Suited Perfectly for Eternity

Countdown to Christmas: Our Entryway/Living Room

2012-12-21T09:38:00.003-06:00

Wow I am so SO glad that this snow storm.....deemed "snowmageddon" by the media.......is past us now. It had snowed about sixteen inches total all day yesterday AND then we had very VERY strong winds last night to boot. Scott's company made the decision Wednesday to close and cancel all of their shifts for Thursday. They've NEVER closed for snow. I too had a snow day from work. I was too nervous to drive. When the weatherman says "life threatening" weather conditions......my patootie is staying home I don't care what anybody says.

The drifts are no joke today. There are patches in our back yard that are bare where you can see the grass peeking through and then there are areas where the snow is litteraly up to my knees. I took Jade out for a walk this morning and in one jump her whole body was in the snow. Her eyes got real big and she thought it was the BEST thing ever. I wish I had the camera.....it really was the cutest thing.

Also the cutest thing ever.......my little Eskimo who does things that I am so thankful for.

#gladforhusbandswhosnowblow

Where was I?!?! Oh ya. Let me show ya'll how I decorated the entryway/living area in our home.

The first thing you see when you walk through the front door of my house, is all of our friends and families Christmas cards we had received this year so far. I think this is the ONLY time of year that I actually look forward to checking the mail.

I used the book page wreath I made a little while ago to display all of the picture cards. I just used clothespins that I spraypainted gold to hold them in place. The same clothespins I used last year to dispay my holiday cards. Click HERE if you would like to see last years card display!

A sneek peak of this years Christmas card:

Do you remember what use to be on that skinny wall?!?!

This wine rack I bought at Sears a long time ago.

I actually bought it to use as a makeup station in my closet when I lived at my parents house. Then when we moved into our home now, I just shoved it up against the wall and used it to display my holiday things.

NOW, we actually use it for its intended purpose......a mini bar!

I moved it around the corner just to the left of that skinny wall and it works out just great when we entertain. Before we would keep all of the liquor downstairs, but now we can bring up what we need for whatever occasion we are entertaining for and there is no fussing and most importantly NO running up and down stairs. Stairs are not your friend when you've had more than two cocktails........just sayin!

I cut out the word "CHEERS" by just free handing the letters on a piece of cardboard, cutting them out, and then dusting them with lots and LOTS of gold glitter. I now wish the garland was a different color. Oh well, I try to work with what I already have!

Isn't this ugly Christmas sweater the cutest?!?! Oh and no bar setup is complete without something to munch on......pretzels anyone?!?!

And according to my husband, his Christmas Story bobblehead collection must be displayed on his bar. I wish he would just leave all the decorating up to me. #livingwithaboy

Here's a little sneak peek of our Christmas tree (post coming up next!).

Next to the front door we put up a shelf with cubbies. I bought it at HomeGoods a while ago to hang up in a different spot. I'm glad we decided to put it up here instead.......now I have a place to hang my jacket and Jades leash whereas before we draped em' over the banister or a chair......and how annoying ist that?!?!

Oh it also is the perfect place to hang our homemade stockings. My mom sewed them together using thrift store shirts and sweaters. Except for the middle one (the one with the fur), that one is Jades. THAT one was made out of one of Scott's favorite sweaters that she chewed a BIG whole through. I'm glad we could reuse it though. Nothing goes to waste in our house!

I need a bench to put under the shelf ASAP. It would be nice to sit while putting on boots instead of wobbling around like a fool.

We keep Jades treats up there to reward her whenever she's a good girl and goes potty outside! Looking at this picture reminds me that I need to replenish her treat jar.
I think the driftwood reindeer will find a permanent home up there for awhile even well after the holidays. He's too cute to put away. Great Marshalls find!

I added a few rustic touches to coordinate with the Country Christmas theme I was going for this year. I love my little Polish santa collection. I buy them at Door County, WI. from a little Christmas boutique called Pipkas. Which reminds me, I have another one that I have to add in with the other two from our trip this summer.

Next to my Santas, I added a deer rack that 2hotty found on my parents land a few years ago. The last one stores a dapper white deer (a thrift store find), a candle and a glittered "D", our last name initial.

What's a stocking without some goodies to fill it with?!?!

And how cool are those colored pencils?!?!

I am gifting em' to some special little boys in my life.

I'm so excited, Christmas is only four short days away. Today is my last day of work before a four day weekend, I am almost finished with shopping and wrapping gifts, we have one more holiday partay to attend this Saturday with some great GREAT friends, and family will be here visiting before I know it!! What a fun filled weekend I have ahead. That is if the world doesn't end today!! What time is that suppose to happen anyway?!?! HA! :-) See you lovelies tomorrow with my tree and Christmas village post.........well maybe. :-)

xoxo JoAnna

Countdown to Christmas: Outdoor Holiday Lights

2012-12-17T22:14:00.001-06:00

This year we decided to step up our "outdoor decorating" game. Last year we were in our house only one month before Christmas rolled around, therefore we really didn't do much with the outside. BUT (and that's a big ol' Santas BUT) this year we were prepared and strung those lights loud and bright for everyone to ooh and ahh as they drove by. Who am I kiddin?!?! I'm probably the ONLY person doing the oohing and ahhing each night. :-) Next year WE WILL HAVE MORE!! (enter maniacal laugh here and a big jolly HO HO HO!)

I am in LOVE with this tree all strung in lights. Would it be wrong for me to keep them on all year long?!?! We would be those neighbors.....you know the "Bumpuses"!

It really does make me smile though......and smiling is my favorite thing (name that movie!). :-)

Two festive wreaths hang on either side of the garage doors for the daytime viewers.

I believe the only thing that we did last year to decorate the outdoors for the holidays was the doorway and front window. We decided to do the samething this year.

And instead of a wreath on the front door, I raided my own mothers Christmas bin and found this broom looking "thing" that she wasn't using. I like it because it has a couple bells strung to it and whenever someone comes over they jingle! Fun, right?!?!

It looks especially pretty at night.

So that is all we did decorate the outdoors. Just a few wreaths, bows, and white lights. Nothing too crazy but just enough to give our home some Christmas cheer. However, I do want to add more lights for next year..... who knows what we'll come up with!

What did you do to decorate the outdoors?!?!

How about Jade in the picture above. :0)

How much is that puppy in the window?!?!

For a few years now I have always wanted a puppy for Christmas. Well lucky me! For the first time this year I don't have to put a puppy on my wish list. This year I get to spend Christmas with my most favorite puppy in the world and I wouldn't have it any other way!!

BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days before the big day. I know these are the most stressful but it doesn't have to be. Please take the time to "stop and smell the roses". Enjoy the prep work, get messy with the kids while decorating cookies, don't fuss over a messy house, stay up singing carols and watch as many Christmas movies as you can (love those classics). These days are the most precious of them all! Christmas will be here and gone before we know it and no moment should be wasted over a dirty floor or an unfinished guest bedroom! You feelin me?!?!

Have a wonderful day :-)

xoxo JoAnna

Countdown to Christmas: Hot Cocoa Station

2012-12-16T21:59:00.001-06:00

So the countdown to Christmas continues. You better believe (in Santa) that it is only nine short days away. NINE!! I am officially PANICKING!! HYPERVENTILATING!! ABOUT TO FAINT....a-n-y second!! Where did the time go?!?! Feels just like yesterday that I was decorating for Fall!

But don't YOU panick, I still plan on showing you how I decorated for the holidays. This years theme: Classic Country Charm!! Lots of natural elements (think: reindeer, pinecones, & twine) mixed with classic Christmas colors such as silver and red.

A few days ago I worked on my little kitchen shelf display. It is pretty much one of the first things I do when I decorate for any holiday. I think it's because the shelves are small enough where they aren't too overwhelming but yet still captures my theme for the season! The shelves are from IKEA and well weren't every penny (in my opinion!).

I read somewhere (I think in one of my many magazines) that December 12th is designated National Hot Cocoa day this year, so I decided to make a little hot cocoa station. How fun?!?! Buddy the elf would be SO proud:

I picked up the festive Santa mugs at Wal-Mart for $1.99/each this year. They are stacked and displayed on a cake stand along with a tree shaped glass container (also from Wal-Mart) that contains yummy Ghirardelli cocoa powder. Some fancy cocoa for the average Jo :-)

Whats hot cocoa without some mini marshmallows......

..........and yummy peppermint sticks?!?!

The festive bottles (from IKEA last year) could be filled with milk.

Maybe now I'll have to invite a few friends over for some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a yummy cup of hot cocoa. Whose coming over?!?!

The top shelf was really simple to decorate.

I gave the bland and boring candles a little makeover. Super easy I swear. Just added some birchwood looking wrapping paper and then wrapped the candle with leftover twine. See I told ya it was easy! I found the wrapping paper at Marshalls for a steal this year. Totally fits in with my country/rustic theme, dontchya think?!?! Then just a few left over ornaments, pinecones, and some pine branches sprinkled around the candle holder gave the shelf some added color and extra detail. No fussing necessary!

I found this little guy at the thrift store and I think it adds the most perfect rustic touch!

Attention to detail is my mantra!

So that is it.

This is what I did to add some "Classic Country Christmas Cheer" to my otherwise bland and boring IKEA shelves:

And just for the record...........we DO use the hot cocoa station!!

It's not only for display.........because how silly would that be!

A peppermint hot chocolate for the MR. and a salted caramel for the MRS!

Oh and a chocolate truffle to split!

A perfect way to spend a relaxing Sunday night if I do say so myself.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! I have more posts to come such as our outdoor lights, kitchen table, and decorated entryway and tree just to name a few! See you lovelies soon!

xoxo JoAnna

Countdown to Christmas: Christmas Tree Decorating 2012

2012-12-09T21:42:00.001-06:00

We had fun decorating our Christmas tree this year! Special thanks to our friends Chris and Charlie for coming over and joining in all the fun. They even sacrificed watching bits and pieces of the Badger football game just to help us out. You guys are the best!

I promise I won't make you do anything when it comes time to watching the Rose Bowl this year. Lets go BADGERS!! Woot Woot!

Hope you enjoy my little movie and pictures of the Christmas tree to come soon. (I've changed some things around so stay tuned.)

xoxo Joanna D.

Countdown to Christmas: 3D Holiday Frames

2012-12-04T20:51:00.001-06:00

I am so excited for Christmas this year I can hardly wait (yet it's right around the corner and will be here before we know it!). I am in full blown holiday decorating mode and am definitely feeling just a tad bit inspired to create new and pretty things for my home this year! Last time I shared with all of you lovelies a trip Scott and I made to the local tree farm to pick out "the one", a.k.a. our Christmas tree. Ah!! There is nothing like the smell of a real Christmas tree I tell ya......brings back so many great childhood memories. NOTHING! :-) Well our tree is up and decorated and I cannot wait to show you what it looks like, but in the mean time let me share with you a little frame update.

LET THE COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS BEGIN:

When I decorate for a holiday I normally start with the kitchen. I think I've mentioned this before. It's partly due to the fact that we do most of our entertaining in the kitchen and partly because I have more surface area to work with in there. The wall behind the kitchen table has an awkward off center built-in cabinet. I have a love-hate relationship with it. Maybe when I paint the trim white I'll like it more, but for now it sticks out like a sore thumb. To the right of the cabinet I added a couple IKEA shelves to display my tschochkies and knickknacks. I love the shelves but than I was left with the smaller space to the left of the cabinet, which was left blank for a long long time. I finally decided to add four white frames that I had laying around the house and called it a day:

I know it doesn't look balanced and perhaps they are too small for the space, but hey for now they work and well to me it looks a heckofalot better than empty, wasted space.

A few weeks ago the frames looked a little something like this:

Now for my Christmas decor I decided instead of putting something in the frame, I would give them a 3D effect and make this rustic ornament arrangement:

The theme this year is Rustic/Country Christmas. I wanted to incorporate classic colors like red and silver with natural elements such as twine and pine cones. It was super easy to make and best of all it was all FREE to me!! Yup I had everything on hand, all I had to spare was a half hour of my time!

This is what I used to "Christmasfy" my frames (made up word alert!):

You can do this so many different ways and make this work for any theme that you have going on. Use what you already have on hand, it's the best way to be creative.....I promise.

All you have to do is tie individual pieces of twine to your ornaments, pine cone, and branch.

For the pine cone I just added a dab of hot glue to the center, coiled a piece of twine around a few times and then pressed down to secure in place. Just like so:

Then I just brought everything together and tied em' in place with another piece of twine just like so:

Now I just used my hot glue gun and dabbed a bit of glue to the back of the knot and applied the arrangement directly onto the glass frame (Don't worry, the glue just pops right off when you want to take it down).

Easy Peasy No?!?!

So what do you think?!?! A for effort?!?! I don't know I kinda like it (maybe because it was all free)! I just love working with nature......it gives the space a cozy feeling. Now what are you all doing to spruce (punny?!) up your home for the holidays?!?!

xoxo Joanna D.

Countdown to Christmas: Real or Fake?!

2012-11-30T11:06:00.001-06:00

I'm talking about a Christmas tree here people so stay focused please! :-)

We go the "real" tree route. This will be our second Christmas in the new house and I just love decorating for the holidays. The tree and all of my decorations make our house so cozy and warm. I love the feeling. Sometimes I feel like I should just leave it up all year round.......but then I would be a Wisconsin redneck cliche and well I just don't like stereotypes! :-) Anyway, Scott and I went to pick out our Christmas tree last weekend. It's tradition to set up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving at my in-laws house. Scott insisted we start making this a tradition at our house too. So the Saturday after Thanksgiving we did just that. We drove over to a local tree farm and picked out the most perfect tree we could find.

I looked through last years pictures and they are almost identical to this years. And since I probably didn't even bother to blog about it here are the pictures from last year:

I just love the experience of picking out a tree from a nursery rather than any big box stores. Sure it's a bit more pricey but its all about the memories to me and I'll pay extra for that any day!

Scott is very serious about what tree we bring home!

We borrow Scott's parents SUV to get the tree home. We call it the family "truckster". It fits nice and snug:

This is when it starts looking like "Thanksmas" at our house. Note the pumpkin on the front porch:

Yay for our FIRST real Christmas tree:

All ready to decorate:

NOW FOR THIS YEAR'S TREE!

This time we have another family member joining in on all the fun!

(Just ignore that couch in the background. It's not permanent!)

We borrowed the family "truckster" again:

and drove the scenic route to the nursery:

the same nursery as last year:

2hotty got to work pickin out "THE ONE":

And when we found it, these wonderful young gents wrapped it all neat and tightly for us.

It was fun to watch:

And one even carried it out to the truck for us. Now that's what I call service:

Bringing it home.
Again, we transition from Thanksgiving decor to Christmas decor. This time we have more than just one lonely pumpkin on the front porch!

Yay for tree numero dos:

This time we had a little "elf" helping us:

well only with lots and lots of hugs and kisses:

Surprisingly she doesn't go near the tree. I was expecting the worst. It gives me hope that we won't have a million pieces of shattered ornaments on the floor for me to clean up. Oh please Baby Jesus I'm prayin she stays far far away from it. Am I setting myself up for failure?!?! She is definitely on the naughty list with everything else in the house. The couch.....the carpet.....yup she chewed it!!
I'm sure Santa will be skipping our house this year because of one naughty little puppy! But she is just too darn cute!

So what's yours.....Real or Fake?!?! :-)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends.
I know mine will be consumed with holiday decorating and shopping.

xoxo Joanna D.

Strange Bird

2012-11-28T20:10:00.002-06:00

Yes I think I might slightly have an obsession with turkeys. I didn't even know it until I started to look through all of my Fall decor this year!! I even have a little turkey family. I guess you can call me a strange bird!! (har har har!)

So I know "turkey day" is officially over and I'm sure many of you are taking (or have already taken!) down all of your Fall decor. So this post is late. I know what's new right?!?! While my home is in a transition state right now.......I like to call it the "Thanksmas" look.........check out what my home looked like just a few days ago:

Well really what my kitchen looked like. Furniture is sparse in our home......I have a hard time picking out furniture. My mind changes almost daily when it comes to the decor in any room in the house........so it is taking me forever and a day to furnish this little empty house of ours.

Our kitchen is the only house in the room that I really decorate for the holidays. I bought these two IKEA shelves a few months back. You wouldn't know that.......I never blogged about it. :-( I love them though, because now I can display all of my stuff/crap/treasures/etc I hoard in boxes scattared throughout the house. I think I'm going to beef them up a bit someday......maybe some trim and corbels to take them from sleek modern to country chic. Ah. I swear someday.

They're not perfectly arranged or decorated but I just wanted to use what I already owned and not spend a lot of money this year. We were on vacation the first week of November so when we got back home I changed out all of my Halloween decor to Fall decor and called it a day!

This is what the top shelf looked like:

A frame with a sweet poem and a white ceramic pumpkin sat on the left side of the shelf. The frame was a housewarming gift from one of my fave aunts and the kin I bought at Goodwill for a buck or so. I remember buying it in the summertime and thinking "one day I'm going to need this". I was right......I love it. The top opens and I store extra candles and lighters in it.

Next, I placed a long candle holder in the middle.......also from Goodwill. I just wrapped it with some fall colored picks for a pop of color. On the right side of the shelf holds a cute little ceramic owl. I'm going to put it in my office to display the rest of the year. It was an awesome World Market find. Love that place!

The shelf below:

(oops! forgot to take a pic of bottom shelf)

I just kept the wine bottle holders that I had on their all summer long just because I didn't feel like moving em'. If I buy or receive wine, I usually store them on the shelf, otherwise I just keep clear empty glass bottles on them. I think I'm going to sand them down and stain them a dark brown someday. (here I go saying "someday" again!).

On the other side I just added a clear apothecary jar filled with pine cone filler, a turkey platter, some pumpkins in different colors to mimic some of the colors from the shelf above, and a wicker turkey filled with extra pine cones. The platter and the wicker turkey were both thrift store finds. I bought the yellow and green pumpkins for ten cents each at Walmart on sale as well as the pine cone filler. I am nothing if not a bargain shopper! Can I get an Amen sister girl.

This is where it gets kinda awkward. We have this off center wall cabinet. I store my stemware in it (so it's good for somethin). I don't love it but I don't hate it. The trim needs to be painted and the glass front needs to be frosted. Remember my book page wreath that I made a while back?!? Ya I just hung it there (just because!). The wall to the left side of the cabinet was left blank for a long time. I didn't know what to do with the space (and am still looking for ideas!) so I just hung some white frames I had laying around. They work for now I guess.

I added extra pieces of burlap to the background and a fake leaf for an extra pop of color.

Here is what the wall looked like again:

See how the cabinet is off center!! Definitely needs some tweaking. Any ideas?!?!

Now for the very LOUD table setting:

What's Thanksgiving without a cornucopia filled with pumpkins?!?!

and another turkey?!?! I know right?!?!

For the place settings, I started out with Ikea chargers I bought for $3.99/each this year. (great deal compared to the $8.99 + price tag I saw at World Market. I'm thinking of staining them a darker color soon. I'll keep you posted if I do that.). Then I added a large green plate (bought on sale at Walmart last year):

The white leaf plates and the cloth napkins were also Walmart purchases from last year. (I wasn't kiddin. I save my money to buy the good stuff for half the price at the end of the season!)

The best part of the whole setting are the napkin rings. Check these out:

Isn't it adorable?!?! I told ya I had a turkey obsession.

First official photobomb by Jade on the blog:

So how many turkeys did you count?!?!

I counted fourteen!!

1 turkey platter, 2 wicker turkey baskets (one on the shelf and one on the table), 8 turkey napkin holders, 1 mamma turkey, and 2 baby turkeys! haha.

So that is how I decorated for Fall this year.
Any thing you liked/disliked.
How about some ideas for that awkward wall of mine?!?
I'll take any advice you have!!

Oh and Jade hopes you had a........

I am content with moving onto all things holly and jolly. Bring on the hot cocoa, candy canes, glitter, and reindeer!! I'm ready to prance around my house tossing tinsel on everything while singing Christmas carols all night long (you know the music they've been playin since Halloween! I swear they start playing em' sooner and sooner each and every year.) Oh and no Christmas is complete without watching The Christmas Story fifty times over (I'm watching it now as I type this post!).

Who's with me?!?!

What are your plans for Christmas?!?!

I double dog dare ya to leave me a comment.......No No wait......I TRIPLE dog dare ya!!

xoxo Joanna D.

Remember me?!?!? Hi!

2012-11-25T21:05:00.001-06:00

I have so so much to catch up on. Like SO SO much! (haha) I've missed the blog world like crazy.

Am I ready to start posting again?!?!

I hope it's just like riding a bike. It may take me awhile to get back into the groove of things......It has been six months since my last post people.......YES. SIX. MONTHS. so please be patient with me. :)

In the meantime I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I know I sure did. We spent this weekend enjoying some old traditions and as always making some sweet SWEET memories with some of the people I heart. Here's our weekend in a nutshell:

feasting on Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws house (yearly tradition)
fighting off crowds this black Friday and waiting in line for two hours to score the sixty-inch t.v. my husband (2hotty) has been eyeing (he was number sixteen in line. they only had nineteen. winner winner chicken dinner. He lucked out. This will NOT be a yearly tradition!)
catchin up with dear family and friends (that we don't get to see nearly enough). Love when my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.
makin a few wreaths in hopes to start selling them on etsy some day. maybe even a collaboration with my own mother. this. should. be. interesting.
celebrating our puppy's first Thanksgiving this year. (more on our sweet little Jade soon!)
cooking and hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner for my parents. Basically I had specific instructions for my mom to make the turkey and I would take care of the rest.
Cookin + turkey = Intimidating.
stuffin our faces with an embarrassing amount of turkey and all the fixins all weekend long. like I mean EMBARRASSING amount. (Stretchy pants are put away until next year!)
pickin out AND bringing home the most perfect Christmas tree!! (my home is in transition right now. Pumpkins still on the front porch with a big ol' Christmas wreath on the front door. Let's call it Thanksmas decor!)
Oh and showing some love to this blog baby of mine. I have missed you (insert me petting the monitor screen right now.......and blowing kisses!).

Phew. What a jammed packed weekend it was. I feel so blessed. I have so much to be thankful for. Like so so much!! I hope ya'll are ready to follow along on my journey again. (key word: hope)!!

belated

So what have you been up too?!?! Anything I've missed?!?!.......because I've missed all of you :0)

xoxo Joanna

Cabin by the Lake

2012-05-31T23:29:00.001-05:00

This Memorial Day weekend we packed up our friend Chris' SUV and headed up north to St. Germain, WI. (dontchyaknow) to spend the weekend doing something that I like to call......... "GLAMPING". Here is the reason why:

*WE STAY IN A CABIN*

Yes a cabin which happened to have: running water (Yay hot showers!), heating/AC, beds, T.V., full out kitchen, a bathroom, yada yada yada!!! In other words we camped in style....... also known to me as "GLAMPING"!

Isn't it so cute?!?!

What with all it's rustic charm, bear/eagle statues, picnic table, and a bright blue Weber grill that I so desperately wanted to take home with me!!

The lake was literally like twenty feet away from the cabin.........

.......with an awesome bonfire area that was like two feet away.

The campfire was blazing so hot the first night that Chris and Scott were tempted to drag the chairs out to sit in the water. Me on the other hand.......I wanted to drag those puppies into the back of Chris' SUV (along with the Weber grill) to use around our future bonfire at home (which is still in the works BTW. You can read about it HERE!).

Here is the view from the boat:

Speaking of a bonfire.....the guys absolutely wasted no time finding branches and sticks to use in the pit that night!! Oh did I say branches and sticks?!?! What I really meant to say was they wasted no time dragging in a whole dang tree. HA! These guys don't mess around when it comes to campfires!!

My little "redneck" looked so cute at work!!

This is so funny to me. During the week you can find him wearing khakis and a golf polo, but on the weekends you'll find him strutting his John Deer hat, college football sweater, and holey worn out "work" jeans.......oh and because of the occasion he was even wearing special (3D?) fishing glasses. Which is the perfect camping wardrobe (do I even dare use this word?) according to my main squeeze. HA!

After about thirty minutes we had enough wood ~~to build a house~~ to use in the first night. Ya! Can you believe this was only one nights worth?!?!

I wanted to get a cute "woodsy" picture of us by the lake. I had the whole photo shoot planned out in my head. Just picture us both wearing something flannel (matching perhaps lol) sitting on the pier with the lake and woods behind us........maybe even some ducks thrown somewhere in there too. Um ya......the "plan" did not work out so much. My husband cringes at the thought of me taking out "Mr. Sexy Cannon" let alone hearing the word "photoshoot".......forgetaboutit. Such a party pooper (picture me sticking my tongue out here!).

This is the best we could do:

Classy.....Ya not so much. But you know what?!! I love them. I love that they show the "real" us! The goofy.....fun loving....comfy clothes wearing (hey and we even match. HA!)....beer drinkin "us"! Yup we both are just two big kids at heart!!

So I didn't push "photoshoot" so much the rest of the weekend!! Therefore there is an abundance of Scott pictures during this post........and maybe two of me.

Disclaimer: This isn't typical Scotty. I mean it is.........but yet it isn't. He doesn't ever smoke cigarettes, just cigars and if so it's usually on trips like these or when hanging out with a bunch of guys. He likes drinking beer.....but he also enjoys a nice glass of wine or a dirty martini straight up. He even enjoys using Aveda products just as much as I do (maybe even slightly more).....oh and has a much bigger wardrobe than I do (I'm embarresed over here!). Ya so even though he looks like a typical "hillbilly" in these pictures...... he's really just a big mishmash of everything and anything. Just wanted to clarify that. HA!

So I finally installed the instagram app to my phone a few weeks ago. I don't know what I was waiting for........I love it. I am definatelly HOOKED!

Warning: Instagram photos ahead!

Speaking of being "hooked"........the very next morning we headed out fishing. I haven't fished in such a long time (Actually Scott introduced me to the fishing world back when we first started dating. I even have a funny fishing story too......doesn't everyone that fish?!?!) On this trip 2hotty caught some fish! Me on the other hand......I fed the fish (and why YES I do have a fishing license!! The Wisconsin girl in me has definitely coming out more and more as the years go on. HA!)

I had everything I needed that beautiful brisk morning.

A great cup of coffee, a magazine, my camera (and phone)........and just a awesome AWESOME view of the LAKE!!

A view of the lake from the boat:

The fish weren't really biting at all!! We figured the may flies had already hatched therefore the fish were too full to bother with our bate.

Waiting for the "BIG ONE"

Scott managed to reel in a couple:

Not quite the "BIG ONE" but Scott caught a small Northern:

........and then later a slightly bigger Northern:

" minny and biggy"

So ya besides late night fishing while taking in all of natures beauty.............

..............the boys also braved the COLD water to do a bit of water skiing. Me.....I braved just watching them. There was NO way I was getting in the water this time of year......NO WAY!! But these two freaks......you would've thought they were swimming in the hottest beaches of Hawaii or something:

I think "someone" was starting to have second thoughts while watching Chris freeze his you know whats off in the freezing water.......note the shirt over the mouth:

Please don't kill me for posting the following pictures.
I love you..........(and you're sexy and you know it...What!! Hey!!)! ;-)

The handle from the ski rope came undone half way through Chris' turn......so his dad was able to rig it up before 2hotty's ga ve skiing a try. I didn't think it was a good idea for him to go, but he went anyway.

Gearing up:

This was 2hottys first reaction after jumping in the water!! He said it was so cold it literally took his breath away. (Does not look like a jolly ol' time to this girl......just sayin!).

And you wanna know what?!?:

The rope handle did snap beyond repair.

Ya........all of that dedication for nothing! HA!

Oh well.....there's always next time!! (and hopefully the water will be a bit warmer so I can try too!)

So YA.....besides fishing:

Boating:

Eagle spotting:

Cabin dreaming:

Bug swatting (so many and HUGE):

Casino winning:

(2hotty won nine HUNDRED dollars on a penny machine (true story!). Lucky that one I swear.

..........garage saleing, pudgy pie eating, flea market(ing?), and steak dining we waved good bye to our little cabin by the lake:

.........and headed back home on Memorial Day!

As we drove through town we watched many ceremonies taking place with an abundance of American flags waving high in the air and many soldiers standing proudly and saluting. This beautiful site gave me gooesbumps......I said a prayer......I thought of all men and women, young and old who serve our country......who give so much.....so much that some give ALL.....a sacrifice so that many can enjoy FREEDOM.

I am so proud to be an American. I am so THANKFUL for these brave soldiers. I solute you! THANK YOU!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

p.s. Read about last years glaming trip HERE!

p.s.s Oh and here is what we did for Memorial Day last year. Read about it HERE!

xoxo Joanna D.

The Pits (Part 1)

2012-05-23T10:22:00.004-05:00

This year 2hotty and I are planning to throw an end of the summer shindig for our family, friends, and new neighbors as kind of a big "woot woot" for surviving almost a full year in our new (and first) home! If you were to ask my 2hotty what some requirements for a summer party would be, I think he would answer with the following: beer, grilled/smoked meats, beer, mosquito repellent, beer, and a big ol' blazing BONFIRE!! Yes he is quite the minimalist when it comes to throwing parties.......me on the other hand I have TEN lists of things I need to buy or do before I throw any party (no joke)!! So one of the firsts on the list is to DIY a big firepit in our back yard before our "end of the summer" party (which by the way may be a themed....more on that in a later post!).

Here are a couple inspiration pictures I found on Pinterest of some pits I love (ha ha and not the gross, hairy, stinky kinda "pits"!):

SOURCE. CLICK HERE.

SOURCE. CLICK HERE.

Both look very similar but each has something different to offer. I think we will do somewhat of a mixture of the two. I'm digging the roundness in shape as shown in the second (right above) picture but would love it using bricks similar to the one in the first picture (I think it will boil down to which material of stone will ultimately be more budget friendly). So I don't know what we'll end up doing (it's kinda up in the air of possibilities) but for now we are using the inspiration pics as our guides.

Here are a few pictures of the dead pine tree my dad chopped down the very next day after Scott and I closed on our house. (Pictures taken from my phone):

Humongous tree.......I know!

We knew we would be much happier if the tree came down and opened up some of the view to the golf course, so my dad came over with his chainsaw at 9 am and guaranteed (I must stress this word because he was so adamant) that the tree would be down in 30 minutes or less. Here he is prepping his chainsaw!! I swear he must've been a lumberjack in a former life!:

I do have a video of him actually cutting it down. It's just a lot of rambling from me about the values of safety precautions.....yada yada yada!! So in hindsight do NOT try this at home if you are an amateur......I guarantee you, if my dad didn't know what he was doing I would not allow for it to happen (he's cut done MANY trees before so this was not his first "timber" so to speak). And we would still be looking at a dead Pine in our backyard right about now. I did yell "timber" in the video and that did make my day (oh the small things in life!) My dad (Frankthetank) would like everyone to know that the dang tree (although giving him a bit of trouble at first) was down in less than thirty minutes. Gotta love that man!

After the tree came down my dad tried chopping as much as he could into smaller pieces to later be used in our pit. Thanks dad!:

Here is the BEFORE again:

And this is what we were left with last October (2011):

Ahhh.....we are making progress people!

Well some progress because it remained looking like this far into the winter months (thank goodness for snow to help conceal the big eyesore):

(Eyesore in disguise.........the brush pile.....not my 2hotty!) :-)

We finally took the plunge to do something about it in the beginning of May. YAY!! It's sorta my birthday present. (I say sorta because I still have a massage and or bracelet that is sorta my present too. Right hunny?!?!)

Scott and I got to work clearing the area of any brush before recruiting some of our friends to come help with the chopping part. Here is 2hotty accessing the situation (he just had to ride the lawnmower over because you know our house is "soo" far away (sarcasm here). Boys sure do love their toys!) :

For some (odd) reason my 2hotty thought that we would be able to to burn off most of the brush in this teensy tiny firepit. I laughed. Yup.....laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Oh my 2hotty......he sure is a dreamer! If it wasn't for me running to the house to get a huge box of black garbage bags, he would still be out there (right now) feeding the pit stick by stick!

After a few moments of motivation to actually get started.....we got to work.

Using any tool we can find (at the inlaws house) to get the job done:

Don't let my "divaness" full you.....this girl can get a little dirt under her finger nails to get a job done!! Amen to that!

Thanks to our very awesome besties we managed to get this pile cleaned up in no time!! Here is "Helper Chris" at work......check out those calf muscles ladies and all the baggage behind him. :-0

After cleaning most of the brush and filling many many garbage bags, it was time to tackle the much dreaded stump:

Don't let the size full you it is much bigger than it looks and it's roots lay deep.......really really deep! In other words......you don't want to mess with this stump!! Just ask these guys:

Here is "Helper Patrick" sharpening his weapon.....aka...the axe!!

So the battle between the "Dreaded Stump" and the "Three Amigos" begins:

I must admit my flannel wearing lumberjack looked pretty darn hot working up a sweat chopping at the stumps roots!

Back to the battle. Scott tag teams with Patrick to continue the chopping process:

With a quick water break in between:

In the end the stumps roots were just too dang big and the stump was not amoving! We had to give this win to the "Dreaded Stump" but in the end I know we will be victorious. We will not give up. We will chop it up! ( Right guys?!?! Guys?!?!)

Here is the before again:

And here is the after shot. Ya I know, I was hoping to have nothing but dirt in this after picture but what can I say. Did you see just how LARGE that tree was?!?!

We now have a much MUCH cleaner slate to work with. Huge thanks to our helpers, Patrick and Chris, for coming out and helping us (even when I was working you too hard with my supervising duties. Just wanted to let you know Scott did not hand over any divorce papers (yet) and we are doing just fine! lol.)

Here is whats on the proverbial "TO-DO" list for our DIY fire pit:

1. ~~Call DIGGERSHOTLINE to have a tech come out and make sure it is safe to dig and chop around the area (because hitting an electrical wire would be bad, really REALLY bad!)~~

2. ~~Rake/Clean up the pile of brush. Haul any of it away to the dump.~~

3. Remove the stump. (Ugh!) Or maybe consider building fire ring around it and eventually burning down the stump.

4. Remove any weeds/roots/grass around the fire pit surround area.

5. Flatten (and dig a few inches) of the surround area to make it nice and smooth (so the pavers will lay flush with the grass).

6. Purchase a firepit ring.

7. Purchase gravel and sand (and any other materials needed) before laying down pavers.

8. Choose and purchase stone (pavers) material.

9. Built pit and lay down pavers.

10. CELEBRATE with friends and family with lots and lots of smores!! Woot Woot!

It's not really an official to-do list but it's something to work off of. We have never built a firepit before (let alone much of anything really) so we are learning as we go. We've enlisted some of our friends to help with the project in the hopes that "many" minds are better than just one (or two in our case!). I think my dad, FranktheTank, will be paying a visit in round two of the making of a firepit! We've also researched online and watched a few different tutorials.....and as of recently I had checked out a few books from the good ol' library! So keeping my fingers crossed we get this thing done by the end of June (May is coming to an end here and the first few weekends in June are booked with family/friend functions and even a Brad Paisley concert in the mix too (woot woot) so end of June is a fair deadline I'm so sure we can meet (right hunny?!?!))!! Anyone whose ever built a firepit before and would like to chime in.......I would so appreciate any tips and tricks that would help along the way. That "WOOD" be so helpful!! (har har har....cheese cheese cheese)!

xoxo Joanna D.

March in a Nutshell (Part 1)

2012-04-23T09:30:00.004-05:00

When I thought it had all melted for good......2hotty and I woke up to just a few more inches of snow to ~~moan and grown about~~ enjoy the first week of March. Instead of staying at home sipping on some hot chai tea (which would have made more sense if you ask me) 2hotty dragged me out of the house to enjoy the freshly fallen snow (hopefully one last time but you just never know around my neck of the woods)!!

(Our friend Chris and his dog, Madison, came on our little adventure too!)

Scott loves animals (and they love him). I call him Mr. Dolittle because it seems like all animals flock to him.....like they have this unique connection with him. He has a sixth sense or something. They all think he's one of them.....I'm just sure of it. Just weird.......but kinda cute!! Oh and little kids/babies they love him too!! It's really cute to watch sometimes. He'll make a great daddy one day (to both the fur and human kind!).

We have a huge brush pile in our back yard. Its from a dead pine tree that we chopped down (and yelled 'timber") the second day after moving into our house. Now that the snow has melted we've been trying to widdle down the pile and eventually have plans to DIY an outdoor fire pit something like this (I'm hoping we get it done before our end of summer party!) I'm sure our neighbors would really REALLY love it if this happened much sooner than later (the brush pile is kind of an eye sore to say the least!).

Madison doesn't seem to have a problem with the pile. Look at all them sticks she has to play with!!

One of the main reasons I went out for this walk (because who doesn't love chai tea and relaxing on the couch) was to try out the new lens my brother-in-law got both 2hotty and me for Christmas. It's a EFS 55-250 mm lens and I must say it really takes some getting use to. I find that its perfect for taking landscape pictures (if you really want to zoom in close) rather than day to day pictures. I had fun taking pictures of trees in our back yard. I love all the colors and textures. (Now I can't wait to take some photos of all of our blooming flowers! Hooray for Spring!):

(this is one of my faves.....It deserves a title or something! HA!)

Two men and a ~~baby~~ puppy?!?!

I caught 2hotty observing the trees a little too closely if you ask me. What a weirdo :-)

Planning on moving to the North Pole hunny?!?! (PETA don't worry.....the dead looking fur thing on his head that looks like its going to eat him alive...is all faux fur!!)

Perhaps future botanist?!?!

When we made it back home I had this "grand" idea to make a snowman (and cross it off my bucket list). I say "grand" because I was hoping to make a life sized like snowman. Everyone laughed at me. There was barely enough snow to make a proper snowball. HA!! I attempted anyway (Have I mentioned I'm very stubborn.....because I am!! "My way or the highway" is my mantra most days!)

What a bad idea. I ended up making "Frostys" evil step-brother. We used some twigs for the ~~demon~~ eyes and some leaves (??) for the arms (it looked more like bat wings). HA! (warning: scariest mini snowman you have ever seen pictured below!)

I have mentioned in my last post that 2hotty and I have been hanging low for awhile (pretty much just channeling our inner "hermity" selves and staying in the comforts of our own "hermity" home/town). I'd say partly due to the fact that the company 2hotty works for has changed the way they were going to pay him. He is now getting paid once a month (rather than weekly). And part of the stipulation was for him (and me. hehe.) to wait six full weeks before he (we!) received a paycheck. I know how weird, huh?!?! Don't worry it's nothing bad (he didn't lose his job or anything) it's just the way they decided to do it. Which now meant we both would have to be on a spending freeze for that amount of time (the freeze was mostly geared towards me however, and perhaps the new pair of shoes I wanted. shucks.)! We both decided this transition period would also be a good time to take a break from any home painting/updating/decorating (all of the above. haha.) just until the dust settled a bit (we did end up buying a bathroom vanity that was on sale but more on that later!) Sometimes it's nice to take a break, step back and rethink things every so often, you know?!?! But who says you can't have fun without money?!?! Isn't there a saying: "the best things in life are free". So cliche but true. I have a wonderful husband/friends/family/home and what better time than the "no extra money to spare" time, to really embrace it all (not that I don't already....its just it was more relevant during this time). But don't fret too long my pets....... we made it to the finish line (thank goodness). Yay! We were able to live off of what we had in checking and a little from savings for the full six weeks! Can I get a big round of applause (Or you can just picture me clapping my hands in a circle.....with a big grin on my face. haha!) It's shoe time baby (just kiddin hunny)!! I now feel like such a responsible grown up. HA! See why it is SO important to have a little nest egg built up in a savings account just in case of any financial emergencies like these?!?! If you don't have one already......START ONE (six months worth of your expenses is a rule of thumb)!

With all that to say (about our little spending freeze).......now let me introduce to you our first official breakdown in the new house and the first official "this sucks you know what" grin from my Mr. What's life without a little bump in the road (not my life that's for sure!)?!?!.:

Our washer machine decided to dump us. Yes it was kinda hurtful at first. So much for a "spending freeze" huh?! The above picture is 2hottys reaction to the whole situation. It kinda makes me laugh now that I think about it. Both his reaction that that the washer decided to wimp out on us. I laugh because when we were buying our house the washer and dryer were not included in the previous owners asking price. We had them added into our offer. We were so excited when they had accepted (we thought maybe they overlooked it). When we first walked through the house we didn't (at least I didn't) notice how old they were........I just thought "wow" hey they have a front loader washer and they aint cheap. In reality both the washer and dryer were already about ten years old (I'd say that's about the average time they are suppose to last anyway). So bottom line is A. they are on their last stretch and 2. We ended up paying for a new washer (and eventually new dryer) anyway. We did have a good five months of use so it wasn't totally a loss. :-)

Here I am booing and sharing my sadness with Scott (but in reality I don't mind so much. Anything to spend a little moolah......even if it was on a new washer machine.) Please look past my outfit/and lack of makeup......I call this my weekend grungy chic look!

Our laundry room isn't finished yet. I dream of a fabulous laundry room someday. It's a BIG room and has so much potential but "OUI" where do we even start! I often joke that we are on the "five year plan" when it comes to this house. It'll probably take us five years (or longer) to update/finish all of the things we would like......and that is A-OK with us. I'd say this room fits somewhere on the three to four year timeline (we have a long ways to go. sad face.):

Yes this picture gives me much anxiety. I hate having clutter around the house and well this rooms middle name is CLUTTER!!

With all that to say, we ended up going out and buying a new one that same weekend. It actually happened at the most convenient time. Both Scott and I had a three day weekend from work. (Bonus! I considered myself lucky, because usually I'm far from it. Oh and I had major laundry to do that weekend too! Double Bonus!) 2hotty went down to do some laundry when it had started to make a REALLY loud noise. So we decided to call a local company (actually the same company the washer was purchased from) to come out and look at it. The technician told us it needed to be replaced. The broken part (I think the barrel??) was under warranty but we would have to pay for shipping and labor. We thought "Hey, that's great news!" Then he dropped the bomb on us. We would be looking at a six HUNDRED dollar figure after it was all said and done. Oh no no no no NO!! (back to being unlucky. womp womp.) We taught about it for a while and had ultimately decided that the ten year old washer was not worth the trouble and a brand new one was the way to go (fosho!)!!

Meet our new washer:

Oooh lala so shiny and pretty! Never taught I'd say that about a washer, but welcome to the world of homeownership (I never knew that trips to Menards and Home Depot were going to be a weekly thing either!). When it came time to picking the right one for us and our budget we turned to Scott's dad. Why?!?! He is a consumer reports junkie!! I kid you not.

We turned to the front loading washer section of the book and saw that this one was rated number one:

But coming at a thousand dollars it was just not happening. Common one thousand dollars to wash 2hottys panties.....I don't think so......even if they are cute panties (so goin to die for this......dyeing...dead!! haha!). For some reason I can justify spending that amount of money on a Louis Vuitton purse but some reason I wasn't going to for a lousy washer machine. You now see where my priorities are (I'm not at all materialistic....not one bit....nuh uh.....not me! hehe).

First we had looked into getting this one, rated number twenty in the book and coming in at about six hundred dollars (same amount it would've cost to replace the old one):

But after some research and reading online reviews (which were mostly bad BTW) we decided we'd keep on truckin. We spent a couple hours going from store to store comparing prices and models. Which is a great tip btw. Do some research first and allow yourself some time to compare prices at a few different stores in your area.....oh and read other peoples reviews....they're the most helpful. We were able to find our new washer in our hometown (keeping it local is a huge plus!!) and we also found that they had the best deal around town too (wam bam to that!) The new washer we purchased was rated number four in CR (a Kenmore....I forget the model but can hunt it down if anyone is interested!) and after some negotiating we ended up buying an eight hundred dollar machine for only about six hundred dollars. Sweet! Another tip, bring your negotiating husband along......its wonderful (he is a negotiating machine and my little King Penny Pincher!).

We also saved some money on delivery and installation. How?!?! Well we just so happened to know a friend with a truck AND my brother just so happened to be up visiting from Chicago.......so we borrowed him (and his muscles) to help carry it to the laundry room in our basement. 2hotty also carefully went over the directions to install and align the washer properly. The instructions will be your friend. Easy Peasy.

After all of the "hard" labor intensive work (ya right!) 2hotty chugged down a liter of coke and was ready to relax with a few drinks. (He says its tradition to do so if he remotely comes close to working up a sweat. Dream on hunny......dream on!).

So that pretty much concludes the first half of the month of March for us. We endured some financial change when 2hottys company transitioned to monthly paychecks (I kinda like it!). We took advantage of the last snowfall before welcoming Spring (more on that in Part 2) and I built a pretty wimpy (but scary lookin) snowman. Oh and lastly, we experienced our first house breakdown (even if we were on a spending freeze) which lead us on a hunt to buy a new washer machine the same weekend. So ya overall not anything overly exciting but we took advantage of it the best we could. Next up, I'll include our eighty degree weather we welcomed with open (white as a ghost) arms not to long after the last snowfall, our blurry St. Patty's day celebration with friends, and anything else I'm forgetting to share right now (because I'm focusing more on watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey right about now. Anyone watch?!?! I LOVE IT....SO JUICY....TOTALLY UP MY ALLEY.....DEVOUT FAN I AM.....I DON'T CARE FOR THERESA!!)

xoxo Joanna D.

Easter Blessings

2012-04-16T20:57:00.000-05:00

Wow has it really been a month since the last time I blogged?!?!?! I wish I was better at it I really do......but I know it takes some time gettin use to (even if I've been doing it for almost a year. Has it been a year yet?That's so bad that I don't even know!) I have just been struggling with keeping a regular schedule, especially after moving into our new house and all (which BTW has been half a year already!! Canyoubelieveitohmyga?!?!). I try and make lists.....I have a planner.....I make mental notes......but ultimately I feel like I just cant get it together and am scraping by just to get regular day to day stuff done. I don't know how other bloggers do it.....I really don't (Any tips let me know....Palease!).  They inspire me SO much. So please forgive me as I try and figure this whole thing out......mmmkay?!?! HA!

Actually there hasn't been too much excitement around here as far as any house/DIY projects go. We've been on a spending freeze (more on that in another post).  I would say we've actually acquired "hermit" like tendancies by simply just enjoying the sunny days in the comfort of our own home. We spend most days lounging around on our three season deck (yes even when its raining out):

2hottys been golfing as much as he possibly can squeeze in, and I've been just bummin/dreamin about vacation/pinning inspiration/ and really anything else that has to do with being unproductive. Ya.....so ultimately a whole lotta nothin goin on!  (I will try to get around and post my March highlights whenever I can, but I make no promises....I can promise you that. HA!)

Speaking of lounging around and enjoying sunny days, I wanted to share our Easter weekend......you know before it gets to be Memorial Day weekend and nobody really cares what I have to say about bunnies, nephews, and/or Polish sausage (and not in any particular order). :-) We received a special treat from the Easter bunny this year when this little birthday boy payed us a visit:

Yup that is my little (actually he aint so lil anymore) cutey patootie nephew, Nathanial, who just happened to turn the big ONE year old the week before Easter. His birthday was sock monkey themed and super duper adorable! Needless to say we couldn't wait to make the three hour trip to Illinois just so we could party our socks off (no pun intended!) with him! Before I get to Easter highlights I wanted to show a few pictures from his birthday.   Because no party is complete without me DIY somthin outta somethin (if you know me you would understand).  :-) I made Nathaniel his birthday hat and banner:

You can see the stuffed sock monkey wearing the DIY birthday hat in the picture below:

I found a great tutorial to follow that showed me how to make these fun birthday hats on this BLOG (I simply just searched "sock monkey parties" on my beloved Pinterest acount.) Here is the hat she created (and I so shame~~fully~~lessly copied):

The banner was just a yarn wreath I quickly came up using a mini wreath form and some red and cream colored yarn. I also made fun yarn pom poms to add to the garland and the number 'one' (I just cut out the number out of cardboard and wrapped it with some more yarn) to tie in with the theme! I am nothing if not milking a theme until its bone dry!!! (I don't really think that meant a whole Lotta sense but......ya. HA!
You can sorta see it in the picture below (top left):

Don't all of the treats look yummy! Can't have a monkey party without bananas because that would be well.......bananas (it's bananas....B-A-N-A-N-A-S.....sorry love me some Gwen Stefani!!). I'm not sure how the the life savers were suppose to tie in (maybe they were meant for the parents! :-)
Lucky for Nathaniel.....he survived his first year with the two people raising him......AKA my brother and SIL.......more specifically my brother. HAHA!!!! I'm totally joking......my brother and sister-in-law have done/are continuing to do such a beautiful and wonderful job when it comes to raising my precious little munchkin Natey Nate and I am totally taking mental notes when it comes time to having a little cupcake of my own. :-) Great job guys, you totally rock at it and make it look so dang easy.

Speaking of his parents......lets take a peek at the Easter highlights shall we. Here they are all dressed up, getting ready to bless the Easter baskets Saturday afternoon:

Blessing of the baskets is one of our Easter traditions that we do every single year. My mom fills it up with yummy food that will be eaten for breakfast Easter morning. Food such as Polish sausage, dyed hard boiled eggs, a round loaf of bread, lamb butter (Mmmm my favorite), chocolates, mini babkas (cake), and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting......get filled in a beautifully decorated basket. On Saturday morning we take the basket full of yummy treats to church and set it up in front of the alter (along with hundreds of other beautifully decorated baskets) for the priest to come around and bless with holy water. Its a tradition that I look forward to every year (except for this year...shucks... because I unfortunately had to work so that I could bring home the bacon.....er um or in my case the Polish sausage. HA!) and cannot wait to pass these same traditions along to any future mini 2hottys. :-)

Speaking of little 2hottys......Here is me and my little 2hotty after Easter mass dressed in our Sunday best:

I totally forgot to bring along "Mr.Sexy Canon".... AKA my camera. I know GASP! But lucky for me I have a SIL who just so happens to be a PRO!! Ya I know. YAY for beautiful "EDITED" pictures!! Holla!

We had such beautiful weather too. It was wee bit chilly, but the sun was shining bright and more importantly we did not get any rain!! Alleluia to that.

Another pic of us and a picture of my parents AKA proud grandparents with their ray of sunshine:

Check out those chubby wubby pinchable cheeks this guy has (and NO I'm not talkin about my dad, Frank the Tank. HA!) And if you think his cheeks are squishy cute, you should see his squishable thighs. He must get that from his aunt (although his are much MUCH cuter and mine well they could really lay off the chips and brownies!):

If you think his grandparents are gaga over Nathaniel..... you should see him with Uncle Scott:

Just makes my heart want to burst (and maybe even my uterus! HA!) with how much I adore seeing 2hotty with him (actually with any child). He will make such a wonderful daddy one day!! Tear.

After Easter breakfast (our belly's were full as can be......my mom did not dissapoint...as always), 2hotty and I headed back home so we could set up for Easter dinner. This year we were the ones hosting it and my wonderful mother-in-law was the one cooking it!! Yup that is right.......I did NOT have to do one bit of COOKING this year (actually I've never had to any Easter cooking......EVER!). Yes I know I have the bestest MIL in the world (sorry you can't have her so don't you dare try!) who still treats us as her little kids and not only cooks us the whole entire meal, but also brings over a basket full of goodies (that I'm sure my thunder thighs lurve her for!) just like the Easter bunny once did when we were younger. I know BANANAS right?!?!

Check out how cute these cookies are:

Oh and who could forget my FIL, D, who is also is the bestest! He gifted us his "like new" riding lawn mower so we didn't have to shell out the extra moolah this year (they are dang expensive), especially after having to replace our washer machine that wimped out on us last month (ya more on that in another post!). We are so GRATEFUL and will definately work for it in anyway they please. Can someone say "deck staining" like pronto. HA! It's a John Deere kinda like the one Nate-Dog is sporting below:

I actually decorated the house really REALLY late this year. Like I said I cannot get my life together right now. Its a hot mess. I think I went to JoAnnes on Good Friday quick after work to pick up some fake flowers to make my house look more "springy":

I just popped them in my large glass vase that I'm sure you've seen so many times before. I've used it to hold branches and ornaments for a Christmas centerpiece and also burlaped it for my Valentines Day centerpiece. And now here for an Easter display:

I still have my book page wreath up. I think I'm going to leave it up all year round:

A wine table (using this for now until I can find something better) holds my holiday decor. It's the first thing my guests see when they walk in. (It's actually more as a distraction in hopes they wont notice my messy kitchen. hehe.) Ultimately I would like a wooden table with drawers (hello can you say storage) bur for now it works just fine. Oh and the candle holder thingy is a thrift store find. I wasn't going to get it at first but I'm glad I did.....it works so nicely in this space:

Besides the flowers I didn't really have to purchase anything:

I filled some candle votive holders with dried split peas for a more natural "springy" feel. It brings in a pop of color in a more subtle way. My little bird also finds his way into all of my holiday displays some where.....some how:

Free printable art/quotes are my "go to" when it comes to jazzing up a holiday display. It's fast and cheap (just the way I like em...haha!) and I just love the beautiful wording on this one:

As far as the table scape goes.......it was done in a hot minute and on a dime!

I wish I would've taken a picture when the whole table was set but I unfortunately did not think of it until it was too late. Bad blogger....BAD!!! Here is what it looked like more or less (now times that by five. HA!):

I added just a few things purchased at various times during trips to the thrift store, craft store, and grocery store and put them all out on display at the middle of the table.

The basket filled with eggs turned out pretty cute.....I likey. I found the basket at a local thrift store for a couple bucks and filled it with some newspaper to add height (because I wanted to fill it with eggs). To cover up the newspaper I covered the top with moss (found at Joann's) and added a bunch of fake speckled (freckled?) colored eggs:

(The colors of the eggs are washed out in the pictures below but they were mainly neutral colors with a few turquoise ones mixed in.)

The white ceramic bunny was also a thrift store score (it was 2 dollhairs) and I think he so cute (reminded me of something similar I remember seeing from a PB catalog!) and the hand painted egg I bought at a grocery in Illinois when we were visiting for Mr. Nates birthday.

As far as the place setting I just kept it simple with a pop of color using everything I already owned:

Actually my sister-in-law was in aww of where I shop for all of my stuff. I buy mostly everything on sale (like major sales)!! I bought the white plates at Walmart (they were seventy-five percent off after Christmas), the yellow plates were from World Market (bought on clearance after Thanksgiving), the napkins were from Tar-jay (again on a super sale), and the napkin rings I purchased at Goodwill (got a whole bag of them for a buck....nuf' said!). So bottom line I bargain (I mean like BARGAIN) shop but I try to get pieces I can interchange year round and that don't skimp out on style and cuteness.....know what I mean?!?! I don't want to just buy something because it was ninety percent off or somthing crazy like that (well maybe I would if it was ninety percent off...HA...but you get what I mean!):

So ya besides stuffing my face with yummy treats and ham we had an pretty layed back family filled weekend. Just look at this deliciousness.......there's nothin I enjoy more than my mammas homemade bakin and cookin:

(I am so salivating all over my laptop right now!)

Oh BTW I think I have started quite the ~~addiction~~ collection as far as little bitty animals that are scoured throughout my kitchen:

Please let me introduce to you Mr. T.....my new sugar bowl I found at a local kitchen boutique just a few weeks ago. I love him......isn't he so cute?!?!:

So wow that's a wrap!! Holy cow I forgot how much I miss posting and documenting. Sigh! I'm going to try and figure out how I can keep a consistant schedule but in the mean time tell me "how was your Easter weekend?!?!" Did you eat tons and tons......like I did?!?! Theres nothing like eating Easter breakfast at my parents house every year......so nostolgic to me!! Anyone procrastinate with holiday decore (that is my middle name after all)?!?! Lets talk.....I miss you guys!

xoxo Joanna D.

"It's Pinterest Challenge time"-Winter Edition

2012-03-14T10:56:00.001-05:00

I'm singing.......
"It's Pinterest Challenge time"
"It's Pinterest Challenge time"
......to the tune of "It's peanut butter jelly time" over here! HA! Any of you ever get that song stuck in your head?!?! I blame my hubby, 2hotty (AKA my hubster, Scotty)! He use to annoy me with it all the time and before I realized it I was ~~singing~~ annoying everyone I knew......even while at work. Quite embarrasing if you ask me!

If you're brave enough you can watch the YouTube video below:

Hello!! Your Welcome! HA! That just woke me up. Do I enough need my coffee now?!?!

So now that you have peanut butter & jelly on your mind, go ahead and fix yourself one (I'll wait) and come on back so that you can read all about the item I challenged myself to tackle from my PINTEREST account.

Most of you are probably here visiting from Katie and Sherry's blog (HI FRIENDS!). Those two stunning ladies came up with such a great idea didn't they?!?!

It was perfect timing if you ask me. You see, 2hotty and I moved into our new (FIRST) abode just five months ago and we've been SO busy cleaning, painting, DIY'ing, and most importantly still UNPACKING!! Yes it is a never ending job.......even five months later. Recently I had discovered some of our wedding "stuff" in a box that I unpacked last week. Our wedding was almost five years ago!! WOW....time sure does fly! Some things such as our wedding candles, guest book, and wedding cards gifted to us by loved ones were discovered in this box. I had absolutely no idea what to do with them besides shoving them all back into the box and moving right along. The cards especially. They were all over the place. Do I keep them?!?! Do I look at them, give them a big squeeze, and then toss them in the trash along with the moldy leftovers from last week?! I had no idea. I then remembered something! I remember I had pinned this a long time ago:

IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a book of her wedding cards all in ONE place!! Don't you just love Pinterest!
Before I show you how I made mine I want to say one thing. Well a few things. Before attempting this I did not have a tutorial of how to do make this. The pin only linked to the website and not the actual tutorial. So I kinda went out on a limb and guided my own path. Which is kinda the point right?!?! Put your own spin on it! I later did discover the actual tutorial by searching on the website just in case there was one. And I found it. Womp Womp! Oh well. Here is the LINK if you are interested!! It is very detailed and GREAT! I will use her version to make a Christmas card photo book (you know picture cards you get from family and friends that you don't have the heart to throw away!) to put out every Christmas. My version has some pros and cons and I will point them out as I show you.

Here is what my finished project looks like:

I used two wooden frames instead of cardboard as the front ande back cover. Which is good and bad. The good: It's a bit sturdier and won't get bent out of place, therefore protecting the cards a bit more. I also like that it is a frame as you can add a picture of the occasion that you are making the book for (such as baby shower, birthdays or even Christmas photo cards that you want to save each year!) or even a beautiful poem, etc! The bad: The largest binder ring that I purchased did not fit when everything was in place, therefore I had to substitute in a piece of ribbon to keep the cards together which I don't really care for but it is what it is (Now I will be on the look out for a bigger and badder binder ring.....that is if they even sell them. Anyone know?!?!)! AND a drill is needed to put a hole through the wood frames so that may be a problem if you don't own one. Other than that I love the way it came out. I think it works perfectly for my wedding cards and now I can showcase them on a book shelf or what have you! If you are interested in my version then keep reading!

So first thing is first. Gather all of your materials:

* 2 wooden frames (found at Walmart in the craft section): $0.97 each

* Wooden letters: (Walmart craft section) $3

* Binder rings (If you can find some LARGE enough otherwise skip!) $2 (for a pack)

* Glitter (Real pretty colors at Joanne's or Michaels)

* Ribbon

* Thumbtacks

* Glue

* Acrylic paint

* Drill

First you'll want to put holes through the frames using a drill. I enlisted in 2hotty to help me with this step while I held the frames in place:

***You want the bottom frame to be smooth side out so its like a book!

Yes 2hotty is wearing a Dunder Mifflin shirt!! (shout out to all The Office lovers!) and yes it took him four beers to drill two stinkin holes into a frame.......

.........as he walked around grunting like Tim the "Toolman" Taylor! Boys and their toys I guess!

Next you'll want to paint your wooden frames in the color of your choice. My wedding color scheme was tiffany blue and chocolate brown. I had a metallicy blue on hand so that is what I chose for the frames:

I glittered up my wooden letters:

Let everything dry for a bit before messing with it. Or you'll have glitter and glue everywhere!!! I may or may not be speaking from experience. Impatient this one I swear!

When dry, glue the letters onto your frame. Now wait AGAIN!! I know....I know...patience will be your friend at the end......I promise!

I gathered all of my cards and picked out one that I liked and popped it into the front frame:

and used a piece of leftover burlap to the bottom frame! Use a hole puncher to punch out holes to the top left corner of your cards and attach everything together with your binder ring or a piece of string/yarn/ribbon (whatever you have on hand really!) in place.

Now you'll want to wrap your ribbon around the entire thing. Cut out a piece long enough to make a bow in the front. To the back, I just pushed down thumbtacks (you can use a hammer and lightly tap them in!) to keep the ribbon in place:

Flip over and you have yourself a pretty sparkly wedding card book:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions leave it in the comments below. I'm off to scour all the links to see what everyone else has challenged themselves to make!! I may be sitting in one place "oohing and aahing" for a very LONG time!! I love pretty little DIY/crafty/yummy things!! Tootles my poodles!

Have a great hump day everyone!

xoxo

Joanna D!!

Ace is the Place!

2012-03-08T10:13:00.000-06:00

So..........
We meet here again.
Did you score a free quart of paint from Ace Hardware over the weekend?!?!?
This lucky lady did. Woot!
Actually I scored two. The gentleman behind the counter also gave my husband one (regardless of the "one per household" rule!!
Double "Woot Woot"!!!

If you did make it to Ace, you would've found out that its flat enamel only!! Not so ideal for a front door makeover like I was hopein. Shucks!! BUT.........

I'm excited to make something over anyway! This something happens to be my new desk I picked up at St. Vincent De Paul (for 25 bucks!!!) right before we made it to Ace actually. Well the desk isn't "new new" per say but it is new to me and will fit in perfectly in my office that I like to call my "diva headquarters". I can finally blog like a real blogger........you know in an actual office and from an actual desk, and not from my couch while watchin episodes of The River or Alcatraz!! Oh heck who am I kiddin I'll probably only use the desk to pay our bills.

It really needs a bit of TLC first........like some wood filler and a new coat of PAINT!! You know kinda like them Desperate Housewives do it. A little bit of botox to fill in the cracks or in this case a bit of wood filler.......and a spray tan to make em look ~~orange~~ bronzy or in this case a new (FREE) coat of paint to make the desk look pretty again!!

We have three bedrooms on the first floor, one being our master bedroom, one being the guest bedroom, and the last one being my office/dressing room/makeup room. One of the first things we did the very first week we moved into our house is paint all of the bedrooms. Great right?!?! No not so great! That meant I had to pick out all of the paint colors in one weekend. I'm indecisive and also want perfection. Do you know how hard it is to narrow down a paint color when you don't even have a color scheme in mind?!?! Ya I was in panic mode but eventually decided we would paint one room a "boy" color and the other room a "girl" color that way we wouldn't have to paint the rooms again! The room I took over as the "diva headquarters" will ultimately be a baby girls nursery (that is we ever have a little girl). I wanted it to be frilly and girly without actually painting everything in the room PINK if you know what I mean! So I went with a light aqua color.

The swatch on the right is the wall color, matched to Benjamin Moores Innocence. What a perfect name for a future nursery, no?!?! The color I chose for the desk is color matched to Benjamin Moores, Silver Streak.

I know what you are thinking........."but Jo the two colors next to each other aren't very girly". You just have to trust me on this one......I think it will scream "GIRL" (or for now "DIVA") when I'm done with the entire room. Well I sure hope so. Otherwise I will be doing the screamin!! You see I have a vision.......but sometimes my "vision" back fires and instead of looking hot - it looks like a hot mess. HA! Lets just hope I know what I'm doing and it works out for me. Crossing my fingers (and toesies!)!

What color did you choose?!?! What item will you be covering with free paint?!?! Anyone have to choose paint colors in a hot minute?!? Ya not so much fun. You should have seen me at Ace.......I think we were there for a half hour. 2hotty kept tellin me, "hey if you don't pick a color, they'll run out of cans and if that happens don't cry to me"!! Isn't he so sweet! Bless his little heart. Ha!

xoxo JoAnna D.

Ace Hardware Paint Freebie

2012-03-01T09:41:00.001-06:00

Have you heard about the free quarter gallon can of paint (from the new Clark + Kensington line) that Ace Hardware is giving away?!?!? I haven't until about five minutes ago and I am tickled pink (or whatever color it is that I chose. HA!). I came upon this BLOG (so the cook said) where she spilled the ~~paint~~ news with all of her readers about the freebie. I thought I would "color the world" with this tidbit of info too (well color the blog world!). It is this Saturday, March 3 at your local Ace Hardware store. Apparently each store gets about 40 cans to give away. CLICK HERE TO PRINT YOUR COUPON.

I may not have allot of fancy stores in my town..........but we do have an Ace!! Yippee! That doesn't always mean that I'll actually be able to snag this freebie. I'm sure they wont have a flippin clue what I'm talking about when I show em my coupon! That's small town for ya! I can just picture it now: Me: (giddy and big smile handing the coupon to the cashier) "I'm here to get my free paint". Cashier: "Say what there pretty lady!" Me: (opposite of a smile) "Oh never mind.". It's happened before at our local KFC. I use coupons.......get over it! Let's just hope that's not the case. I have faith......cause mamma needs a fresh coat of paint slapped on the front door (and maybe even the garage door.). Something fun and inviting! Something antiboring (you know....opposite of me!) and I'm sure a quart of paint will do the trick! (Check out the blog mentioned above and her fabulous door!! That's what I'm shootin for.) Oh and after you high five the cashier and walk away with your freebie.....come on back cause I wanna know what color you chose and what project you'll use it for!

xo JoAnna D.

Keepin It Real

2012-02-29T18:49:00.004-06:00

I love it when other bloggers share their day to day lives with their readers. Why?!?! Well, I'm a bit nosey and like to see the dirt (literally)!! I wanna know that their house is just as messy as mine is, that sometimes they fail at DIY projects just like I do, and that burning chocolate chip cookies doesn't just happen to me but to them as well!! It's nice to be able to relate to them and perhaps even reassures me that I'm not the only quirky (and maybe a bit weird/annoying/and everything above that is equal to those words. HA!) gal out there!! So how about I take you on a little behind the scenes tour of what life has been like for 2hotty and I these past few weeks!! Is that groaning I hear?!?! Oh heck I don't blame you. Its not very glamorous. Its actually nothing worth reading about. (oh the irony). HA!

These last few weeks I had shown some pictures of my little Valentine day display I conjured up for all my lovely guests to see when they walked through my front door. This is what I revealed when it came time to publish my post:

But what you didn't see was that everything around my little display was a hot mess!! I literally would have had a panic attack if someone truly did ring the door bell at that very exact moment when I was taking pictures (mainly because I was still in my PJ's and not wearing a bra! Whoa....that came out of left field didn't it. TMI.....sorry!!). My first thought would be to hit the floor and army crawl it to the kitchen........but then again they would totally see me attempting this through the front window since we have yet to install any blinds or curtains!! How is that for a visual (braless and all. HA!) Shucks!

Here is what my "couldacalledmeandwarnedme" guest would have seen if I did in deed open the door:

There's a green bucket (with icky nasty water) on the kitchen floor from when I frantically cleaned the bathrooms (which was a long overdue task btw! eew!), some tools and a level sprawled out on the floor from our closet DIY (which is still in progress......and has been for like two weeks now! Oui!), wedding albums that ~~I thought I lost~~ we found in our coat closet (such a miracle we made it out alive after cleaning that thing!), and debris (hooks maybe?!) and a red tupperware lid (and yes I have no idea where the bin actually is!) leaning against the wall. Yup makes the Valentine decor look extra fancy doesn't it?!?! HA! And this is JUST the entryway........you should see the rest of the house!!

A few weeks ago it had snowed a few inches (I had shared our little winter wonderland adventure a few days ago). It kinda was a bit of a shocker since we've been having such a mild winter. My first reaction was to get out there and enjoy it before it all melted away. This is the exterior of our house with a fresh layer of snow on the roof. I know, I know. It looks a bit boring, no?!?! The exterior is on the good ol' to-do list this coming summer:

But a whole bunch of "nothingness" isn't exactly what you would see if you were to actually walk up to the front porch!! What you don't see in the above picture is what we are trying to hide behind the bushes:

Yup that is our Christmas tree. (I'm officially embarrassed!) It kinda blends in right?!?! HA! That's what 2hotty keeps tellin me when I nag on him to get rid of it. I think he believes it will decompose into dirt before Spring. (Keep dreamin my 2hotty.....keep dreamin!)

Oh and the tree isn't all. HA!! If you were a guest of mine you would have to step over the Christmas wreath too:

And yes it still has a red ribbon on it covered with snow. (If that isn't lazy I don't know what is!) This is exactly why we don't have many guests coming over these days. So classy right?!?! Wait don't answer that.......I have a reputation to maintain living on a golf course and all (I'm so being sarcastic here!!)!!

Since moving into our new abode last October we clocked in allot of hours driving around going from store to store. Some days its a hit, others its a miss (hate those days. Boo!) Don't get me wrong I do love me some shopping but it gets very tiring sometimes. Especially considering I live fifty miles from any real shopping.....you know the "real stores" like TJ Max', Marshalls World Market, and Michaels!! Some of my Faves! If I just want to "pick up" a few things at any of those stores, it would require two hours in drive time alone! It's OK though......not the end of the world. Just means that I get to spend more quality time with the hubster, giving us a chance to talk about whatever it is that we are working on that weekend or just plain ol' life in general. It's a pretty scenic drive too:

I know that eventually 2hotty and I will expand our family (someday........). And that one day these leisure rides will get a bit more complicated than just the typical, "Hey you wanna go to Madison today?" Which pretty much happens at our convenience now. As much as the frequent long drives get on my nerves somedays (mainly because projects take longer to finish) I know that one day I'll miss em (sigh)!

One thing I absolutely have 2hotty do for me before we hit the interstate is a quick stop at my favorite little coffee hut:

It's not your schmancy "Schtarbucks" coffee but its really good none the less and a perfect treat for the drive ahead!! I've said it before and I'll say it again.......This JO needs her cup of JO before attempting anything (even if it is just shopping)!! They serve their coffee with a chocolate covered coffee bean and I LURVE them so much. I think its the beans that keep me coming back for more:

Sometimes we buy a small bag to take home to eat during the week. We forgot to take them inside the house after getting home that day. I ate them like they were M&M's that next Monday morning!! I'd say they were more like M&M's on STEROIDS........I was pretty peppy at work to say the least:

If you ever get into a car with my 2hotty the first thing I would do is hand you some ear plugs. The man likes to sing and he can get a bit annoying!! I'm serious!! Between his singing and weird random comments you may or may not have a painful migraine and a vein protruding from your forehead in a matter of five minutes. How's that for talent:

He usually changes the lyrics of a song and adds in his own. They may or may not be appropriate (I'm leaning more to NOT appropriate!) Hence all them coffee beans I must inhale to keep me sane and tune him out!! HA!

I usually take pictures of the scenery or make my shopping list in the car as 2hotty sings along to songs from the 80's (Well more like 80's meets gangsta rap! HA!):

After hours and hours of shopping (and driving) we get home and unload (and usually plop on the couch soon after)! The kitchen table usually looks like this 90% of the time (the other 10% (when its clean) usually means my mom is on her way over):

The bags remain there until one of us gets a chance to put em away.......if lucky most likely by the next weekend!!

If we do stay home on the weekends, we try to make it casual. We'll grab a movie from the Redbox, invite some friends over, and make some "drinky drinks" for all of us to sip on. Coming up with different drink concoctions is one of my husbands favorite obsessions!
Last weekend 2hotty and I celebrated Valentines Day at our favorite local restaurants. Its hip and modern......pretty much the bombdiggity (ya I did just typed that!)! On the menu we noticed they had a 'Bloody Mary' drink using bacon vodka. YES BACON VODKA!! I think 2hotty had died......gone to heaven....came back........and then died again!! One of his favorite things (bacon and vodka) married together in perfect harmony. PURE BLISS I tell ya!
To my surprise he passed on the drink (he tought it would be too filling right before dinner) but that didn't mean he couldn't stop thinking about it. The very next day we scoured the liquor store up and down (LITERALLY) until one of us found it:

Oh Happy Day!! The shoulders may or may not have been "dusted off" ala JayZ at the very moment the bottle was spotted. They had only one kind and they spelled bacon.....Bakon. Whats up with that?!?! Maybe its European?!?! Who cares we bought it anyway! It cost twenty-six dollhairs and to my hubby it was worth every penny!

We gathered all of the ingredients needed:

Apparently it requires everything but the kitchen sink! We have horseradish, celery, cheese (Wisconsin cheese only!), spicy pickles, picked green beans (my moms!), worchteshire sauce (sp??can never say that word let alone spell it!), pickled mushrooms, slimjim..........and a can of beer (Wha?!?!).
Oh and Zing Zangs bloody mix is the only way to go.....hands down (Its really good!):

It was delicious and the bacon vodka was a hit!!! It tasted more salty if anything.....not really too "bacony"!

Cheers to a messy house, lots o' shopping, road trips, friendships..........and bacon vodka:

I guess you cant drink a Bloody Mary without a beer chaser (well according to 2hotty)!! Its the way they serve them at the bars around here:

The next vodka he wants to purchase is Loony Vodka (I think?!?!)......I guess it tastes like Fruit Loops. Totally up my alley........(not because of the flavor but becuase of the name.....loony like moi!). Disclaimer: We do not need to attend any AA meetings.....but thanks for being conserned. We do drink occasionally and not (too) excessively. My only real excuse is........I'm Polish and we like our "drinky drinks"! Mmmkay. HA!

This is our friend Chris. If you've been reading my blog since the beginning than I'm sure you've seen him on here once or twice. We call him cupid (because he's the reason why 2hotty and I met in the first place). I met him in college in Zoology class!! Many call him Dr. Chris!! Yup that's right, he graduated from chiropractic school not to long ago............A shout out to Chris' chiropractic girls (I heart you for reading my blog! <3). Did I mention he's single and ready to mingle?!?! (Sorry Chris you can kill me after I hit publish!! HA!):

This is frumpy ol' me. It's probably what I look like most of the time these days. Bad hair day.....check! Makeup melted off.....check! Wearing comfy football t-shirt........check!! Creepy "I'm about to drink this in one gulp" face......check! This girl looks like a HOT MESS.....BIG OL' check check check.
Hence the black and white photo (because if it were in color you would be blind right now......you're welcome!):

This year I made 2hotty a Valentines day card. Is it just me or are the greeting cards getting wicked expensive these days?!?! Common, paying five to six dollars for a card that says "You're my sugar daddy and I cant wait to pour caramel sauce all over you" is such a rip off! Oh wait that's what I wrote in 2hottys card......I mean: "To a wonderful husband, I love you!"!! :0) Seriously though, I wasn't about to fork over my hard earned dollhairs for a stinkin card that was ganna get tossed in the memory box for eternity anyway!! Can I get an Amen.......sista!!

This is all I could come up with:

Ya not my best work......but it was fast and cheap (just the way I like em!! HA!)!! I found the girl silhouette online and decided my studmuffin would appreciate a picture of my face instead of just a headless women holding up a sign. I'm sure he thought it was French for something dirty (I can just make you guess can't I. HA!) Just keepin it real!! I also bought him some cologne (Bvlgari Toniq......yummy, sexy smell!) and made him a pork chop dinner. I overcooked em.....the story of my life! Can a girl just get a break for once.....palease!!

2hotty did buy me a card though (sucka!) and it was sweet. I bet he just went "eeny meeny mony mo" and picked the one his finger pointed to (I know him oh to well......right hunny?!?!):

He knows I'm a visual person and love me some pictures. It had a golden retriever puppy and kitty cat on the front of the card. So adorable!! That image was all I needed to melt my heart. Browny points to my boytoy! I want a puppy so freakin bad. We are waiting though. Crossing my fingers (and toesies) that it happens come this Fall. (Papapaplease......with a cherry on top!!) Those tulips above........Ya I bought them for myself the day after V-day when they were fifty percent off. Some may call me cheap.........I say bless your little heart!! :-)

This is what they look like now:

Ya looks like something outta of a sci fi movie. Killer tulips on the loose (well more like killed tulips)!! :0)

So that's it. This is my so UNglamarous life. Nothing too special. I have a messy house, live in the country therefore I have to drive fifty miles to shop at a decent store, make my own valentines day cards because I'm cheap like that, love me some bacon vodka, and kill my plants.......occasionally!! It may look like a BORING life but it is my life (as we know it now!). Now let me live through you. I wanna know what day to day life is in your neck of the woods. Give me the juice, the scoop, the dirt, the nitty gritty.......like Real Housewives of New Jersey nitty gritty!! I bet you don't kill any of your plants like I do.......fabulous, gorgeous people like you don't do that!! I heart you all!! <3

xoxo Joanna D.

Winter Wonderland

2012-02-20T21:25:00.000-06:00

This year so far we've experienced a fairly mild winter here in Wisconsin (Are they still blaming it on global warming?). I don't think the school kids even had one snow day from school this year. Kinda unheard of around here, usually they're making up like five days in June. Not ganna lie though, I kinda like it. I love not having to wake up extra early just to drive 25 mph to get to work or the fear of getting stuck in a ditch. Ya don't really miss that at all!! BUT, one thing I do miss (and I swore I would make it happen this year) was enjoying all of the winter activities I love to do such as skiing and ice-skating. Ya this year I was suppose to teach 2hotty the ways of the slopes and show off my triple axles skating moves (Just kiddin......I'm not that good......I can do a double axle! Ha!) Oh well there's always next year, right?!?!?

2hotty and I did, however, get out one weekend to enjoy the "white stuff". Nothing says winter to me like chucking a snowball at someone.
That someone just happened to be this guy:

We had ALL of our winter gear on because it was a wee bit chilly. You likey my red snowshoes?!!?!

Last year for Christmas my 2hotty asked for a winter coat. BUT not just any coat. He wanted the North Face Mcmurdo Parka. Ya I was surprised too. I would've never guessed. I was thinking more along the lines of a Playstation 3 or something like that.

I guess I would compare this coat to a Ferrari......."what Ferrari is to cars is what the Mcmurdo Parka is to coats". It's HEAVY DUTY and keeps him oh so warm while he snow blows the drive way on those cold and chilly mornings. He lurves it.......and I lurve that I don't have to snow blow the driveway and instead I get to cuddle with my cozy blanket for a few extra minutes!!!! Thanks hunny I hope you're enjoying the coat your parents bought you. :0) No but seriously I thought he was going to tell me we were moving to Antarctica or something.

I was all bundled up too. I grabbed anything that looked fuzzy and warm and put it on top of my head. No Joke:

One nice thing about living on a golf course is the view that we have out our back yard. It always looks so neat and groomed in the warmer months and like a "wintery wonderland" in the snowy months:

Wanna know the best part though?!?! The best part about living on the course is having friends and family that live on the course too. Yup my in laws live just around the corner from us......and if you can find the right angle in the back of our house you may even see a smidge of theirs. HA!! It's actually what triggered us to get out and play in the snow. Instead of driving to their house for our traditional Sunday breakfast we trekked the snowy hills and went on a little adventure.

We waved good bye to our little abode:

No adventure is ever complete without a photoshoot along the way.......at least not on any of my adventures. HA!:

Over the hills and through the woods to my in laws house we go (I've always wanted to say that. ha!). We passed the bridge (No trolls in sight. Phew. Must have migrated to FL for the winter. ):

the stream that runs under the bridge:

The weeping willow tree (that I love oh so much!!) Can't wait until its looking green again:

And lastly the pond:

Footprints of a bunny maybe?!?!

I hope it made across safely!!!

I couldn't wait to see this beautiful sight - the back of my inlaws house:

WE MADE IT!!!!

And we were greeted by one of the cutest dogs we know who wast just as EXCITED to see us......if not more:

Seeing this picture just warms me up!! Max is so sweet and full of hugs and kisses. Love him to pieces!

The one thing he loves the MOST is anything that includes H2O.......... like SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes he is a water baby and loves snow ball fights just like the rest of em:

He will wait patiently.............:

...........and always keeps his eyes on the prize:

He's so cute (may or may not be a little bias here):

WHAT A GREAT MEMORY THIS WAS!!!

Cold, wet feet and all!!

So any of you singing the winter blues yet?!?!? I'm ready for some "Spring" in my life right about now. I've already heard the birds chirping away and the geese have made their way back and settled in the pond. What is it they say, "If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb"?!?! I'm ready.....BRING IT ON!! Now just crossing my fingers I don't wake up to ten inches of snow tomorrow because that is just my luck (I always jinx myself)! The story of my life...... one step forward - two steps back! HA! It is what it is!
xoxo Joanna

Book Page Wreath

2012-02-20T11:32:00.001-06:00

YAY!! I completed the "book-page wreath" that I was suppose to make before Valentines Day!!! I started my arrangement but never finished the "complete look".

I use a Tupperware bin to store my craft stuff and dedicate a couple bins to store my unfinished projects. Well I pulled the bin out and got to work (right before going to my "real" work.....AKA "the job that pays me"! HA!)!!

The "BIN" with unfinished project:

And this is what happened after a couple of hours sitting on the floor gluing pages to a wreath form:

I found a GREAT blog tutorial that helped me get started. She did an awesome job showing all the steps to make this book page wreath. You can visit her blog HERE if you want to make one for yourself!! I followed her lead and gathered all of my materials.

You'll need:

A Styrofoam wreath form ( I got mine at Joann's for about $2 with a 40% off coupon):

An old used worn-out CHEAP book (OK what better book to use for the month of LOVE than a book about a love triangle between two boys fighting (literally) to win the love of one girl, Bella?!?!?!) I know what you are thinking......"How DARE she rip up a perfectly good book written by an awesome author to use for a stinkin wreath"?!?! Well I didn't use my personal copy, I got this one at the thrift store for about $1. Actually I will come clean and tell you I haven't even read this series YET. GASP!!! I know I probably lost all of my readers this very second. But its true.....I don't know what I'm waiting for to tell you the truth. I love all of the movies and even just watched Breaking Dawn last weekend. Goodness are they getting good. I have promised myself to read them before the last movie comes out! 2hotty has even read all of the books. (sorry hunny I just cant help but to embarrass you at least one time in each post. hehe!) When the last book came out......he was probably the only thirty year old male, amongst all of the thirteen year old Justin Bieber lovers and Edward Cullen cult members buying his copy of the book! HA! How cute right?!?! Very manly indeed! Ok ANYWAY (was that really necessary?!?!) HA!:

A hot glue gun (mine's pink.....I love it):

Some brown/grey paint OR metallic spray paint (you'll see why in a bit):

-OR-

Some ribbon or yarn (to hang the wreath to the wall)!

Once you gather your materials, just plop (is that a word?!?!) yourself on the floor and "get-to-gettin". Oh and don't forget your cup of "JO" to get you to "GO" :-) because you'll be down there for awhile (a couple hours at least)!!

This Jo needs her "jo":

If you watched/read "Lindsay's" tutorial you would have noticed she even has a video tutorial. She shows a few ways to fold the paper (I used all of the methods to give me that "not trying to hard" look) to make it look rustic and not perfect.

Starting my first layer:

First layer complete:

Flip over and press down:

Second layer:

Third layer:

Fourth layer:

YUP it gets a bit redundant but look at this "prettyness":

Where was I?

Fifth layer:

Then I flipped it over:

And finished it with the sixth (and final) layer:

"Tah-Dah":

OH and I also glued a piece of yarn to the back (the wreath isn't very heavy so surprisingly this is all you need):

Since my book wasn't very old and worn and was looking a bit stark white to me so I sprayed it lightly with some left over sparkly metallic spray paint to give it that vintage look.

I have a huge crush on this wreath:

This my friends is what I call a "complete look" (even if it took this long to complete it. HA!):

What do you think?!?! I think it was worth the time to fill up that "Tyra forehead" of a space. Now I cant wait to find a mirror to hang behind the wreath and a new wooden table to replace the wine table. Just not loving it here!! Off to scour Craigslist.............

xoxo JoAnna

Happy Belated V-Day!!

2012-02-15T11:19:00.000-06:00

I know I was suppose to come back and share with you just ONE more V-day decor project to add to the arrangement that I had started in my entryway!!

Remember this:

Wall colors are more true to color here (natural light helps!):

Ya well my ~~busy~~ lazy schedule has overtaken and I never completed it!! It was suppose to be a book page wreath inspired from HERE:

Good thing is, it's not really "Valentiney" so I still can make it (crossing my fingers sometime this week!)!! Sorry my peeps but just keeping it real. You know because "real life" has me working 40 plus hours a week and PJ's and a movie with 2hotty seems so much nicer at the end of a day then making a book page wreath. But I'm not a quitter and I will get it done therefore I've extended Valentines day into Valentines "month". Your welcome. HA!

What else have I (we) been up to lately?!?!

- Well we've been doing lots of shopping:

(I found this cute cross to hang over our front door at a local boutique and I heart it so much!!)

I absolutely LOVE anything driftwood! I found this heart at Marshall's and I am obsessed with it! It will find a permanent home in our bedroom but for now it is hanging in the kitchen:

These cute elephant salt and pepper shakers (Any DIY bloggers obsession: white ceramic animals. HA!):

- Booking a "girls only" trip to Panama City, FL that I'm super excited about!!! Just have to say I have a brave hubby (he suffers from "paronoia"!! lol. Everything will be just fine. lubyou!)!! Can't wait for some cold mojitoes in hand and the feeling of sand between my toes. AHHH! BTW, have you been?!?! Have any recommendations on places to go/eat/do?!?!

- Hosting "date-nights" with our friends (LOVE THEM):

There's nothing like drinking a few bottles of wine (and beer) and playing some games to start off the night:

I think the best part of the night was when we decided to play a "how well do you know your spouse" game!! Let's just say things got very interesting and I have never laughed so hard in my life!! BEST GAME EVER!! Highly recommend it......only if you have a good sence of humor otherwise it can lead to your spouse wanting a DIVORCE!! LOL!!:

(I think the question(s) here were: "What does your spouse buy alot of (I think)?" 2hotty said "purses"! lol. Another question was: "Which body part does your spouse think is unproportional to their body?" This can get really funny here! LOL. I said his "ears"!! Obviously he wasn't thinking the same thing!! LOL. Minus one point for me!!)

- I still have to share our new couch pictures and a review because WE LOVE IT so much!! Super comfy!!

- I also got the flu last week. I know terrible right?!?! First a bad sinus infection and then a week later I get the flu!! I blame my husband and co-workers!! We've all cought the nasty bug...UGH!! Who wants to disinfect my house?!?!

This week I'm feeling MUCH better (or "Mo Betta") as 2hotty would say. lol.) and now I'm ready to start tackling more DIY around our little abode again!!

Enter the word "ORGANIZATION" here!!! Yup that is what we've been up to lately. It was out of desperate needs. We couldnt take living the way we were anymore!! I blame it on the pit stops to my parents house. We still have a ton of our stuff there that have been making its way home slowly but surely. When I say making its way home I mean making its way into a cluttered mess in our spare bedrooms. Wanna see?!?! (I'm warning you its BAD!!):

Ya our "stuff" has really taken over!!
Who you ganna call?!?!? Ghos----- NO......IKEA!!! Yes what better place than Ikea to help with my organization needs!

- Our friend did me a HUGE favor and picked up a few things at IKEA:

He even got me this sheep skin rug (by total surprise) that I mentioned in my "Ikea Wish List" post a few weeks ago:

Love it!!!

THANK YOU CHRIS......YOU'RE THE BEST!!!

More specifically the closets in our house are getting a HUGE makeover. The coat closet, my closet, and 2hotty's closet are getting a major overhaul. I am over the moon because the taught of opening our coat closet before scared me. EVERYTHING was shoved in there to a point of NO RETURN!!

2hotty got to work taking everything out (you have no idea what we found in there: wedding photo albums, serving bowls, hardwood floor samples, books, etc.! Ya it was bad.).

Here is our coat closet gettin painted by my lovely Valentine:

Here is a "sneak peak" picture:

"MY" closet also got the same treatment and I am loving on it so far:

So this is what we've been up to lately. Kinda all over the place. Some work and lots of PLAY! That is why we have more unfinished projects around here than finished......yikes! the story of my life. That said the word "organization" has been on the brain lately, because if my house is in shambles so is my life!! They say life is about balance......which I am having a hard time doing right now!! Life is good though........CRAZINESS and all!!

So what have you been up to lately?!?! Any makeovers?!?! Any unfinished projects?!? I bet yours are all finished unlike mine (its just I choose to be a lazy no good person!! haha!)?!!! Any party hosting?!?! Know of any good games?!?! Any divorces (wait dont answer that!)?!?!? How was Valentines Day?!?! What did you give/recieve from your sig other?!?! Tell me I'm not the only one with organization on my brain!! HA! :-)

xoxo JD

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Fingerprint Heart

2012-02-02T22:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I showed you my little setup that I have going on in the entryway of my house this Valentines Day. I used a few things that I already owned..........

...........and went to work giving each item a little makeover to make it more "Valentiney" so to speak.

This what I last left you with:

I just covered the glass vase with burlap (already owned) tied with some yarn and ribbon I purchased from Michael's. The votive holders also got made over simply by wrapping left over yarn round and round, secured with some tape.

After all of this it still looked a bit sparse......so I just had to add MORE!!

Next on the list was to update the picture in the frame.

It was gifted to me by my Aunt with a baby picture of her son, my Godchild (He is now five going on six years old.......just was too darn lazy to ever change the picture! HA!).

This is what I came up with:

(Warning: Pictures taken at night therefore lots of shadows and weird lighting. Ugh!)

I cut out silhouettes of Scott and I from a picture we ended up NOT using for our Christmas card this year:

I printed this picture out:

Cut out the silhouettes, traced it on black construction paper then cut and glued em' onto scrapbook paper:

Above our silhouettes are mine and 2hotty's fingerprints shaped into a heart (can I get an awww?!?! No?!?!....Ok!!?):

You have NO IDEA what I went through to get 2hotty to do this with me! HA!! There was allot of rolling of the eyes and muttering under the breath (but he still loves me anyway!)!!!

I just noticed it's crooked too (have to fix that ASAP before my OCD kicks in!!!)!!

We did have to practice a bit because many of our attempts looked a bit blobby (due to 2hottys big ol' fingers!!)!!

This one turned out decent HA!:

I also added the bird (because she was way too cute to leave out!):

Here is what I did to make the ornaments:

For the pompons I used the "fork" method:

(CLICK HERE for a great tutorial especially if using non-fuzzy yarn!!)

Just wind the yarn around a fork about 35-40 times:

Then grab some fishing line (or a piece of yarn) and put it through the middle prong of the fork and tie into a knot:

Tie until tight and pull yarn off of the fork:

This is what it looks like finished (if using fuzzy yarn that is):

I made a few of them in both colors and hung them randomly on the branches.

Next I added these "key to my heart" ornaments:

I followed THIS METHOD:

I found the skeleton key on Martha Stewart's website using this template FOUND HERE!!

Again, just traced onto black scrapbook paper, cut out, and taped to the front of the paper ornament.

I also hole punched the key and used fishing line to hang the ornament on the branches:

Just a few pompons and paper ornaments needed to bedazzle this Valentines Day arrangement:

I love the way everything turned out......and it was cheap too!!

I think everything here set me back maybe 10 "dollhairs" (that IS including the burlap I already had on hand):

Not too shabby, huh?!?!

I have one more project to finish that will be placed on the wall above

to fill up the empty space a bit and make the whole thing come together:

Yay for the month of LOVE!!!

So tell me, are you decorating for V-day this year?!?!?! This is a first for me......I had a lot of fun with it though!! How will you be spending V-day (I hope it's with someone special)?!?! Are you planning on doing something special for your special someone this year?!?! I hope my someone special is planning something special for me this year...HA!...just kiddin...............well not really!! HA!

xo JoAnna D.

Valentines Day Arrangement

2012-02-01T12:48:00.001-06:00

Hello my lovies. I am back and ready to attack. Attack?!?! Yes, attack some Valentines Day decor that have been brewing in my head for the last few weeks. Last time I had shared with you some of our weekend highlights which included a very much needed trip to the "city" (as in Madison, WI. HA!). We sorta live in the country so a trip to the "city" requires a bit of a road trip (about 50 minutes).

One thing we went on an adventure for was to find a brand (spankin) new couch to put in our family room. Guess what?!?! We bought one........and its here.......and we LOVE it (check that off of my January Resolutions list!! Wahoo! A "new couch" post to come soon.)

Speaking of loving things.......I'm totally loving on my V-day decor that I have been working on these last couple of days. I stopped in at one of my favorite craft stores, (not CRAP store as my hubby calls it. HA!) Michael's, and picked up a few things to get me started. I wanted to use things I already had around the house but was missing the frilly glittery stuff.

The only place in the house (so far) that I find I can really decorate for the seasons/holidays is the entryway (we don't have much furniture yet so this space works for now). Its a "Plain Jane" with nothing really in it but this wine holder table I got a few years ago (I use to use it as my makeup vanity):

It works for now until I can find something else to replace it!!

To go with the "work with what you have" montra I've been repeating to myself these last couple of months, I was able to find a few things lying around the house such as this ~~big~~ huge glass vase (thrifted at Goodwill this past summer), some candle votive holders (wrapped with green yarn I used for Christmas decor), and a pretty frame with a picture of my Godchild (who is now five years old. HA!). So this was the starting off point to use for my Valentines Day decor because like I said above I wanted to use what I already owned and not spend a whole bunch of "doll hairs" (Just ignore the ceramic bird and owl ornaments -they were just hanging out or doing whatever it is that birds do.....maybe a lunch date?!?! HA! ).

...

First I started with the vase and perhaps scratched my head a few times with confusion because the "blue glass" looked a bit too summery/springy to me:

I wanted to come up with a solution to cover it up!! At first I thought of putting stuff in it such as feathers, balls of yarn, or a whole lotta ribbon. But right away nixed those ideas because I wanted to keep this project inexpensive. "Cheap" is the new "black" ya'll! HA! I remember reading another blogger's post who had burlapped a whole wall in her sons room when I had that "Ah Ha" moment (that everyone keeps talking about). Thanks to Katie Bower's post, "put a burlap on it" was stuck in my head the rest of the month and when I looked at the vase I thought "YES thank you KATIE" I will put a burlap on it!!

I had bought some burlap to use for another project and decided I probably would have enough left over:

2hotty (my hubby Scotty) helped me with the "putting ribbon around it" part. He held the burlap tight around the opening as I wrapped some one-dollar red ribbon I bought at Michaels around the top:

It looked a bit messy, so I just pulled the burlap up as tightly as I could (think of Pamela Anderson's motto when getting in a dress. HA!)

I also added more ribbon for a pop of color and texture:

This Martha Stewart yarn is AWESOME. Its fuzzy and sparkly and I LOVE it.

I bought it in two colors - red and pink. I think they were $4 dollars each but I had two 40% off coupons so essentially I got them both for the price of one:

After I burlaped my glass vase I put it back on the table to see what else I could do with it:

I had leftover branches from a previous arrangment (also involving this glass vase).

Remember this arrangement from Christmas?!?!:

I grabbed the branches (I'm kinda a hoarder and didn't bother to throw them out yet. HA!) and sprayed them with white spray paint to give em' a "birchwood" look.

I forgot to snap an in between picture of what the branches looked like before I started to put stuff on them but you can sorta see the white branches peeking through in this picture:

Next I wanted to embellish the branches so I made a few ornaments:

Some pompon's using the red and pink fuzzy yarn:

and this "key to my heart" book page ornament:

And this is what it all looked like after I was finished:

As you can tell I also took the green yarn off of the candle votive holders and gave em' a makeover:

So with a few things such as burlap, yarn, and ribbon I was able to turn this:

into this (so far):

(I wish I could figure out lighting when taking pictures in this room. Ugh! Sorry for the horrible pictures.....I'm still new at all of this!!)

I say "so far" because I still have to add my picture frame to the mix and something else to go above the arrangement on the wall to get rid of some of that empty space (it's looking a bit like Tyra Bank's forehead! Sorry Tyra I still love you......just not your forehead)!!

So stay tuned.

Next post will be on how I made the pompon's and key ornaments and what I put into my pretty little frame to make it more "Valentiney" (Is that even a word?!?! It is now! HA!).

******Psst: A little update on my mom. I had mentioned that she was going into surgery last week. Well surgery went great and she is in the comfort of her own home recovering (and will do so for about six weeks.)! For those of you wondering she had a Colectomy (removal and reconstruction of part of her colon) due to some complications with Diverticulitis (say that word ten times fast. phew!)! Many would say this surgery isn't that serious but it was scary none the less!! I was scared and nervous. Anytime someone (especially if that someone is your own flesh and blood) is put under any anaesthetics there are risk/complications involved, so this surgery was not taken lightly by me. That said, I am relieved and glad everything went as planned and am so thankful for everyone who kept her in their prayers and encouraged me with their words of kindness. You have no idea how much that meant!! I am blessed with such wonderful friends and family in my life!!! Love you!

xoxo JoAnna D.

Weekend Highlights

2012-01-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

Wow what a hectic week (and month) this has been. I am trying to recover from a bad sinus infection that has left my nose so raw it hurts to the touch (just call me Rudolph from now on)!! Not cool......not cool at all!! I literally stayed in my jammies and did not leave the couch for two days straight last Thursday and Friday. I think everyone I know has gotten some kind of bug within these last few weeks (tis' the season they say)!! Job security for me I guess (HA! I work in a pharmacy). Over the weekend 2hotty did me a favor and got me out of the house so that I could get some fresh air (I was looking a bit vampire like.....even the Cullen's would've mistaken me as their own) and do a bit of shopping in Madison (retail therapy is my kind of medicine!!)!! We bought a few things for the house (including a big purchase that I now could scratch off of my January Resolutions list....yippee!!) and a few things for me (the gift cards I got from Christmas were just miserable and feeling too claustrophobic in my wallet so I had to put them out of there misery. They will be missed! HA!!) Oh and I also picked up a few (inexpensive) supplies for some Valentines Day decor that I can't wait to share with you. I'm shooting for sometime before Easter. HA!! I kid......hopefully sometime later this week (that means I better start them.....like yesterday!) :-)

I'll leave you with some pictures highlighting our weekend (because I don't actually have the time to write about it in full detail right now) and let them do all the talking!! Don't pictures say a thousand words anyway (Isn't that how the saying goes?)?!?!

Here are the weekend highlights:

Road trip to Madison:

Some of the damage:

Cleaning and organizing (although it looks like the opposite of that in these pictures. HA!):

Taking a break to enjoy the white stuff (it isn't so bad after all):

2hotty doing more of this (never ending I tell ya):

Oh and as Whitney would say it: "Crack is Whack ya'll!!!"!! HA!!

***Tomorrow is a big day for my family!! My poor mom goes into surgery tomorrow leaving me a nervous wreck (I don't do good with that stuff)!! I hope everything will be OK and pray for the doctors/nurses strength and talent to help "fix" my mom and pray that they do everything humanly possible to make her feel comfortable the whole entire time. I pray everything goes smoothly and hope for a speedy and easy recovery!! I know she will do GREAT!!!!

Until next time!! Wish us luck.......tomorrow will be a long day!!

xo Joanna

Chicken Gyros

2012-01-17T19:52:00.000-06:00

Mmmmm GYROS........just seeing that word makes my mouth water. Seriously I'm totally drowning in a pool of my own saliva here. Gross I know, but you would totally understand if you've ever tried em' before!! Getting good authentic food is one thing I miss about living close to a big city!! When I lived in Illinois I was literally walking distance from a really great Greek diner. They had the BEST gyros in town. Oh how I miss those days. Can someone just burst my reminiscing bubble right now?!?! HA! Sure we have a gyros stand where I live, but I have yet to step foot in there. I would be too busy comparing if I did!! It wouldn't taste the same I just know it - plus it's located in a gas station and I barely see anyone ever eating there. I rest my case. HA!
Anyhoo, the other day I was looking for new recipes to try and came across this recipe from Annie-Eats on how she makes chicken gyros. I've never had a gyros with chicken before - always just lamb but I was not going to hesitate to find out what it tasted like.

Here is what you need (I did alter the recipe slightly)

Chicken Gyros

Yield: about 4-6 servings

Ingredients

For the tzatziki: (official word for the "cucumber yogurt stuff")
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible) *I used Greek yogurt to skip the straining step. Greek yogurt is thicker in consistency and works just fine in this recipe. 1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken: You'll need to marinade the chicken for at least an hour as well.
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
*I also used a bit of cayenne for some spice 1¼ lbs. chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless chicken breast halves)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin
*Feta Cheese
*Parsley (Cilantro would've been a good choice too)

DIRECTIONS:
To make the tzatziki using plain yogurt: strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.
I skipped this step to save on time and bought plain Greek yogurt at my grocery store instead. (It tasted just fine to me).

To the yogurt add the following ingredients: cucumber, white wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper (not pictured).

If using a cucumber with seeds make sure to cut in half:

peel and take the seeds out with a spoon:

Next shred the cucumber over a clean towel and squeeze to remove as much water as possible:

Mix all of the ingredients listed above and refrigerate until serving (at least 30 minutes):

* May I add that this EVOO is just AWESOME. Does anyone know if I could get this stuff in the states?!?! One of my husbands clients (from the company he works for) sent it from Italy as a Christmas gift. It does not compare to any of the olive oils I've ever tried here. Yummy!!!!! I came home and my 2hotty told me to use this stuff sparingly. HA! Want to savor the good stuff as long as we can.

Gather the following ingredients to marinate the chicken with: Olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, yogurt, oregano, salt and pepper, and I used a bit of cayenne pepper too (not pictured):

Next add to your cut up chicken, cover, and marinade for at least an hour:

Cook the chicken over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink inside. (You may notice some liquid form in the pan from the yogurt. If so, just strain as much as possible):

Cut up your fixins': I used cherry tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese. I also garnished with some fresh parsley (pictured at the end):

Heat the pita bread in the oven for just a few minutes until warmed through (be careful as you don't want to get them too crispy):

I drizzled the top of the pitas with some olive oil for added flavor:

Assemble by adding the chicken to the pita bread, add a few dallops of tzatziki, and your fixins' on top:

ENJOY!!!!

Someone please hand over a virtual mop please!! HA!!

xo Joanna D.

Plum District Magazine Deal

2012-01-16T16:18:00.001-06:00

Today Plum District has a sweet deal going on. For just five ~~dollhairs~~ dollars you can get a one year subscription to Woman's Day magazine (but wait there is more!).

Plum District is an online website that shows deals from around your area. Kinda like Groupon but geared towards moms. I'm not a mom but I like a good deal so I signed myself up anyway!! HA!

Plum Steal: $5 for a One-Year Woman's Day Magazine Subscription - a $35 Value

After I made the purchase from Plum District I was able to redeem my subscription at hearstmags.com. Now here is the kicker (and I love it.....because I am totally a magazine fanatic) after getting a "Thank You" message, the Hearst website allowed me to chose from even MORE magazines. Also at the same price tag of five bucks (the green stuff....not the one mounted to a rednecks wall. HA!)!!! So today for a whopping fifteen dollars I subscribed to:

Woman's Day:

Country Living:

and House Beautiful:

A great deal, huh?!?! House Beautiful magazine alone costs fifteen dollars for a one-year subscription.....so really I just got two other one-year subscriptions for the price of one (or the way I like to see it......for FREE)!! YEEHAW!! So go ahead, save you some money and go get you some magazine subscriptions...........you hear!!!

P.S. Neither plum district nor hearst magazine have any idea who this girl is!!
Just me loving a great deal :-)

xo Joanna D.

Ikea digs for our new digs

2012-01-13T10:18:00.001-06:00

I think an Ikea trip is in order in my near future. I've been making mental notes every time I see something online or in the catalog that I need or like. Then I realize that my mental notes aren't always so great, especially when going to a place like Ikea. It's like my mind goes blank when I step foot in that place! Does that ever happen to you?!?! I can never go in there and get the stuff that I NEED because those stinkin showrooms always convince me otherwise. Ikea is so clever when it comes to setting up their model rooms!! The last time we went 'somebody' had Swedish meatballs on the brain the whole time. Ikea is a drive away from our house (about three hours) so 2hotty and I are both usually starving by the time we get there. I always try to hold off on eating because I want to get my shopping done first, but clearly that wasn't going to happen with my 2hotty. Putting him in a store when he's hungry is like telling Snooki to join a convent......AINT HAPPENIN!! Now looking back I guess I should have made an actual (with a pen and paper) list of the things I wanted to get............or perhaps have gave in and eatin first?!?! HA!

Now to make a long story short I am dedicating this post solely to all the items I want to purchase the next time we make the haul (pun?!?!?!) and this time I will be prepared! Oh yes no starving husbands will ruin my trip and I will come back with boxes this time and not just a tote with random things inside. All I will have to do is look up this post on my phone and "Wahla" the rest is history! Now lets just hope my phone does not die on me, then I'll be right back to square one!! The story of my life!

Here are the things I'm diggin for our new digs :-)

A few of these Lack Shelves in White $20

The picture was too awkward to post on here. They are basically floating shelves that I want to hang up on the wall behind our kitchen table. I want to be able to display things like dishes and platters that I'm not using at the moment and jazz them up for each season/occasion!!

Sorta like this:

YOUNG HOUSE LOVE

Sheepskin rug for our guest bedroom: $30

I think these are so fun!! The rug reminds me of Poland. I bought a real sheep fur rug the last time I visited, which I haven't really found a spot for yet. I'm thinking this white one from Ikea will look perfect in our guest bedroom downstairs. We painted the room recently. It is a bright 'eye-poppin' color so I need some natural elements in the room to balance things out.

Cowhide Rug: $200
This is a really bad picture that Ikea had on their website (I want the more spotted one. HA!). Its a statement piece and I think I could make it work in a few rooms in our house like our living room, mancave, or future boys nursery (if we ever have a boy that is)?!?! We'll see......might have to convince the hubs with an actual mood board of some sort. You know, of how it will actually look in each room. He needs visuals.....lots and lots of them!! If I tell him an idea, he right away bashes it. Until I show him what it could actually look like and then he's totally on board! Oh my 2hotty can you just leave all the decorating up to me?!?! Life would be so much easier that way! HA!

Expedit Shelving Unit: $60
I ~~want~~ need to make over our coat closet ASAP (I hate to open the closet door for fear of being toppled by "stuff" to death)! Therefore I ~~want~~ need this to hold baskets full of scarves, hats, and basically anything else I shove in there!! Oh and now that I'm thinking of it, make that two of these units. I'll need one for my closet in the Diva Headquarters as well! :-)

Magazine Files: $3/2pack
I DESPERATELY need these magazine files. I'm a magazine ~~hoarder~~ collector and I need some to take care of the magazine chaos that is scattered all over my house!! I admit it, I do have a problem. A magazine hoarding problem. I think I may need rehab!! :-0

Yup I think that is it for now!! I'm sure Ikea will suck me in and I'll come home with other 'stuff' but these are the necessities for now!! So tell me any sheepskin, cowhide rug owners?!?! Do you love em'?!?! Maybe you've purchased the shelf unit and didn't think it functioned so great?!?! I ~~want~~ need to know!! Oh and anything I'm missing that you think was a great buy from Ikea lately please let me know?!?!

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