October Check-In

Hi All!

Things have been cray-cray over in this neck of the woods as you can imagine BUT I just wanted to do a little check in with ya!

Hope you are all well!  A special THANK YOU goes to all the AWESOME women who've been guest posting while I've been sorting through boxes this month.  I hope you've enjoyed them!  There are more to come the rest of the month as well so come back!

We are well!  Our move had our fair share of…shall we say…bumps in the road!  More on that in November...

For now, here’s a little sneak peak into the new place!

Totally in LOVE with my Mr. Ed door!

We are still in transition as you can see by this shot from my front porch lookin' in (love that song!).

Yes...that's a couch in the hallway...it was supposed to go upstairs...didn't fit up the narrow stairway...#oldhouseproblems...the AmVets are gonna come take it I hope.

And I just couldn't resist sharing this one just because it’s cute!

Talk to ya all soon!

XOXO

Packing & Moving Tips & Tricks

Hey, Houtz Partiers!

I'm Andi and I write at The Hollie Rogue. Kelly and I are real-life friends and have very similar real-life current events. I don't have 4 kids under 4 (she's a super hero, you know), but my family and I are moving to the country from the suburbs just like Kelly's! We actually are going to be only a few minutes away from each other and I can't wait to be hanging out together every week!


We sold our townhouse and moved in with my husband's parents while we found and closed on the new house and so our moving situation was a little different from most. We had to put much of our stuff into storage for a few months and so I researched and learned some nifty tricks to help organize the move. Today, I'm going to share those moving tips with YOU!

1. Number and inventory EVERY box.--I initially thought this was going to be SO much work, but it actually wasn't at all. Every time I packed a box, I jotted down the things that were in there in a little notebook that was organized by room (ie: Master Bedroom MBR:#1, MBR#2, etc). This totally saved us the other day because my husband was looking for his hunting binoculars and the notebook told him right where to find them!



2. Color code boxes with duct tape.--I found these amazingly fun duct tape patterns at Michaels and used them to categorize boxes with their matching rooms or zones in the new house (example: Zebra=kitchen stuff, Multi-colored=kids bedroom). This will hopefully make it easier for us to unload the boxes into the correct areas when we get to the new house. Nobody will be having to ask, "where does this box go?" as the tape is bright and easy to understand.


3. Move all the easy stuff yourself and have the movers move the "hard" stuff.--I just helped Kelly do this last Saturday. It is so smart to move all of the boxes and light, easy furniture yourself as it saves LOADS of money with the movers. We only left the most heavy and awkward furniture for the movers and they were in and out in less than 2 hours! Our estimate was over $1,200 and paid less than $700 because of the extra work we put into it. Also, make sure you take all the beds and shelves apart before the movers get there.

4. Start early and do a little at a time.--Unless it can't be helped, starting early with the packing is such a life saver. I did a little each day and it never really seemed that difficult to tackle because of that.

5. Trust that the Lord has this move under control. He's a pretty good "mountain mover." Kelly and I both have amazing stories of how God was clearly working to put the perfect homes in our paths. He is so Good and cares about the big (and little) events in our lives. For that, I'm so thankful.

Stop by and say hello! I'll be moving at the end of the month so any other tips or tricks you have used would be so appreciated!

Hugs, Andi

Momma Mar's Activity Corner

One of the most useful things about the "Mommy blog" phenomenon are all the COOL ideas you can glean from so many of them!!!

As a mama to 4 little people I can use all the ideas I can get!!

Today I'm excited to "pin" all kinds of crafts, recipes and kids activities from all of today's participants in the Momma Mar's Activity Corner!!!

Check out the details below!  I can't wait to see what you have to share!!!

host Mar @ Raising Bean

co-host Kelly @ The Houtz House Party

Rules: 1. I would love for you to follow your host and co-host! So we can keep in touch, but it's not mandatory. 2. Link up any post that talks about something you've done with, or for, your child. It can be recipes, DIY, arts&crafts, sensory activities, if you did it (or attempted it), you can link it! *Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post* Feel free to link more than one post. 3. Check out some other ideas. Don't be a stranger, go see what other families have been up to, and leave them some love in the form of a comment. 4. Head over to Two In Diapers and visit the Sister Link Up, "Thursday's Mommy-Brain Mixer"! She wants your mommy stories, thoughts, and funny moments. Please grab a button and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. So others can find it and share, and steal, some great activities!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.raisingbean.com" title="Raising Bean" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t505/Raisingbeanblog/mini.jpg" alt="Raising Bean" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you're interested in co-hosting please email me at margaret@raisingbean.com, I'd love to have you!

Playroom spruce up…and obsession with pennant garland

My name is Kelly and I’m obsessed with pennant garland. 

Check out some of my favorites found on the WWW.

source

source

AND…THIS LINK is the grandaddy of them all!!!  Oh, how I LOVE pinterest!!!

CLICK HERE FOR PENNANT GARLAND AWESOMENESS!!!

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Our playroom started out like this:

AND I WAS SOOOOOOOOO SICK OF LOOKING AT ALL THAT PLAINNESS...is “plainness” a word?  Not sure…but continuing on….

Don’t you LOVE those doors by the way?  Bought them for $10 at a yard sale!  I had no idea what I would do with them but I KNEW they had to be mine! 

I ultimately decided they belonged in our playroom.  I would hang the kids artwork and photos of them all over it.  Did I know how?  Nope but then I saw this idea on Pinterest.  GREAT IDEA!!!! ! 

source

I made them!  You can find the tutorial here.  BUT, because I’m AWESOME like that they were too big and didn’t work.  Yeah, nice I know!  I ended up just using paper clips and it worked perfectly (why didn’t I do that in the first place?  One of life’s great mysteries…)

So back to the pennant garland obsession…yes, I LOVE IT!!!!  I thought WHAT A GREAT IDEA for decorating the playroom!!!!!  SO CHEERY!!  SO HIP!!!  SO PERFECT!!!!

I would have LOVED to make my own but I’m DEF limited on time with the the 4 kiddos around here so I found some SUPER CUTE chalkboard pennant garland on etsy! 

Check out the finished wall!  I LOVE IT!

Happy 4th of JULY friends!!!!!!!!!!!  Hope you are all having a FABULOUS week!!!!!!  Today I've got my friend Carolyn here sharing her FABULOUS room redo!!!!!!!  I LOVE IT!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for being here lady!!!!

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Hi everyone, I'm Carolyn from My Simple MESSterpiece! I'm thrilled to be a guest on The Houtz House Party visiting while Kelly is off enjoying her week-long vacation! 

I'm a newbie blogger and Kelly has been such a great support to me. I've not met a sweeter blogger, and I truly can't thank her enough for her generosity and kindness. I just love her blog and down-to-earth style.

Today I'm sharing the 'reveal' of my favorite makeover ... let's just say, my formal living room has gone a bit country y'all! 

Since I'm originally from Texas my style tends to have a touch of country, but when we moved into our rather bland new-to-us home in Missouri I decided to up the ante by really bringing out my cowgirl style. Here is the room before...

So after a bit of paint, sanding, and some fabric, I gave this room a big Texas makeover that makes me feel like I'm back home. Here is the room after I gave it my cowgirl makeover...

To make this space reflect my Texas style, this is what I did ...

• Replaced the light fixture with a wrought iron style chandelier
• Painted and distressed our old bookcases 
• Made some not-so-traditional curtains
• Painted and distressed the small accent table
• Recovered the backs and seats of the chairs
• Added a jute rug, old saddle perched upon a stool made from logs, small wrought iron style lamp, and a horse collar

Here are a few pics of the details ...

I couldn't be happier with the way room turned out ... it really feels like home to me now.

Stop by and visit me sometime at My Simple MESSterpiece. You never know what kinda mess I'll make next time, but I'm thinking about tacking my kitchen cabinets real soon! ;)

Kelly, many thanks for having me over. I hope you have a fabulous vacation!

When you feel like everything is a hot mess

As I sit here and type this I am just honestly annoyed at the hot mess going on around me!  

I like to be organized and I think that pretty much everything has its place ya know?  I feel happier, more content, …overall in a MUCH better mood when everything is in its place.

I’m going to be HONEST here and show you the way my kitchen looks right now…

See even the photo couldn't be edited to anything better!

Looks inviting doesn’t it?

Oh and for good measure here is our playroom…

Yep, I am aware it looks like a daycare center after a hurricane!

I normally try my best to stay on top of things but guess what?  For the last week I’ve done minimal EVERYTHING (and by minimal i probably mean pretty much nothing) around here and it shows and I’m annoyed. 

Wouldn't it be nice if the cleaning/organizing fairy could come and do it for me?  I could click my heals like Dorothy and instead of sending me back to Kansas it would send me a clean witch.

Well like the money tree these kinds of things don’t exist do they?

So…I’m writing this post to keep myself accountable to this chaos…or rather to GET RID of this chaos by May 1^st! 

I’m going to deep clean my kitchen and PURGE that playroom of TOO MANY toys to name the top 2 things on my list.  I also really want to rearrange the furniture!  I'm bored with the arrangement.  But, that's pretty usual!  I just am inspired to try to do something about it now.  The rest of the list remains to be seen…I need to make one though or I won’t be happy…you know I like to check things off right?  Besides to be MORE honest if I don’t...NOTHING will get done!  UGH!

Do you guys have any tips for tackling a house that’s gotten out of control?

I would love to hear your tips on keeping things in order with littles around destroying everything in their path!

Do any of you keep a home management binder?  I put a bare bones ones together and used it for 2 weeks LAST YEAR…but I’m thinking about trying it again…I feel so unorganized with EVERYTHING right now.

Mama’s I need your HELP!

Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say!

A Half Bath Redo – I hope I hope!!!

I’m getting excited!!! 

I get bored REALLY easily and would probably move every couple years if it wasn’t such a pain in the butt,,,you know the whole selling your house thing in a yucko economy and all! 

I once moved 5 times in ONE year!  I think I was 20 at the time?  My parents were ready to KILL me!!! 

Anyhoo, I do like our house…I just get bored with the way it looks.  

The only rooms we’ve even painted since we moved in 3 ½ years ago are all the bedrooms (3).  I am SO OVER the “builder” white that everything is painted.  I know we have to do things bit by bit since our decorating budget is very tight. 

Darn that whole 4 kids on a single income thing! 

Ok, anyway…back to the REASON I’m excited…I am planning our half bath redo!  I know it’s just a simple thing but it makes me OH SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 

Isn't it AMAZING what a little paint can do?????????????

This is what it looks like right now:

BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!  PLAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!  BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond PUMPED because I found the EXACT color for the wall!  It’s been one of those things that I’ve KNOWN in my HEAD for about 6 months now but I haven’t SEEN the EXACT right color anywhere. 

All I can say is Pinterest really is God’s gift to us!!!  Don’t you agree? 

The other day I was browsing and found it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://luckettstoreblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/picking-palette-march-design-house.html

So…here’s what I’m thinking:

• ·        Darkest color for the walls.
• ·        On the left wall white wainscoting ¾ of the way up the wall.  Sorta like this:



http://www.bhg.com/bathroom/photo-gallery/beaded-board-bathrooms/#page=12 

• ·        At the top of the wainscoting a long shelf (my mother in law has one already she’s willing to give us)!
• ·        Bunch of different frames all spray painted black filled with black and white snapshots of our family on top of the shelf/ledge thingy.

·        I’ve got a few other ideas too…but we’ll see.

I’m hoping to con my FIL and hubby into doing this project for me for Mother’s Day?

 

Hm…guess I better break the news huh? 

Sweetheart…r u reading this? 

Love you!!