NewlyWoodwards

Dare to... deck the halls! (Preview)

2009-12-08T07:00:00.070-06:00

Have you been decking the halls, trimming the trees, pulling out lights and fluffing garland?

I have.

And, this week's challenge is the perfect time to show off your DIY work.

Dare to... deck the halls!
Make something new to deck your halls. Did you find something in a catalog that you wish you had? Wreaths, stockings, pillows or advent calendars? Make it! Inspire us all to do the same.

Here are a few ideas for that I've loved that I think you could recreate as DIY.

Advents

Applecyder

NewlyWoodwards (shameless self-promotion)

Wreaths

Your cool friend Cheryl

Ornaments, stockings and other decor

unknown source

Do you know what you will make next week?

I cannot wait to see it.

Dare to...give homemade gifts! (Dare to DIY week 4/6)

2009-12-06T17:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the fourth Dare to DIY blog party. I'm seriously excited to see what you have come up with for this one.

Dare to... give homemade gifts!

Nothing is more special than a gift made by you. Don't think it's too late! Try out something new to give this year - ideas include bath an body items, kitchen gifts, hand-sewn clothing or home decor.

What did I come up with?

This was actually more difficult than I expected. Most of our family and friends read this blog. Read: I cannot post a surprise, homemade gift (even though I want to). So, in addition to the advent calendar I showed you last week, I have one more gift to share with you today. This one is simple, fun and (I think) pretty cute.

Photo ornaments

I was lucky enough to be part of an ornament exchange with friends I met while planning my December wedding in 2007. While I don't get to chat with many of them anymore (beside through blogs), it's still a connection we'll always have.

I had the opportunity to give an ornament to my friend, Stephanie . I wanted to make an ornament to get the most for my money. It had to be under $10. Since I know photographs mean a lot to Stephanie, I wanted to incorporate her own photos (which I snagged from her blog and Facebook by being a little stalker-ish).

I decided to choose photos from what I identified as important parts of she and her husband's life and make a little series of "collectors ornaments" for them.

I chose a photo from their engagement, wedding, their honeymoon, her husband's return from deployment, and two more recent photos from their new home in Guam.

You can probably figure this out yourself, but here are the simple steps.

1. Purchase simple, circle cardboard ornaments from Michael's

2. Add coordinating blue scrapbook papers as a base on each side with Modge Podge.

3. Add circle-shaped photos to one side of each ornament.

4. Modge-podge several layers for a glossy finish.

5. Add a ribbon around the edges to cover the remaining cardboard.

6. Add a small eye-hook from a hardware store to the top to add a hook or ribbon to hang.

I hope she enjoyed her gift, I know I enjoyed making them and loved the final result.

So, now it's your turn!

A couple of guidelines:

1. Please link to the specific post, not your general blog address.

2. Please include a teaser of your post in parenthese - for example, I would write NewlyWoodwards (Neiman-Marcus cookies).

3. Link your post back up to NewlyWoodwards with text or this button.

Also, please visit at least one other blog below and comment! This will help us all meet each other.

(As a reminder, next week's blog party ideas will go up Tuesday. I will pick a few favorites from today to post at the end of the week.)

Did you dare?

2009-12-04T07:00:00.041-06:00

;Lots of yummy recipes this week. You girls put my cookies to shame.

I'm feeling a sugar overload and I didn't even eat any of yours. (Although I did eat about 2 dozen Neimann-Marcus cookies.... so maybe that explains it.)

Let's be honest... they all looked great. So, I picked a handful that were especially appetizing or unique....

Emily's Ting a Lings

(They have Wheaties in them, which means I can eat as many as I want and

I can have them for breakfast... because they are the breakfast of champions.)

Erin's Thin Mint Wannabees

(Anything that keeps me from spending our life savings on Girl Scout cookies is alright by me.)

Molly's Chocolate Covered Oreos

(How can something so simple look so fancy? Kinda like me.)

Wendy's Smores

(Who even KNEW that someone could make homemade graham crackers? NOT ME!)

Allison's Browned Butter Thumbprints

(These cookies seriously make me salivate. I cannot understand why....

oh yes I can. It says "butter" in the title.)

Thanks to everyone for joining in this week. Don't forget to stop by Sunday night-Monday to share your homemade gifts. Dare 'ya!

Walkin' in Memphis

2009-12-03T07:00:00.041-06:00

Memphis is really a fun town. We had a nice three days in Tennessee over the holiday. I figured I'd better document it. Here's a mini-recap.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Ryan's aunt and uncle. We ate ungodly amounts of food and the guys watched football.

We also made gingerbread men and attempted a gingerbread house. (Much more difficult than it looks. It seems to take a masters in engineering to accomplish. None of us had aforementioned degree.)

We took lots of family photos.

On Friday, I woke up and hit some stores. I didn't do any Christmas shopping but I did find some lovely things for myself. Oh well.

Then, we went downtown Memphis for lunch at Rendezvous, a BBQ joint. They brought us out red beans and rice, which immediately made Ryan happy. It was a neat place.

Following lunch, we took a carriage ride tour through Memphis.

These were our tour guides.

After supper, we headed down to Beale Street for the night. We listened to a blues band and enjoyed the entertainment.

Thanks to Ryan's family for inviting us down! We had a great time!

How was your holiday weekend?

Simple and cheap DIY advent calendar

2009-12-02T07:00:00.038-06:00

Simple and cheap.

Did I get your attention?

I had these 12x12 boards from last Christmas. Remember what I did with them?

Ryan cut out a bunch of them for me when I had a whim. (Love him.) I used them for gifts last year. But, I didn't use them all.

Fast forward to this year. I've been seeing lots of advents around the blogosphere. I really like them, but I didn't really want to put candy or little gifts in them. When I was growing up, we just moved a little mouse through each of the days. That was exciting enough. We didn't need no gifts on our advent. We were tough. ;)

So, I came up with this idea after getting inspiration from a scrapbook store. I'm sure lots of other people have done it, too.

I have a square punch. So, that made this extra simple. I just punched tons of squares out of a variety of scrapbook papers that I already had on hand. Then, I modge-podged them to black boards. I added the numbers on top (the numbers were something I've had for years... they are pads of solid numbers that looked like a pad of paper). Then, I added a few layers of modge-podge. Easy peasy.

After it dried, we added upholstery tacks from the hardware store with a hammer. We chose them because they were black. You could use hooks or regular thumb tacks, too.

Now, we'll just move the bell backwards as we get closer to Christmas. I think it's rather adorable. You can hang it from a ribbon or add hardware on the back. Or, you could just prop it.

I made a bunch of these to give to Ryan's family while we were in Memphis. I think they were well received.

Do you advent?

I'm linking this post to:
Works for me Wednesday
Penny Pinching Party
Show and Tell

Dare to... give homemade gifts! (Preview)

2009-12-01T07:00:00.058-06:00

It's not too late! There are still several weeks until Christmas. Don't let blogland let you believe that if you haven't been working on gifts since June, you cannot give homemade gifts.

You can. And, this week's challenge is the perfect chance.

Dare to... give homemade gifts!
Nothing is more special than a gift made by you. Don't think it's too late! Try out something new to give this year - ideas include bath an body items, kitchen gifts, hand-sewn clothing or home decor.

I've been collecting ideas and tutorials for gifts for... ummm... awhile. I haven't/won't have time to make all of them most of them, but there are some awesome (and sometimes really simple) ideas out there.

Here are a few. (I tried to give ideas for sewers and non-sewers alike.)

Fabric beaded necklace

Feeling inspired? I sure am. I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

The Wife's December goals

2009-12-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Wife's December Goals

Fun:

Plan and enjoy anniversary trip.

Entertain.

Read two books.

Learn a new technique with my camera and practice.

DIYing/Crafting:

Sew something new.

Paint something.

Make a Christmas quilt and pillows.

Make homemade Christmas gifts.

Continue organizing photos.

Gardening:

Write an overview of gardening. Make a list of what to plant next year.

Keep houseplants alive.

Home:

Curtains in office.

Complete HolidayPalooza.

Cooking:

Make a new healthy recipe.

Wellness:

Go to yoga each week.

November goals - how'd I do?

2009-11-30T14:00:00.001-06:00

This month was not nearly as successful as last month . Oh well, we'll call them stretch goals.

The Wife's November Goals

Fun:

Host a memorable New Moon premier bash for the girls. (Check out the party recap here.)

Make reservations for dinner and other fun things for our anniversary trip. (In process. We have reservations for our anniversary night, and a few other things on the burner.)

Enjoy Memphis during Thanksgiving!(I'll post soon.)

Read two books. (Didn't even finish one. Fail!)

Learn a new technique with my camera and practice. (Fail! Never even tried. But, I did practice by taking lots of photos.)

Send Christmas cards. (Success! They went out today.)

DIYing/Crafting:

Sew something new. (Success!)

Paint something. (Success!)

Make a Christmas quilt and pillows. (Fail! But, I did get the fabrics, so I'm excited to get started.)

List and begin all homemade Christmas gifts. (In process. Got going on this.)

Continue organizing photos. (In process. Long way to go on this.)

Gardening:

Pull bulbs and store. (Success!)

Write an overview of gardening - what went well, what we'll do differently. Make a list of what to plant next year. (Fail! I need to do this, for me more than anything.)

Home:

Curtains in office. (Fail!)

Take down Fall decor, clean and begin HolidayPalooza. (In process.)

Cooking:

Make a new recipe. (Success! Smoked chicken and pork.)

Make a new dessert. (Success! Cookies!)

Wellness:

Go to yoga each week. (Fail!)

Pass tests (Success! Angels singing.)

How did your month go?

Dare to... eat cookies! (Dare to DIY week 3/6)

2009-11-29T18:00:00.056-06:00

Welcome to the third Dare to DIY blog party. This one is a yummy one.

Dare to... eat cookies!

(or cake, bars or candy)

As we begin to attend holiday parties, share your favorite cookie recipe or a new recipe for all to enjoy. It's like a digital cookie swap. Share a recipe and a review of the cookie. If you can, add a picture. And, don't worry about extra calories. At Christmas, cookies are calorie-free.

Here's what I came up with. I decided to try a new cookie recipe for the challenge, because I'm not much of a baker. This was actually one of the harder challenges for me, because I cook more than bake (and I don't do either extravagantly).

My problem with baking is that nothing I make turns out very pretty. And, part of me never wants to try sugar cookies or anything on Bakerella because everything seems difficult. And baking shouldn't be difficult. My mom always made homemade cookies. And, she just whipped them up. Definitely didn't seem difficult.

So, I decided to try something else. I'd been wanting to try the Neiman-Marcus cookies that my friend Stephanie posted on her blog. While she dispelled the myth that these are the same recipe used at the store, they looked mighty yummy.

And, considering that after baking them this morning, Ryan ate 5 or 6 of them, I think they must be yummy. You should try these, they are really delicious and quite simple (just the way I like it).

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

12 oz. chocolate chips

4 oz. Hershey Bar (grated) (found in baking aisle)

2-3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F. Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

(As an aside, isn't the tablecloth lovely? My maid-of-honor Ashley gave this to us for our wedding with matching napkins. It's one of the most beautiful things I own and it matches our curtains perfectly. Thanks, Ashley.)

So, now it's your turn!

A couple of guidelines:

1. Please link to the specific post, not your general blog address.

2. Please include a teaser of your post in parenthese - for example, I would write NewlyWoodwards (Neiman-Marcus cookies).

3. Link your post back up to NewlyWoodwards with text or this button.

Also, please visit at least one other blog below and comment! This will help us all meet each other.

Double-dog dare you.

(Reminder: I will post ideas for next week's party tomorrow. Then, I will pick a few favorite recipes to share on Thursday or Friday.)

Did you dare?

2009-11-27T07:00:00.004-06:00

Hope you all had enough turkey and pecan pie that you had to be carted out in a wheelbarrow. Wait... that was just me!?!

And, I hope that you started your day at dawn with a smile on your face, a Starbuck's Chai Tea latte and a list of must-hit stores. Wait... that was just me!?!

Thanks to everyone for participating in the second week of Dare to DIY. So many pretty tables, so little time. I had to look at every link... twice. (Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have a life. I just loved them so much.)

So, here are a few of my favorites from this week. All of which I want to try. Right now.

The Real Simple-esque place settings from Home in the Country.

(And, you must check out her table.... gorgeous.)

The fancy DIY ornament tree and beautiful red accents at Living Life Shiny Side Up

This adorable and thrifty centerpiece with a message Words on Wendhurst.

And, check out this burlap table runner with a lovely bow at the end,

along with the wheat and white pumpkins at Moore Minutes.

Thanks for jumping in this week. I loved seeing all of your creativity.

Can't wait to see what you come up with next week for our digital cookie exchange.

Gobble Gobble! (and a down-to-the-wire Thanksgiving centerpiece)

2009-11-26T11:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ryan and I are enjoying time with our favorite Tennesseans. (Sorry if you live in Tennessee, you just cannot compete with our family.)

(Credit)

That's right folks. We officially crossed over to the South for a few days of fun in Memphis. Lola and Franco are chillin' at the pet spa for the first time. (Who wants to bet that they will destroy something and be asked not to come back?)

We have much to be thankful for this holiday season. A lovely home (if we do say so ourselves), each other, the most hilarious dogs on the planet, jobs, food on the table, family, friends.... and of course, you. Thanks for joining us for another year at NewlyWoodwards.

You make telling our stories a little more fun. Our future children thank you for supporting us while we document our lives. (Or maybe they don't. We'll see.) (And, no, we aren't having a baby right now - sorry mom. Although it is clearly in the blogland water.)

Hope you have a wonderful holiday with much to be thankful for.

And, since the blogosphere will officially turn over to Christmas-mania tomorrow, here's the fall centerpiece I made to bring to Tennessee as a hostess gift to Ryan's aunt. I'm so proud of my mad skills, I can hardly stand it.

My aunt and I went to a class at the local botanical center. I learned quite a bit. I've never used floral foam. This is what we started with. (I love the warts on it, so cute.)

Aunt Cathy knew what she was doing. (I didn't.)

We started with the flowers and stuck them in the wet foam evenly spaced. Then, we used the fillers. Here's what I ended up with.

When I got home, I added the roses we had left from the Twilight bash. (It definitely needed more flowers, in my opinion.) Now, I love it.

I hope that they enjoy it as much as I do. Now, I think I'm going to be making more arrangements, it wasn't hard at all and it was so satisfying.

Dare to... eat cookies! (Dare to DIY week 3/6)

2009-11-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Wow - you ladies brought it this week to Dare to DIY. It was like Celebrity Death Match, only much much better. (Don't lie. You liked Celebrity Death Match, too.)

So many great ideas out there for table decor. Thank you for sharing them. I've looked through all of them. I will post a few favorites later this week.

Now, get ready for next week's challenge (which I think may be my favorite):

Dare to... eat cookies!
(or cake, bars or candy)
As we begin to attend holiday parties, share your favorite cookie recipe or a new recipe for all to enjoy. It's like a digital cookie swap. Share a recipe and a review of the cookie. If you can, add a picture. And don't worry about the extra calories. At Christmas, cookies are calorie-free.

My mouth is watering already. I don't think I need to give you inspiration for this one, but if you are looking for a new recipe to try, here are a few locations to browse:
All Recipes
Gatherings
Joy of Baking
Kraft Foods

(Photos from Kraft Foods)

New Moon Premier Party Recap

2009-11-23T21:00:00.002-06:00

Raise your hand if you saw New Moon last weekend.

**ME ME ME**

We enjoyed it, and spending time with a big group of gals (and even one guy) was a lot of fun! Why don't we do that more?

Anyhoo... here's a recap of the New Moon Premier Party and the different projects to prepare for it. (This is going to be long, but I tried to consolidate photos.) For those of you who are all, "Geez, Kim. Give the Twilight thing a rest," I'll be moving on after this post.

Until June when the next movie comes out.

It's the truth.

As an aside, while it's very Twilight-centered decor which is perfect for a themed-party or movie showing, I think that much of the decorating could be adjusted and used for a vampire-themed Halloween party quite easily. I'm definitely planning to use some of the items for future Halloweens. And, the red, black and white items are really staple items that can be used often.

So, there. I'm not TOTALLY crazy. =)

Decor

I have a tendency to go a little overboard with party decor. (My husband's eyes are rolling back in his head right now.) It took about two weeks to put everything together, between taking down fall decorations, cleaning and putting up new decor. That's not including the time it took to come up with ideas. (Thanks to my friend Rebecca for all her help brainstorming and planning.)

But, the decor turned out so fun and really set the tone, so I think the work was worth it. Every person who walked in just went crazy over all the details. That made me smile.

I knew from the start that I would use lots of candles. I had a ton of red and white candles from our wedding. So that was one reason. Plus, they really give you a big bang for your buck. I put them everywhere. And, I even used red wax to make some of the white candles "bleed." (Click on any photos to make them larger.)

Do you see the tree stumps above (and below)? Those were a little vision I had. Someone Ryan works with gave them to us to use. I just cleaned them off, spray painted them and sealed them. Lovely decor and perfect to add height to tables. I'm definitely going to be using these for Christmas, too.

Thanks to Hostess with the Mostess , all of our frames in the house got a makeover. I swapped out almost every frame. It seems crazy, but it was so fun to see all the quotes. All of the guests were reading them.

In addition to frames, I used the matted frames shown above. I made these for the wedding and hung onto them. They are just high-quality photo mats (which are CHEAP on Ebay). I glued two back to back with scrapbook paper in the middle and ribbons and jewels on the side. They were quite simple to make. They worked perfectly for this. And, they also make a great menu card.

I had big plans for the outside, but they didn't quite come to fruition. However, I ordered this free vinyl banner from Vista Print with the same saying from our invites . I spray painted the pumpkins in our yard black and added red glitter. I found these arrows at Dollar Tree. The front say North Pole. I just flipped them around and wrote names of places in the book in black permanent marker. Add a few mason jar luminaries and a tree stump and you are set to go.

I changed out some of the decor in the hutches to match the red, black and white theme.

And, I made Martha pom poms for the windows. Emily helped me make 20 or 25 of these. These are so simple to make, relatively quick and quite inexpensive. If you haven't made them, you should. Here are the instructions.

You can also see our new pillows in the photo above. I happened to find them in time for the party. I think they brighten up the sofa.

I even tried to make the bathroom look a little festive.

And, since I wasn't in a single photo, I decided to take a photo of myself when I was capturing the beauty of the bathroom (don't say that very often). All the cool bloggers do it. I'm nothing if not a follower. Plus, I wanted you to see the I (heart) Twilight sticker. Crackin' me up.

Plus, it was so nice of Edward to show up. Rebecca ordered him from Amazon. He was the hit of the party. Everyone wanted her picture taken with him.

So, this was pretty much what we did to set the mood.

Food

We asked folks to bring a Twilight-inspired dish, and people went all out with the theme. (I maintain that people like direction.)

I made vegetarian vampire veggies and dip and Edward's (deviled) eggs. I died the yolk mixture red with icing coloring. They turned out pretty cool.

Other creative food items:
- a chocolate fountain with white chocolate turned red.
- rice crispy treats, cut in the shape of apples with a fork stuck in each one.
- stake-through-the-heart chicken skewers, and each skewer had a laminated Twilight ornament to take home.
- Twilight truffles.
- themed sugar cookies.
- Bella's birthday cake.
- Werewolf (puppy) chow

I set out a marker and place tags for people to write the name of the dish on. I think folks liked this. Got the creative juices flowin'.

Drinks
To go with the theme, I provided red wine (labeled with the blood types courtesy of Hostess with the Mostess) and red punch to drink. I also wrapped water bottles for guests to drink at the party or take to the movie theatre.

Sharon brought a white whine labeled "Plasma." (Clever)

And, Rebecca created my favorite Twilight-inspired drinks. Ever.

Blood shots. She actually went so far as to make laminated labels for the test tubes with a scanner. They seriously looked real. I was dying over them. The drink was a simple blend of vodka and Hawaiian Punch. Yummy and theme-friendly.

(P.S. She ordered the test tubes online. Thank goodness for the Internet.)

Favors and gifts
I wanted to send everyone home with a little something. So, I put together little packets of red licorice bites to take to the movie and a bookmark.

The bookmarks said "Yes. I read books about teenage vampires." The labels on the licorice is from Flickr. Both were printed on sticker paper, which made the process of making them pretty simple.

For gifts for the games (see below), I ordered four of the notebooks above from Vista Print . (They were only $4.99 apiece.) I also picked up four packs of Twilight Sweethearts Conversation Hearts.

Games
I know there is a school of thought that games at adult parties are silly or childish. Well, I'm currently covering my ears and singing "lalalala" because I don't believe it.

We came up with a few ideas for games. One was an icebreaker game after folks got there. There were some people who didn't know each other. So, Rebecca created a sheet with a "bingo" type networking activity. You could sign different squares if the description applied to you. All descriptions were related to the book. For example - been to Idaho, been caught in a love triangle, petted a wolf.... This was pretty fun and allowed people to get to know each other if they didn't.

The second game was a trivia game. I pulled the questions from various Internet sources.

Here are links to both printable games that we created, if you are interested.
Twilight icebreaker
Twilight/New Moon trivia

So... can you tell we had a great time at the party?

Then, it was off to the theatre to fight the masses to see the movie. We ended up scoring an entire row for our group, which was super fun.

At the end of the night, we were all exhausted but had a great time.

Now... we are all looking forward to Eclipse. I don't know how we'll top it, but we'll sure try. =)

So, how crazy do you think we are, on a scale of 1 to 10?

I'd say 9.5. That's probably conservative.

But, I'd really love to hear what you like about the party and ideas you have to make the next one better.

Hooked up with:

Dare to... entertain! (Dare to DIY week 2/6)

2009-11-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the second week of the Dare to DIY Blog Party. I cannot wait to see what you all came up with. After last week , I know it will be awesome!

Are you ready?

Dare to... entertain!

Show us your table. This could be for Thanksgiving, for everyday, for the holidays or for something else entirely (Twilight, anyone?). Bring out your table settings, display it in a new way or make something completely new (a table runner, centerpiece, etc.). I promise that having a set table will make you smile. And, everyone can use a smile.

Since I was throwing a New Moon Premier Party on Friday, I decided to stick with this. I'm not hosting Thanksgiving and all of our fall decorations are already down in preparation for the party. Here's what I came up with:

Dinner... Twilight-style.

I wanted the table to be dramatic. So, I started with a black tablecloth and a red runner. My aunt loaned me the lovely antique candelabra and I dripped red wax on the white candles. I found inspiration for this on the internet.

I drug out every red votive I own (which is a lot because we used them on tables at the wedding). Then, I scattered apples around (to play off the cover of Twilight). I think it turned out really fun.

We actually didn't serve a formal, sit-down dinner, but I set up the place settings for the photo. I was making some themed food, so I thought I'd use these little cards of Edward and Bella for place cards for the table. I thought it would be funny. It was.

I even dug out my old skill of folding napkins from my past life as a catering manager.

I think all the red really looks cool. And, I think this could be modified for an elegant dinner, Halloween or even Christmas (sans the blood of course).

And, here is the overview of the different elements of the table.

So, what did you come up with?

A couple of guidelines:

1. Please link to the specific post, not your general blog address.

2. Please include a teaser of your post in parentheses - for example, I would write NewlyWoodwards (Twilight Table)

3. Link your post back up to NewlyWoodwards with text or this button.

Also, please visit at least one other blog below and comment! This will help us all meet each other.

I'm so excited to see what you come up with. Thanks for joining the party.

(Reminder: I will post ideas for next week's challenge tomorrow. Then, I will pick a few of your projects to share later in the week - probably on Friday since Thursday is Thanksgiving and you will be doped up on turkey.)

Gift guide for pets

2009-11-20T07:00:00.019-06:00

I'm looking out for you, friends. Christmas is nearing. Franco and Lola sent off their gift lists to Santa and I took a sneak peek before they headed off to the North Pole. (Little does Franco know, Santa already knows how naughty he's been. Only coal for him this year.)

So, I'm sharing wishlists with you. There are dogs in Africa starving right now. They would kill for a treat. But, not our spoiled rotten dogs. They live in luxury and their wish lists reveal this. These are ideas for the dogs who have everything...

Personalized driver's license for a dog

(If he gets pulled over for going 50 in a 20, he'll be prepared.)

Reindeer gear

(No holiday is complete without total canine humiliation.)

Doggie treadmill

(I don't even know what to say about this....)

Dog wine

(From the most exclusive vineyards in Barksville, this is perfect for dogs who delight in the finer things.)

LA dog lounger

(And, after finishing off that bottle of dog wine in one sitting, the dog will need a place to pass out.)

Forgive me... I'm trying to contain my laughter at imagining our pugs on a treadmill.

Since there isn't a sarcasm font (unfortunately), I should tell you that the dogs are probably not going to be enjoying any of these gifts. These pet items just cracked me up and I had to share.

(Although, I am seriously considering getting those antlers for good measure.)

Did you dare?

2009-11-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Friends....

YOU KILL ME!

Your projects for the first week of Dare to DIY KILLED ME. I died. Dead. Kapoot.

Luckily, I got over it and now I'm back.

But, truthfully... I considered just skipping this post all together. I couldn't possibly choose projects to spotlight. I couldn't. They were all divine.

And, there were so many different types of projects - there were banners and centerpieces, place cards and pillows, two sets of coasters, napkin rings, food items, wreaths, aprons, books, ..... oh goodness. So much more. Did you see them all? If you didn't, I suggest you look.

Now! I'll wait.

Do you know how many times I thought.... "How clever! Why didn't I think of that?"

And, then I remembered, that's why we are doing this. To share our creativity and inspire others. And you really did inspire me. If Thanksgiving weren't a week away, I would definitely be working on more projects (and I may still be whipping together a thankful book and a turkey pillow... and those chocolate turkeys and the leaf coasters...).

With that said... on to some spotlights.

Did you see Carrie's upcycled wood display? She turned a fence into an heirloom. If Carrie weren't so cool and clever and sweet and down to earth, I'd have to hate her. Luckily for both of us, she's awesome and I love her.

I mean... seriously?

I'm considering hopping a plane to New Jersey to steal this. But knowing Carrie, she'd just say "Kim.... there's plenty of fence in the backyard. I have extra thumbtacks and power tools. Let's make one together." And, then I'd let her make me one. =)

I also fell in love with Jen's Thanksgiving window seat revamp . (She made the pillows and the seat cover, you all!)

The neatest part? She used scraps she had on hand. I think I need all of these pillows. Unluckily for Jen, I actually live close enough to drive to her house and nab them. (Lock your doors.)

And, one more.... Erin's Thanksgiving lanterns are so clever, crafty and versatile. Who doesn't have tons of mason jars lying around? (And, if you don't, they are dirt cheap.)

Not only are these perfect for Thanksgiving, they would be great for parties or for any holiday. Just swap out the words. I love that.

I hope you all enjoyed the first week as much as I did. I hope you "met" some new bloggers as well. I got several emails about how fun it was to see new names commenting on our blogs. That made me happy. And, I hope you'll come back next week and bring all your friends. This is a party! The more, the craftier.

Tell me what you think of the first week of the Dare to DIY Blog Parties.

Don't be shy.... you can stare!

2009-11-17T23:06:00.000-06:00

Last week, Beth at The Stories of A to Z told me about her upcoming Stare at my Staircase party.

You know I'm always down for a party. (Hint hint: Don't forget the next Dare to DIY party next week.)

However... now that I've seen Beth's staircase... I know why she wanted to throw the party. You know how the people who like to throw parties always have the best of everything? You know, the one's who say, "Oh, this old thing? I just threw it together!"

That's totally Beth's staircase. It's the belle of the ball. Go check it out.

And, now I'm feeling a little inadequate. But, gosh darn it, our stairs have come a long way.

Before:

Oh, dear Lord. This is, honest to God, the day we closed on our house. (Reminder: We didn't live in it for six months.)

I'm fairly certain an episode of cops took place in this house. In this staircase.

Ryan tore out all of the biohazard carpet throughout the entire house immediately. And, then we lived with the blue/brown combo, with the nail strips (don't ask, it's a soft subject) for nearly one year. Actually, almost exactly a year. It's quite lovely, don't you think? Unfortunately, since the upstairs wasn't done, we didn't want to trudge up and down redone stairs for six months of renovating.

But, soon enough, we were working upstairs. This is my favorite picture of Ryan. There are so many reasons. He is finishing the paint that I couldn't reach and was too scared to try (such a great hubby). He's wearing his signature renovation outfit. He's wearing flip-flops. There is sunscreen on the bannister, which is so helpful upstairs. And, he's clearly going to fall down the stairs and kill himself. (I clearly remember me telling him that.) This picture just makes me laugh every time.

After:

Anyhoo.... here's the staircase after it was redone. (This is still a pretty old picture, but it looks the same.)

And, here's the top of the stairs.

I think it's clean, cute and fresh. What do you think?

Check our more staircases at the Stories of A to Z here .

Dare to... entertain! (Dare to DIY week 2/6)

2009-11-17T07:00:00.090-06:00

Did you check out any of the thankfulness projects yesterday????

Awesome. It was so exciting to see them all.

Now, it's time for the second blog party.

Dare to... entertain!

I'm sure this will be simple for all your DIYers. But, here are a few ideas. Don't limit yourself (I won't be). If you aren't hosting Thanksgiving and want to do something different, do it! And, if you want inspiration, check out Flickr , Martha Stewart , Hostess with the Mostess or BH&G . All of these will get your creative juices flowing.

Thanksgiving/Fall Decor

(My Happy House)

(Martha)

(Real Simple)

(Martha)

(Please.... someone make this. Then, send it to me.)

(Real Simple )

(Crossroads Cottage)

(Hostess with the Mostess)

Holidays

(Alara23)

Dining Delights

(Martha)

(Ga Susan)

(Dianthus Moon)

(Martha)

Other

(Martha)

(Tara's Twilight Party)

(Such pretty things)

So, what will you be doing this week?

Dare to... be thankful! (Dare to DIY week 1/6)

2009-11-15T17:00:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the first Dare to Do it Yourself Blog Party! Are you ready to show us what you came up with?
It's time for the first dare - Dare to... be thankful!

Take some time making your own DIY Thanksgiving project. It could be a fun Thanksgiving advent calendar, homemade thank-you cards, a banner or something completely unique.

First, I'll share what I came up with.

Give Thanks Burlap Banner

(I put this together with some burlap I had on hand. I cut out the pennants and frayed the edges. Then, I just eyeballed the letters and cut them out of a contrasting burlap. I sewed the top closed so I could put the twine through it. Originally, I was planning to sew the letters on the burlap. But, I was tired. I was covered in burlap fuzz. So, I just glued it on. It held on well and it was a lot simpler. =) Overall, I think it turned out well. Even hubby thought it was nice.)

Thanksgiving "Thankful" Cards

(For the last few years, I thought it would be nice to send out a few thankfulness cards at Thanksgiving. I like the idea because it's unexpected and I think it's thoughtful. The blog party gave me the motivation to finally do it. Here are the cards I came up with. I had these cute owl stamps that I wanted to use. I love the way the trees came out. I printed off the "I am thankful for _______" on our home computer. Overall, for a novice cardmaker, I'm happy with the results. I sent them last week and I hope the people we are thankful for like them as much as I do.)

"Hoo's Thankful"

(Since I had out the owl stamps, I decided to stamp some more. I had these little cards on hand, so I stamped them and attached them with clothespins to twine. We can write things we are thankful for in the cards. After I made it, I decided that the cards would also make the cutest place cards. Then, everyone could write what they are thankful for inside.)

So...what did you come up with?

A couple of guidelines:

1. Please link to the specific post, not your general blog address.

2. Please include a teaser of your post in parentheses - for example, I would write NewlyWoodwards (Thankful banner and more)

3. Link your post back up to NewlyWoodwards with text or this button.

Also, please visit at least one other blog below and comment! This will help us all meet each other.

I'm so excited to see what you come up with. Thanks for joining the party.

(Reminder: I will post ideas for next week's challenge tomorrow. Then, I will pick a few of your projects to share later in the week.)

It's Friday!

2009-11-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

In case you didn't know, it's Friday. This is both good and bad. It's good because it means that it's the weekend. (I have a college degree for a reason, folks.) It's a little bad because I have 600 billion things to do this weekend, approximately. I know it will fly by in a flash.

Luckily for me, somehow I managed to ~~trick~~ encourage Ryan into agreeing to help me clean so I can decorate for Twilight. (Hint: Talk fast and ramble around in circles. Shhh! Don't give up my secret.)

And, hopefully he'll also agree to help me paint some tree stumps, hang twinkle lights and put up a Forks, Washington sign. (All necessities for any good New Moon premier party.) Cross your fingers.

Did I mention I also have a final on Tuesday? It's kind of annoying actually, that the MBA program would schedule a final during the week of the New Moon premier. So, I've decided to boycott the whole system.

(Just kidding, mom. I'm studying.)

So, I hope you also have a lucky, splendid, busy and fun weekend.

Emphasis on the fun.

And, don't you dare forget about Monday's Dare to DIY Blog Party . (Dare to... be thankful! ) The McLinky will go up on Sunday evening. So excited!

Everyone cool will be there. Will you?

Twilight Inspiration

2009-11-12T07:00:00.005-06:00

Our New Moon premier party is only a week away. So, planning has kicked into high gear. We'll have anywhere between 25-35 people in our home (EEK! How will they all fit?)

But, I have to say, looking at the craziness online about New Moon, I actually feel kinda normal about it. You know, as normal as reading teen vampire novels and throwing a party to celebrate them can be.

Check out our invites here. Remember, we decided to embrace the hysteria of New Moon. Because you are never too old, mature or responsible for a little Edward Cullen.

The truth is, this is an interesting party. I've never thrown any party that was so.... gory. Lots of blood. More blood than our normal parties. =)

Decor inspiration:

The great thing about Twilight is that you can find really simple, inexpensive ideas from the books. We'll be using apples and candles throughout the decor, and playing off the colors red and black.

(credit)

Luckily, our wedding colors were red and black. You shouldn't be surprised to see some wedding decor reappear as Twilight decor. I actually even have a lot of red ribbon leftover. That's handy.

(Credit)

Hostess with the Mostess created some awesome 5x7 and 8x10 prints. I got them copied at Staples and will put them in my existing frames in the house. Instant decor. Thanks, Jen.

(credit )

Aren't these candles really neat? Ours will be set up little different, but I'm going to try the red wax on the white candlesticks.

(credit)

Some other fun ideas for decor.

(Source )

(Source)

(Source )

Food inspiration:

I'll serve red wine, red punch and water. Julie is bringing Bloody Mary's. Rebecca is bringing shots in test tubes. Don't you love it when you can even have drinks that stick to the theme?

(Credit)

(Credit )

I'm planning to serve a few basic dishes. But, I'm giving them fun names. Something like:

Fresh meat(balls)

Vegetarian vampires (veggies)

Anti-Vulturi garlic dip

Bella's Bites (snack mix)

Edward's (Deviled) Eggs

Jacob Black's Buffalo Chicken Dip

We also asked guests to bring a food or drink with a Twilight theme if they wish. There will be tags for each person to name their dish. There *may* even be a prize for the most creative name.

(Credit)

The gals that are coming are so creative. One is making a birthday cake for Bella, some are making themed cookies, cupcakes or other sweets. Some are bringing savory dishes that fit the theme. And, one friend is bringing a chocolate fountain (with white chocolate died red, of course).

(credit)

So, these are a few things that inspired me. I cannot wait to share everything afterwards. I think it will be lots of fun.

What do you think?

Cut a rug

2009-11-11T07:00:00.023-06:00

We added a new (to us) rug into the living room this week. I kinda love it.

It's actually a carpet remnant that Ryan's parents had made into a rug for their living room. When they replaced it, they gave it to us. We had to get it cut down quite a bit because our living room is much smaller, but it's a nice change. For next-to-nothing, we had someone come to the house, cut it and bind it.

For us, rugs are a necessity. They protect the floor and keep our feet warm on the hardwoods. This one is extra nice because it's extra plush, perfect for winter.

In case you are keeping track, this is hand-me-down rug #3 in the living room. They were all tan. We're nothing if not predictable. We like hand-me-downs and we like tan.

This is rug #1 (without any furniture). It was wool, too small for the room and it shed like CRAZY.

This is rug #2 (and an old layout). It lasted for almost 2 years, but it was getting a little worn.

So, I think that our newest rug is a good addition. Someday, we may even buy our own rug. But, don't count on it. I've been trying to find the perfect rug for our kitchen for ages. Still nothing.

What do you think?

Catching up with Sesame Street

2009-11-10T09:00:00.002-06:00

Did you see Google yesterday? Guess who was featured on the home page - The Count from Sesame Street!

So, Ryan and I had to spend some time on youtube catching up with Sesame Street. You know, for research.

Ryan insists he learned everything he needed to know in life from Sesame Street. He LOVES Sesame Street. I didn't actually realize this until we started watching the youtube videos (he may or may not have started singing the C is for Cookie song).

Ryan's favorite characters (in order):
Bert and Ernie

Cookie Monster

The Count

Oscar the Grouch

He does not like Big Bird. Don't ask him why. He just hates Big Bird. And is very unapologetic about the fact.

I'm fairly certain I must have watched Sesame Street as a child, but I have no recollection of it. However, I can see why Ryan liked it. It's quite fun. They even have the old-school seasons on DVD here .

Were you a Sesame Street kiddo?

Dare to... be thankful! (Dare to DIY week 1/6)

2009-11-09T06:30:00.004-06:00

Whoa..... I'm so excited!

There are at least 36 of us beginning the Dare to DIY Blog Party! That's about 35 more than I counted on. And, I have a feelin that this could still grow. So, I'm thrilled. And, I'm really anxious to see what you come up with.

This is actually 100 times better than having an actual party at our house. With the blog party, I don't have to clean the house or cook for 35 women.

So... let's jump right in. The first week's challenge is:

Dare to... be thankful!

Take some time making your own DIY Thanksgiving project. It could be a fun Thanksgiving advent calendar, homemade thank-you cards, a banner or something completely unique.

A few of you indicated that you weren't sure what to do for this challenge. Here are some ideas I found for inspiration:

Banners

A lovely Thanksgiving banner will look great in your home leading up to the holiday. You can use fabric or paper, it can be simple or complex... it's really a great project to try! I made a couple for fall. You can't mess these up. =) Here are a few cute examples:

via Colleen Shelly

via Magnolia Manor

via Scraplovers

via Taylor Designs

via Funky Shique

Thanksgiving/Thankfulness Cards

Take some time to make thank-you cards to send to friends or family. These will be unexpected. Lots of people send Christmas card, send a Thanksgiving card. This is a very thoughtful gesture at a time that we remember why we are thankful.

via Garden Wife

via Paperelllas

via Carrie's Cards

Thanksgiving Tree

I love this idea. I found several examples of Thankfulness trees.... add things you are thankful to the tree throughout the month for a visual reminder of how we are truly blessed.

via RootsandWingsCo

via BetweenHitchingPosts

via Skip to my Lou

Cool Thanksgiving Decor

Here a few other fun ideas for Thanksgiving decor. You can always try a fall craft or something for a Thanksgiving table.

via Stamped Sentiments

via BH&G

(Wouldn't this be awesome with little slips of paper for things you are thankful for?)

Does this give you more ideas? Are you feeling excited? Inspired?

I hope so. This will be fun. I cannot wait to see what you all come up with. I love that we are all working on the same thing but will come up with lots of different things.

The scoop:

The McLinky will go up on the blog on Sunday night (Nov. 15) and you can link up through Monday night. Link up to a post about what you made. If you are able or it's not obvious, tell us how you did it and where the inspiration came from.

Thanks again to the gals who have already jumped into the challenges!

Allison at Allison and Jared

Ashley at Johnson & Johnson

Ashley at Little Moments

Carrie at Brick City Love

Christy at Life is Dancing in the Rain

Emily at Imperfect

Grandma Jan at Minnesota Musings

Jami at Blog?

Jen at Notes from the Heartland

Jen at Our Home in the Country

Jenny at Anything Pretty

Jenny at Words on Wendhurst

Jess at Alex and Jess

Joi from Nuestra Vida Dulce

Kelly at At Home with the Pooles

Kelly at Casa de Edgewood

Kellie at KellieBelle’s Karma

Keri at The Ronks

Kristen at Miss Prissy Paige

Kylie at Laughter.Life.Us.

Laura at The Meckleys

Laurel at Ducks in a Row

Lauren at Lauren Makes

Leigh at Popcorn Ideas

Leigh at The Kesler Expressler

Mandy at Moody Girl Projects

Mary-Carolyn at Longbrake Living

Meredith at La Buena Vida

Nikki at Nikki's Nacs

Rachael at Mrs. Adventure

Sara at Russet Street Reno

Shannon at Shannanigans

Stephanie at Living Life Shiny Side Up

Tammy at Yarborough House
Trisha at Whimsy Art Studio

Erin at Domestic Adventure

Rhonda at Soul Searching and Sweet Tea

Trisha of Whimsy Art Studio

Sherri at Design to Shine

If you hadn't gotten involved yet, it's not too late, jump in and Dare to DIY!

Dare to DIY Blog Parties

2009-11-05T21:27:00.035-06:00

I just have to say that this is something I'm really excited about. Really.Excited. Like, going on vacation excited. Watching the premier of New Moon excited. SHOPPING AT IKEA EXCITED.

I love all the wonderful people I’ve met through blogging. There are a ton of awesome, creative people out there, and some of them even stop by NewlyWoodwards once in a while.

I don’t know why either…. But I’ll take it.

Do you ever wish that you could hang out with other bloggers in person? You know – talk, shop, drink coffee, craft, DIY…

Unfortunately, we don’t usually have that opportunity. But, trust me, I’ve considered just hopping on a plane and going to another state to hang out with a blogger. It would have been a surprise to the gals I visit, but they’d come around. =) I don’t know what Ryan would think if I just started jet-setting for blogger visits.

So, why don’t we do it through the blogosphere? Let’s DIY through Thanksgiving and Christmas – and let’s do it together.

I’ve recruited the help of some awesome blogger friends (in no particular order - although Emily is at the top because she was so supportive and helpful when I was running the ideas by her for this)
Emily at Imperfect

Laurel at Ducks in a Row
Shannon at Shannanigans
Carrie at Brick City Love
Joi from Nuestra Vida Dulce
Jenny at Words on Wendhurst
Jess at Alex and Jess
Kellie at KellieBelle’s Karma
Lauren at Lauren Makes
Mandy at Moody Girl Projects
Allison at Allison and Jared
Stephanie at Living Life Shiny Side Up
Ashley at Little Moments

Jen at Notes from the Heartland
Laura at The Meckleys
Kelly at At Home with the Pooles
Kelly at Casa de Edgewood
Leigh at The Kesler Expressler
Meredith at La Buena Vida
Rachael at Mrs. Adventure
Kylie at Laughter.Life.Us.
Keri at The Ronks
Jen at Our Home in the Country
Ashley at Johnson & Johnson
Sara at Russet Street Reno
Tammy at Yarborough House
Mary-Carolyn at Longbrake Living
Jami at Blog?
Grandma Jan at Minnesota Musings
Leigh at Popcorn Ideas
Kristen at Miss Prissy Paige
Jenny at Anything Pretty
Christy at Life is Dancing in the Rain
Nikki at Nikki's Nacs
Erin at Domestic Adventure
Rhonda at Soul Searching and Sweet Tea
Trisha of Whimsy Art Studio
Sherri at Design to Shine

Will you join us?
Double dog dare you....

Dare to DIY Parties

The plan:

Each week has a corresponding "Dare to..." challenge. See them all below. You may want to prepare ahead for some of the themes.

What to do:
Each Sunday evening, I will post a McLinky on NewlyWoodwards (and cross my fingers that someone participates). Post about your take on the challenge and link it up. Then, visit at least one other blog and comment!!! This is the important because we want to meet new blogger friends and get inspired. This is a PARTY, it’s not only about self-promotion. Tell us about your project, but make sure to praise others as well.

On Tuesday, to help you plan, I will post inspiration for the next week’s theme. Also, search Flickr, Google and other blogs to find inspiration. And, if you have already done something that fits into a theme, link it up on that day. In other words, you don't have to do something during the week if you have something that fits the theme.

On Friday, I will post a few of my favorites from that week - provided there are more than a few. =)

I love finding new inspiration on blogs and I think this will be a great way to celebrate the blogging community leading up to Christmas. =)

Party Date: Monday, Nov. 16

Dare to… be thankful!

Take some time making your own DIY Thanksgiving project. It could be a fun Thanksgiving advent calendar, a banner or something completely unique. Post about what you made, how you made it and photos in its new home.

Party Date: Monday, Nov. 23
Dare to… entertain!

Show us your table! If you are not hosting Thanksgiving, take this opportunity to make your table look great. Bring out your dishes and napkins and set your table. I promise you that it will make you smile every time you walk by. Get creative and use new things. Or go true DIY and make something totally new.

Party Date: Monday, Nov. 30

Dare to… eat cookies!

As we begin to attend holiday parties, share your favorite cookie recipe for all to enjoy. It’s like a digital cookie swap. Share the recipe and a review of the cookie. If you can, add a picture. And don't worry about the extra calories. At Christmas, cookies are calorie-free.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 7
Dare to… give homemade gifts!

Nothing is more special than a gift made by you. Try out something new to give this year - ideas include bath and body items, kitchen gifts, hand-sewn clothing or home decor.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 14
Dare to… deck the halls!

Make something new to deck your halls. Did you find something in a catalog that you wish you had? Wreaths, stockings, pillows or advent calendars? Make it! Inspire us all to do the same.

Party Date: Monday, Dec. 21
Dare to… have traditions!

Everyone has traditions for the Holidays. Tell us all about your favorites or start a new tradition to share.

So, will you Dare to DIY with me?

Use this code to put the button on your blog and get the word out…. I double-dog dare you.

(Oh, and don't forget to comment on this post if you are planning to participate. I'll just keep updating this post to include the folks that wish to be involved.)