Cucina Chalkboard Wall

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a giant chalkboard in your kitchen?  Absolutely fabulous I tell ya!  I completed this project a while back, took a picture then completely erased from my memory data bank.  But wanted to make sure to tell you that if you are ever considering painting one on your wall do not hesitate.  I was frightened to death but excited at the same time.  I knew it was one of those things you just have to do in order to see it.  I thought the kidlets would use this more but turns out I use it the most. I see now, several months later, that Martha Stewart has pretty chalkboard paint in aqua blue green and grey.  Being the conservative that I am I still would have used black.    

I simply primed my wall with primer then followed the instructions on the can of chalk paint.  Easy peasy lemon squeasy.  

Five coats this was.  I did not go the magnetic route.  I was feeling lazy, cheap, and had zero desire for farm animals or letters from the alphabet cluttering my limited space.  The same goes with the fridge.  The fridge should not be cluttered or look like an overloaded memo board.  Something else to keep in mind is that if there is a lot of weight on your fridge door, the door will not seal tightly.    

My chalkboard wall does not take up an entire wall but acts more like a frame around the door and then ends where the fridge starts on the opposite side.  A border chalkboard that balances the weight of the fridge on the opposite side.  The hardest part of the project and the part with most effort was seasoning the wall.  Kind of like your cast iron skillets; works better with a layer of grease.  In this case a layer of chalk dust.  What are you waiting for?  Go chalk it up!  Take a lovely note from the Nester...it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. 
~Becki 

 

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Happy Love Day!

Hands down these are my favorite Valentine's {to date}.  When I showed these to my daughter and asked if she would be interested in handing these out to her classmates she was over the moon!  She is a naturalist & collector so these bugs were right up her alley. 

You can head right over to dandee designs and download your own mason jar printables here.
I highly recommend doing them if you can.  You can opt to purchase the  tube of bugs online and I also spotted them at Michael's crafts.  I lucked out and found them on the first stop at Dollar store. 


The other round of Valentine cards went to Sparks and for those I purchased button pins from Michael's for .75 cents and added them in little baggies to go along with our paper Owls. 

You're A Hoot!

 

Today is hot lunch day at school so heart lunch will be heart supper instead.  I can also spend the rest of the month making heart lunches because love is not limited to just one day.  Happy Valentine's to You All!  xoxoxoxo
~Becki 

 

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Ahh, that's better!

One way for me to wind down at night is to relax and catch up on blogging.  Frequently, I would just leave the laptop on the coffee table and go to bed.  Morning would arrive and I would forget about the open device not thinking that the almost 2 year old would cause potential harm.  Long story short my Kate the Great plucked off  a letter here, a couple more letters there and you get the idea.  I could still type but not just as fast.  Then the power cord battery pack thing kept dying and I went into blogging with drawl.  My husband would try weekly to replace the cord but it never worked out.  Not to be overly melodramatic but I truly was quite sad.   

For the time being my husband is working from home so the office is off limits during the day.  Don't get me wrong it is nice having him home, BUT...{that seems like a pretty big but!}  When my daughter would nap I would blog, work on photo edits and sip coffee.  I had a routine that I really enjoyed.  Since I no longer could blog or edit photos during nap time I opted to house clean instead.  Bleck! Swashing toilets is not as fun as reading blogs, getting creative ideas or catching up on photos.  I don't know if I am the only one, surely I'm not, but photo editing seems to take me forever! 


We had a wicked snowstorm one day and my husband grabbed his coat and said he was going out on a mission.  I thought he was going out for some super sonic crack {a.k.a coffee}.  He came back with a box and surprised me with this!

Initially, I was completely against a new computer but I overheard my fingertips say, "Ahh, that's soooo much better!" 

On the other laptop I could not use French accents and my husband knew this drove me nuts and he quickly pointed out that this new gem has the features I was sorely missing.  My new bad habit you ask?  Taking this bad boy to bed and Pinning for 2 hours past my bedtime.  I go to bed at 1am and every new day kind of feels like a Monday!  I will have to work on that.   
Here comes a sidebar....
Oh, and the almost 2 year old is now 2 and we call her our resident monkey.  She is busier than ever and still creates her own sources of trouble.  For instance, she discovered a little vile of peppermint oil and managed to get the cover off.  If you are suffering with a cold or sinus infection I welcome you to visit and alleviate your congestion with an intense peppermint infusion.  One whiff and you will be breathing clean and clear.  She dripped the oil on everything she could.  Law have Mercy!    
   ~Becki

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Functional Style

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then I just ate." Currently, I am reading My life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme.  Great little read that is quite informative.   I enjoyed looking at the photos of her kitchen and ended up researching more photos of her workspace and discovered her method of organization; all her gadgets and widgets were right at her fingertips!  A revelation hit me like I was smacked upside the head.  After giving it some thought I decided to take a page from Julia Child's book and just go with it.  I never dreamed of hanging anything on the walls of our kitchen let alone kitchen gadgets and accessories.  I just imagined it would be chaotic looking or overly cluttered.  I just kept everything in a large deep drawer but always found myself wasting time searching for things over and over.  Basically, I just gave up trying to find the same items every time I wanted to use them.   I talked it over with my hubby and he said, "What are you waiting for?"  

The next morning I picked up my peg board and the store did all the cuts that I wanted free of charge.  I primed the board and really liked Julia's blue peg board but decided just to keep mine white for now.  The cost for this project was $15 including the hooks.  The rest of the peg board will be used on another project coming soon.  Other sources showed hanging baskets with onions and wooden spoons and that is definitely something I would love to add in the future.
 

 I did not take a picture but I popped off the sides of an old crib {thanks Karen!} and re-purposed the wood.  The wood slats were screwed to the wall, then the peg board was secured to the wood.   

Awesome new pastry brush!  Thanks mom.

Photo Source:  Smithsonian Museum of American History

Photo Source:  Domino

 I am really loving the organization that this project has created and the functional style is growing on me.  Functional style seems to just make more sense these days.  The drawer has opened up space for dishcloths and towels and pens and paper and in turn, making my under sink area a much nicer place to visit.  The last thing to add is a piece of artwork that says Bon Appetit!  I say the last thing but I would be lying if I said that.  I think copper pots would make things complete.  Really, truly.   
~Becki

 

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Surprising News!

Good News!  I successfully finished my first Shape Kit and discovered that I lost 7.5 lbs on my fourth week.  I knew something was different simply by the way my jeans fit.  As I mentioned before they were just falling off.  I even slipped on a pair of brand new jeans that I was never able to wear more than 6 years ago!  I ran around the house jumping for joy!  Over the holidays I indulged a bit but nothing over the top.  So now after taking two days off of Visalus I am back on track and feeling great.  I am still amazed at my progress and the direction I am headed.  Below is one of my favorite shakes that I look forward to each & every morning.  Occasionally, my oldest daughter and I have arguments over who gets the first batch.

I would consider this one my morning treat and then for lunch I go a more simpler route.  Lunch would be a simple cup of Almond Milk, Banana, and ice cubes.  Speaking of ice cubes I should mention that a glass blender is a heck of a lot better than plastic any day and of course you know the trick right?  Actually, several tricks are to keep the blender running while you add powder so it does not stick to the sides.  My mother complains that powder just sticks to the sides and the solution is to keep the blender running then add Visalus.

The second trick it to use your blender machine to wash out your vessel.  Add water, couple drops of soap then lock your blender in place and whirl away.  Some brands even have the button that says "clean."  Easy peasy.     

Raspberry Orange Smoothie
2/3 cup Orange Juice
3/4 Greek Yogourt
10 oz. Frozen Raspberries
1 Tablespoon milled Flax Seed or Flax oil {see picture}
1 tsp. Honey
2 Scoops of Visalus 
Blend in the order given.  Blend smooth.  Fill your drinking vessel, mug, jug or whatever pleases you and enjoy!

I

  I started out using Liberte Yogourt that was 7% MF and of course this was super tasty but higher in calories and fat.  My husband stepped in and saved the day by making a simple modification for my shake by lowering milk fats and switching to O% MF yogourt.   I am excited to see where I will end up on my 90th day of the Challenge! I will have to come up with a new set of goals now that I met my first goal of not sleeping the afternoon away!
~Becki

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I Discovered Something!

Recently,  I discovered something new and I want to share it with you!  I found something awesome!  Let me start off by saying I am a very skeptical person and I hate wasting time & money.  Anyone out there hate doing something only to find out you just wasted your time and efforts?  I can't be the only one.  I pushed my skepticism aside and went with my heart.  I also knew that if I did not like the product I could return it, so that alone was a deal breaker.  I always feel better about something if I can return it, if indeed, it does end up sucking.

I am talking about Body by Vi.  Jam packed full of vitamins, easy, and tastes great!  My story starts with me and the fact that I was so tired.  I would nap 2 hours a day almost every day of the week.  If I did not nap I would completely glaze over from 4-7pm and every thing would be a blur.  I would go on auto pilot while I cooked dinner and helped my oldest with her math.  It has been two weeks now and I can just take a quick cat nap for about 20 minutes and still feel fresh enough to chase after my two year old.  Unfortunately, I did not think to take pictures in the beginning but I'm positive I am making progress because my jeans fall off.  While I would love to show you how my jeans just fall to the floor I am sure my husband would not be amused.


Body by Vi is suitable for all types of people who are interested in investing in their health.  You can use it to simply have a healthier lifestyle, use it for weight loss or to help maintain healthy physique while bodybuilding.


I am in my mid thirties and learning {just now} to do things for myself {selfish I know!}.  Shame on me for being so selfish and putting myself first!  My goal was not to lose weight and that just ended up being a bonus for me.  I was so tired and feeling so crappy that driving to the grocery store was a huge challenge.  My update for two weeks is simply that I have energy.  At this time I cannot report a weight loss because we don't own scales.  I will keep you posted on my 90 Day Challenge and if you want to take a challenge with me I would love that.


You can check out Body by Vi here.


I want to share my favorite recipe and even both my children love it!  No kidding!  My kids will eat spinach and  I wasn't even tricking them.  I picked up this recipe from the gals over at One Charming Party and adapted it to Body by Vi by turning it into one super powerful shake.  I drink this in the wee hours of the am then I am supercharged and left feeling full.  I can holla out,
"Watch out laundry, here comes Mama Bear!"  Not sure why I'm Mama Bear, but my friend calls herself Mama Bird so I got Mama Bear.  

Source:  One Charming Party

Green Smoothie
4 cups loosely packed Baby Spinach {You should really use baby if you can}  Adult spinach tastes a little earthy in my opinion.
1 1/2 cups Orange Juice
1 Ripe Banana
2 cups Frozen Light colored fruit {Pineapple, Peach, Mango, or Honeydew}
2 Scoops of Visalus

Blend 1 minute on high until there are no chunks.
You need to also place in the blender in the order I have given.
This makes 4 8oz. servings.

I will be hosting a taste test party soon so if you are interested in taking the 90 Day Challenge please contact me.  If you are feeling adventurous you can even try a green smoothie!  You will love it!
~Becki

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All Hallow's Eve {A month ago}

The Halloween fun seemed to go on and on and on.  My mother came down from Fredericton to take the girls out and the fun never stopped.  We attended the Haunted House at the High School, had a couple social parties, one school assembly, official trick or treat night and finally ended the festivities with a witch's tea and game of cards.  Megan was a witch for all the social activities but when the time came to go trick or treating she dressed up super warm in her spider suit.  The spider and the ladybug survived a cold night.  My mother did not waste any time and quickly snagged all the cans of Pepsi.


We tried something new this year and the plan worked really well.  I went to the sally ann store and picked up some awesome books including hardcovers for 45 cents.  After trick or treating we did Books for Treats and they spread out the candy and each picked 5 treats and then exchanged the rest for the pile of books.  They chose to eat the candy in one sitting and I was pleased with the results.   I believe a lady in British Columbia started the idea and as soon as I find her link I will have to post it.  Such a great idea!


I definitely felt like all the angles were covered, all the T's were crossed and all the i's were dotted except when my youngest went door to door I forgot to snap a shot.  Oh well.

{School Treats}

{Class Carvings}

{Getting creepy}

{I am definitely not going in}

{The creativity does not cease to amaze me}

{Another creative neighbor who makes his own props}

{Witch's Tea with Mother}

{Ladybug}

 Phew!  That was exhausting!  I would consider taking a nap but looking at the calender we are now at the end of November.  We have already decorated for holidays and had our first tree up.   Trees up, trees down we can't find the right tree.  We aren't really that fussy but when I can see the wall through the bows I had to pack it up.  We tried to fake it and just couldn't.  In the meantime I hope to get some crafting done. 

~Becki 

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