom remember to actually share the photos with each other!

To get started on your own KODAK Gallery group album, just visit this link here.

KODAK also wants to hear some of YOUR most memorable holiday moments. So they've kindly offered up $100 prize to Kodak Gallery to a lucky House of Smiths reader!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Here's how to enter:

Simply leave a comment with one of your all-time favorite holiday memories. Heartwarming, hysterical, embarrassing... whatever you want!

Easy as that!

I'll pick a winner at random next week!

Also right now, KODAK is running an awesome giveaway, to promote their new Group Album feature over on the KODAK Facebook page, by giving away a Hawaiian vacation package worth more than $2,500! So head on over there and enter for a chance to win that awesome prize too!

Good luck, and Happy Memory Sharing!

SNAP! Conference ticket giveaway - 3 Day Pass ($250 value)

2011-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

This weeks giveaway is a really fun one. Something that I hope ALL of you take advantage of!

A 3 day FULL pass to SNAP! The creative conference held here in SLC Utah, April 19-21st 2012. (a $250 value)

SNAP will be a weekend full of fabulous events, parties, classes and workshops like Modern Handmade Crafting, Photography, Home DIY'ing and Party Planning! Basically, if you have a creative bone in your body (yes, even if it's just a pinkie toe) you MUST come this next year, to SNAP! And don't worry... you DON'T have to be a blogger to attend. While we WILL be touching on blogger type subjects in some classes, there will be something for everyone, and tons of new like-minded friends to mingle with!

I've given lots of details about the SNAP! conference in the past, but here's the quick rundown, in case you've missed out, or have just joined us here at "the House" :)

The SNAP! creative conference will be held at the beautiful Thanksgiving Point Venue, during the amazing tulip festival. The grounds, shopping and food... are one of a kind.

Like I said before, SNAP will be filled with wonderful, educational classes and workshops the whole weekend. In fact, Mandie and I are positively just giddy with excitement over the teachers and classes that we have secured for the Home DIY portion of SNAP so far!

Oh... and PS. Did I mention that Mandie and I are also in charge of the "EPIC dance party" that will be taking place at SNAP? ... If you know us at all, you REALLY won't want to miss this :)

To check out the first round of talented speakers, that have been announced for SNAP! 2012, head on over to the SNAP conference blog!

So I pose the same question from my last post, about this incredible conference...

Are you getting as excited as we are!? Are you gearing up for a weekend full of creativeness new friendships and networking?

Well... then here's how to enter to win a free full conference pass!:

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Become a subscriber to the SNAP! blog. This will be the best way to stay updated on new speaker line-ups, parties and info about the conference.

Also on the blog you'll find guest posts from some of your favorite bloggers!

Additional entries:

* Like SNAP! the conference on Facebook

* Tweet about this giveaway, using the hashtag #SNAPconf

You can use one of these examples:

Ex: I'm entering to win a full pass ticket to the #SNAPconf over @houseofsmiths blog! Will you be going!?

Ex: Have you heard about the creative conference #SNAPconf in Utah 2012? I'm entering to win a full pass ticket over @houseofsmiths today!

* Like @SNAPconf on twitter

Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, for a better chance to win, along with your email address so we can contact you if you're our winner!

I'm so excited to find out who the winner will be for this giveaway, because I actually get to meet them, if I don't know them already. yay!

Good luck everyone, and happy entering!

Groopdealz 12 days of Christmas Giveaways & Adorable Wall Art

2011-12-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Great Things Alert!

I just had to pop in to let you know about a few VERY good things that I've found out this past week!

First, you MUST head on over to the Groopdealz Facebook page and check out their 12 days of Christmas giveaways going on. Everyday there is a $50 gift card up for grabs to some of the BEST places for shopping this holiday. Old Navy, Walmart, Toys R Us, Target and more!

All you have to do is like their Facebook page to stay updated each day on which gift they are offering! Totally worth entering for a chance to win $50 bucks to buy more cute kid clothes at Old Navy!

Go check it out!

Next, I wanted to introduce you to my friends, Amelia's fab Etsy shop...

Adorable wall art, and other great designs for "RAD" people. ha! I love it!

Check out her super cute items you can purchase!...

Aren't you dying over how simply perfect these designs are? Not cheesy, or over the top.

Juuuust right :)

You've GOT to go visit Amelia at Brightside Designs to get a few prints of your own.

Alrighty... that's pretty much it. Just wanted to keep you informed on great things as I see/hear them... cuz I just love you guys.

Have a great weekend!

Creamy, Easy Artichoke Dip in Bread Bowl & Recipe Printable

2011-12-15T14:14:00.001-08:00

creamy artichoke dip recipe and free recipe card printable

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday :) It's almost Friday. Woo hoo!

Last month I shared one of my favorite holiday snacks on the SNAP blog, but I thought I'd post it here too, in case anyone missed the recipe and printable for my Creamy Artichoke Dip. It's quick, fool proof, and sure to be a hit at your next gathering.

What you'll need:

- 2 packages of softened cream cheese

- 1 cup of mayonnaise

- 2 cans of quartered artichokes (drained and roughly chopped)

- 1 can of diced green chilies

- 1 cup of graded sharp cheddar cheese

- 1/4 cup graded Parmesan cheese

- 1/2 tsp lemon or lime juice

- 1tsp. Worcestershire sauce

- Dash of garlic powder

- 2 sourdough bread rounds

Drain your artichoke hearts and roughly chop them. Combine all ingredients into bowl.

Cut one of your sourdough bread rounds into squares for dipping. With the other, cut a medium sized opening in the top (much like a bread bowl for soup). Remove the lid and set aside. Scoop out remaining bread from round and cut into pieces for dipping. Make sure not to scrape off bread too close to edges or the bowl will become too thin and tear.

Set your bowl on a large piece of tinfoil and fill with creamy artichoke mixture. Top with lid, wrap tinfoil around bread round, (to keep from burning the bread) place on cookie sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes on 400 degrees, until the dip is warmed through.

Then remove lid, sprinkle top of dip with extra Parmesan cheese and bake with tinfoil pulled back, and bread bowl uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is crisp and brown.

Place extra bread pieces alongside the creamy artichoke dip, and enjoy!

A few reasons why we love this recipe:

* It's quick, and uses mostly things you already have on hand

* It LOOKS fancy, but in reality only takes about 20 minutes to prepare

* If you work it right, you can bring JUST your bread bowl, with hot dip inside (wrapped in foil to keep warm) and extra bread pieces to your next party, borrow a platter from your hostess and not have to worry about any dishes to take home.

and lastly...

* Everyone LOVES it and will want the recipe, because it is THAT delicious :)

So that being said, I thought I'd help you out and include a cute printable for all of you to enjoy, for either your own recipe book, or to share with a friend!

I know that with lots of different events coming up, I'm always looking for a quick, 'sure-to-impress' treat to take with me wherever I go... and sometimes I get burnt out on sweets. I hope you'll try this out for YOUR next party... I promise, you'll be glad you did!

Gingerbread House Making

2011-12-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

Amazing gingerbread houses

A few weeks back the girls made gingerbread houses with Cason's brother and his girlfriend while we worked on our Master Bathroom with my Dad. The girls LOVED getting in on all the decorating action and I think they spent over 3 hours actually constructing their houses. ha!

No judging on the photography... it was dark.

Oh, and don't mind that awesome hair-do either.

They are SO proud of their "gingerbread cottages" that they made me clear a space by the font door, on our entryway table to display them. Every once in a while we get in a fight because Aubrielle will sneak candy from the roof tops, but other then that, the houses have stayed pretty much intact!

instagram photos

All of this hard work got me thinking about gingerbread houses in general and all of the ones I've seen lately on pinterest and on blogs. These little babies aren't as easy as they look. They take TONS of time, patience... and candy! Check out some of my favorites...

Trendy Tree

Not Martha, Ginger Bread House Heaven, ABC, Sugar Craft

With Love and Confection, Martha

Ya, I pretty much want to live in these two houses. Especially that blue one with the stone. Can you say AWESOME and super pretty!?

Never thought I would say that about a gingerbread house...

Sugar Craft

Have you made gingerbread houses this year? Do you take lots of time making them detailed and perfect, or do you give up after the first hour and just start ~~eating~~ throwing candy wherever?

I'm thinking next year I want to have a Gingerbread-Crafters event, where all the crafty ladies I know get together for a night of gingerbread house crafting! Wouldn't that be awesome!?

(do I sound like a crazy person, because I want to decorate candy houses with adults instead of children???)

Well... at least I'm not THIS crazy...

With Love and Confection

Yikes! Wonder what the graphic car-wrap company thought of THIS design...

And where do you think one might find peppermint and spearmint hubcaps?

Oh... probably Walmart...duh.

Happy Gingerbread Wednesday!

Secret Santa and H of S Design Shop Info

2011-12-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how FAST December is flying by! It's almost not fair! I LOVE this month, and I wish it could last just a liiiiittle bit longer. One of the things keeping me on my toes these past few weeks has been the constant knocks on my door from USPS, UPS and FedEx, delivering all of the online goodness that I've ordered. Gosh, I'm a total online shopper... are you?

Something else that came last week to my doorstep was a fun little package from a Secret Santa! At the beginning of this month Stefanie from Brooklyn Limestone gathered a few bloggers together to do a secret Santa gift exchange. Do you do this with your close friends or family!? I love the "secret" behind it all... so fun!

I was really excited to get my first gift! Here's what I got.

Love the bright red and green frames! That red ruffle one is so fun! And the little baking dish is really adorable :) There were also some yummy (or so I was told) toffee bars, but those didn't make it more then about 5 minutes with Cason and the kids around. ha!

So, help a girl out. I just can't resist to know who sent me the cute goodies! Which one of these ladies do you think it is?

4 men 1 lady
bryn alexandra
emily a clark
the inspired room
isabella and max rooms
la dolce vita
lovely little details
making it lovely
mustard seed interiors
pure style home
save the date 4 cupcakes
ten june
thrifty decor chick
you stir me
young house love

In other news I wanted to let everyone know that our H of S Design Shop will be stopping production on the 19th of December - 26th, to take a much-needed vacay and spend some time off with our family during the holidays!

We're also going to be taking the time to add a few NEW products to our store!

You can still order through the month, but production for vinyl products will not start again until the 26th, and so orders placed after the 19th of December will probably not be shipped out until about the 2nd of January.

Just a little heads up!

Also, just a little FIY... orders placed last week were the last batch that will make it before Christmas.

Also, here's a peek at a fun project that I'll be posting this week.

I'm on a mission to get things organized around here for the new year. (yes, it's already starting. ha!). Today I wen through all of my girls' clothes and pulled out everything that was stained, too small or just trashed. Sometimes it's so sad for me to get rid of basically new clothes that my girls just grow out of! Although we do have another kid and a bunch of friends and family who really can use them, so that makes things a bit easier ... knowing that they are going to a good home.

(ya, I'm weird about clothes. LOL)

Speaking of clothes... the girls got new outfits the other day thanks to Zulily, Old Navy and Shopko. You would have thought that it WAS Christmas morning. They were so excited to tell everyone, and show off their new threads.

What am I going to do with them? haha! Heaven help us when they want those fancy sparkly butt jeans that cost a hundred dollars. gah!

Hope everyone's trying to take a minute to slow down and enjoy this beautiful month!

What To Look for when Buying a New DSLR Camera - Photo by Emilie Tips

2011-12-07T16:31:00.001-08:00

What to look for when buying a DSLR camera

Okay everyone... I've heard you loud and clear! After the 47th email with the subject title...

"What kind of Camera do you recommend..." I decided to contact my camera know-how expert and mentor Emilie from Photo by Emilie and ask her to do a detailed write-up giving us the skinny on all of the beginner AND advanced consumer cameras and lenses that you should/need to know about... along with price ranges.

Honestly, this couldn't come at a better time, if you've been searching for a great camera for Christmas, or just simply want to take your blogging/personal photographs to the next level.

There is a lot of really great information from Emilie here, so make sure you take notes, and don't end up purchasing more or less camera then you need.

Take it away Emilie!...

You absolutely get what you pay for when purchasing a camera and lens. Sometimes you can find a good sale but for the most part the more you spend the better your images. The lens is just as important if not more important to the look of your image as your camera. Here are some recommendations for both Camera bodies & lenses. These recommendations are for people who are serious about shooting in manual mode.

I would suggest purchasing a camera body separately from your lens, not in a kit. The kit lenses are not good if you'd like pro looking images and want to shoot in manual mode.

Nikon & Canon are the 2 leaders in the industry and both make killer equipment. I don't necessarily recommend one over the other.

I'll list them most to least expensive.

Nikon D5100 sells for around $696. This is the most expensive of the Entry level cameras. This camera produces super sharp crisp images. A really fun feature that sets this camera apart is it's 3 inch vari-angle LCD monitor opens horizontally up to 180˚ and flips up and down. Really handy for capturing self portraits or video. Only compatible with the AF-I and AF-S series lenses which are a bit more expensive than the AF-D and G series.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i sells for around $669. This camera is super sharp and has the highest resolution of any of the entry level camera at 18 megapixels. It also has the 3 inch vari-angle flip monitor.

Nikon D3100 sells for around $596. This is the only entry level camera that you can not buy as a body only. It comes with a 18-55mm 3.5-5.6f lens. It's not a lens I recommend for portraits. It has a large sensor for the price (which translates to sharper images). Only compatible with the AF-I and AF-S series lenses which are a bit more expensive than the AF-D and G series.

Canon EOS Rebel T2i is the least expensive camera I recommend. It sells for around $579. It is comparable to the T3i but does not include the vari-angle flip screen.

Click Here to compare the beginner cameras

For the advanced user or someone who have a little more to invest these are the 4 cameras I recommend:

(These are not considered professional cameras, rather high-end consumer camera. You are welcome to contact me with questions about professional equipment.)

I get asked all the time do I need to spend a lot of money in order to get a great photo? My answer is no, but your images sure will look better if you do spend the extra money. The major difference in your images as you spend more money is the quality of the crispness, sharpness, color, contrast, white balance... well okay everything about your images will look better! However, the biggest aspect that will determine the quality of your images is... YOU! That's why I highly recommend educating yourself.

Canon EOS 7D. Sells for about $1,400

Nikon D7000. Sells for about $1,300

Canon EOS 60D. Sells for about $1,000

Nikon D90. Sells about about $850

**These Nikon bodies are compatible with the "D" series lenses which is an advantage because "D" series are less expense than "G" series lenses.

Click Here to compare the advanced cameras

Now let's talk lenses. Like I mentioned, I would discourage you from purchasing a kit that includes a camera & lens. I would recommend purchasing the camera and lens separately. Here are my favorite 4 lens for Canon and Nikon. These lenses complement each other and would make the perfect combination for the ultimate complete set.

(These are not considered professional lenses, rather high-end consumer quality. You are welcome to contact me with questions about professional equipment.)

50mm 1.8F for Canon. Sells for about $99

50mm 1.8F for Nikon D7000 & D90. Sells for about $99

50mm 1.8F for Nikon D3100 & D5100. Sells for about $214

This is the best bang for your buck of any camera equipment. Everyone, beginner & professional alike should own this lens. It's often referred to as the Nifty Fifty. Perfect for everyday situations and particularly good for low light inside shots. Ideal if you take detail shots of products or crafts.

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for Canon. Sells for around $449Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for Nikon. Sells for around $449

Tamron is an after market brand. The comparable lens in the Canon & Nikon brands are between $1500-$2000, the Tamron version only $449!!! It's received good reviews, the only complaint has been that it's a bit sluggish to focus, but for a $1500 saving I'd take a bit sluggish all day long. This is your go-to lens when photographing children.

Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for Canon. Sells for around $699

Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for Nikon. Sells for around $699

This is the sister lens to the Tamron lens shown above. Again, it's a huge savings over the Canon/Nikon brand lens. This is your go to lens when photographing older children & families. Typically this lens is used outside. The focal length is a little too long to be used in small spaces. You'll melt when you see the images that come out of this lens.

Tamron AF18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 for Canon. Sells for around $625

Tamron AF18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 for Nikon. Sells for around $625

This is the perfect everyday lens. It's perfect for birthday parties, vacations, family reunions, kids playing at the park. The large range of the focal length makes this lens very versatile. I would not recommend this lens for portraits.

For detailed information about how to actually USE your new camera, be sure to put my workshops on your Christmas list!

Just a few of the things you'll learn:

-Shooting in Manual Mode

-Perfect Lighting Every time

-My Favorite Poses

-The Magic of Photoshop

Photo By Emilie Workshops:

ONLINE WORKSHOPS

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