February's Eight Great Goals

Welcome, February! Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable - I've been waiting for you.

January has always been one of my least favorite months as far as months go and I've heard others say that too. It's a rude awakening from the holidays, the days are short, the nights are cold and my heat, energy and water bills are off the charts in comparison. I'd like to shine some positive light on January as a time to restart, to renew and for new beginnings - but truly every month should be approached this way. Just like everyday should be like Valentine's Day and you should call your mother more than only on her birthday, Christmas or Mother's Day. Little things.

This month is sure to present some challenges, like more dreary & cold weather,  three less days to complete 100 miles or that our workforce of three will drop down to two (ahh!). With all of the madness presented in those challenges there's still so much more to look forward to. Loving and nurturing Tiger, a no-frills baby shower invite, Super Bowl shenanigans, another 90 minute massage, return of AMC's The Walking Dead, Bailey's 1 and a half year birthday(!!!), girls night birthday fun, seeing Amanda (hopefully) when she makes her first visit to Portland after her big career move, continuing to live with my wonderful boyfriend ...and so much more I don't even know about!

Let's get down to it, my mission for the month!

February's Eight Great Goals:

1. Follow Amanda from RunToTheFinish in her #BestFoot challenge to Eat a Clean Breakfast every day in February

2. Read a book, cover to cover, for the pure pleasure of reading. Any suggestions are welcome - what have you read lately?

3. Practice my pool game before brother comes home in March.

4. Spend some serious time at mom and dad's house to go through 'the archives' that they've been holding onto my entire life since I moved out 7 years ago.

5. Encourage Dan to play golf and never ask that he does otherwise.

6. Pre-write 3 posts per week to eliminate some time constraints and pressures when it comes to delivering content by 8am.

7. Comment on other blogger's posts and participate in this worldwide community.

8. Log four 10-mile runs in preparation for my second #ToughMudder (first mudder here).

That seems like more than enough to keep me busy in the short 28 days. I am excited to share more with you as you share more with me!

<3 JE

Fa-La-La-La Friday

I don't know if it's the same for you but the holidays are coming at me quickly!

You mean it's the 7th already and I haven't created an Advent Calendar? Shame on me

I'm happy to share that I knocked out my Christmas cards in one night and they are already in the mail (for those whose addresses I have) - and thankfully had enough stamps to get me there. I was encouraged by the flood of cards I've been receiving and hope to display them in some adorable way like this seen on Pinterest.

Time to share some inspiration I'm using to get myself in gear this holiday season:

• Brooke gave us tips on how to Celebrate the Holidays on a Budget.


• Erin had a Crafternoon with her roomies and they made some seriously amazing Storm Trooper snowflakes.


• My blogroll is going crazy with gift guides (for him, for her, for you).


• Adorable tags to add a personal touch to your gifts.


• Decoration for the home from Fashion Gal.


• All of these adorable tree illustrations.

At least I've got my glitter snowflake:

<3 JE

DIY's I'm Itching to Do

Happy Friday, everyone!

This weekend I'm staying out of the weather and getting after some projects I've been DIYing to do. #feelingpunny

I've been in a crafty mood and I'm not sure what to make of it Oh wait, I'm about to share a list of things I want to make.

I can always find inspiration from Pinterest and am adding these sites to my bloglovin' list that my friend Leslie shared yesterday. Inspiration Gold

In a few home design blogs I've seen lately it's what people make themselves that they love and cherish the most, not what expensive vase or bookend they bought at West Elm. It's amazing what a personal touch can do for creating your own unique style.. even if you got your idea from a tutorial!

Time for some Craft Talk!

Hint: Click on the images below to learn more about the project!

^ Painted & wrapped bricks ^

^ DIY Tile Coasters ^

^ Preserve beautiful colors of the fall leaves ^

^ Spraypaint  glass using rubber bands to create the clear lines ^

^ Add a sequin elbow patch to an old or thrifted sweater ^

^ Chalkboard paint ^

^ Add a print to a plain sweatshirt ^

^ With dad's help - amazing table ^

^ Use a curtain as a headboard ^

DIY date soon?

<3 JE

DIY Family Name Art - Wood to Stone

As I'm heading to the family beach house this weekend, I wanted to bring something along that was made from the heart to add to the decor mom has already worked so hard on.

I had a coupon to Michael's Craft Store and made the most of the rainy weekend to get the supplies together to make this wood-turned-"stone" hangable art featuring our last name.

This project took less than 15 minutes from start to finish (not including drying) and you only need a few simple supplies:

What I used:

Elmer's craft-bond glue stick

Make it Stone Krylon Spray Paint (sand)

Wood Letters from Michael's Craft Store in a blocky font

Empty Cardboard box for surface protection

Step 1: Gather your supplies

Step 2: Arrange your letters where you'd like them to be and mark with a pen - hint: the pen mark will be covered by the paint

Step 3: Glue the back sides of the letters with your craft glue, apply to the board immediately

Step 4: Grab your spray paint and GO OUTSIDE

Step 5: Spray an EVEN (ha-ha) coat over the entire work, continue spraying in spots where you still see wood ... I still see wood ^

Step 6: Allow to dry and touch up any areas you may have missed

Step 7: Share on Instagram while you let it dry completely (allow 4-6 hours)

Try your own and let me know how it goes! I can't wait to see where it will end up at the beach house!

<3 JE