Happy Balemtimes Day!

Will you be my "Balemtime?"

Polly Pocket and chocolate...it doesn't get much better than that.


Off to Sunday School right now:

{Do you have special plans for today?}
I see some heart-shaped cookie baking in our future. 

Friday Favorites Feature ::Weekend Bloggy Reading::

Business first: The winner of the fabulous Designer Blogs Custom Blog Button Giveaway is:

#26- Lynette from Get Your Craft On. Please email so I can get you in touch with Designer Blogs! Thanks to everyone who entered.


If you're looking for some good reading this weekend, here are a few of my favorite posts from Blogland this week:


~Amanda's Ballard Designs Knock-off at Imperfectly Beautiful:

source

~The directions to make an adorable Cupcake Tote are easy. Looks like it can be easily tailored for other holidays.


~Linda shared a photo of her latest shoe revamp creation...zipper ruffles! I likes it.

source

~Morning T's World Tour Wine Tasting recap...this girl knows how to throw a delightful party!

source

{I would show the photo of the chocolates!}


~Speaking of chocolate, if you head over to see Kate at Centsational Girl, she'll show you how to make your own Sweetly Packaged Chocolate Candy. Her gorgeous photos will have you drooling in no time!


~Melissa had a sweet Valentines Day craft featured this week...great if you're tired of your Scrabble game. I know what's going on my Spring yard sale list.

source

~If you're a LOST fan like me, you'll love the video posted over at Sussing Out LOST. This one contains a bunch of clips with all of the nicknames Sawyer likes to use. 

~Jen shared a tutorial on how to make burlap napkin rings over at Tatertots and Jello. Fabulousness!!


~Richella's beautiful Love (actually) post this morning brought tears to my eyes, but a smile to my heart. Please read it!

~ If you missed the Decorating Dilemmas party, head over and have some fun playing design consultant.

Whatcha up to this weekend? 

The girls and I have an impromptu Valentines Day party/playdate/lunch to attend this morning...they are so excited to get out of the house. Another birthday dinner, some more laundry, and some time spent with a good book round out my weekend. Hope yours is great!

{Happy weekend bloggy reading!}

A Good Time Was Had By All

Thanks so much to everyone who joined in or commented on any of the Decorating Dilemmas party links yesterday!


I was sitting here trying to think of why I enjoy this party so much, and it occurred to me that it's very easy to give someone else suggestions for her home because you won't be the one painting, moving furniture, building shelves, or buying fabric...unless you're a Decorating Dilemmas participant. 


I'm always impressed by the way everyone offers thoughtful, genuine advice in a kind way. Feedback is offered with the knowledge that it's your home, your space, and in the end, you should fluff your nest in the way that works for you. But it sure is nice to get some ideas from people who don't have to stare at your Dilemma day in and day out! From what I hear, Rate My Space can get kind of ugly...perhaps this is a good alternative for those of us who are design-challenged. I'm pretty proud to be a part of such a fun and encouraging party. 


My friend Pam wrote about a battle wives everywhere have been fighting for decades. 


Her Dilemma? The Daddy Chair.

(Fortunately for Pam, she is an excellent and creative seamstress. I know she'll come up with something to blow our minds. Or take a hacksaw to it.)


A few of you had blank slates, which I love:


Oh, the possibilities! Laura's apple green bathroom is on its way to Fabulous, and Kendall's empty patio photos made me long for Springtime in this frozen tundra I live in.


Some of you seemed like you were really on your way, and just needed a little push to make your minds up:


Meg's master bedroom has the most amazing pair of lamps, and she just needed some advice for a few ways to spice the walls up.

source

And I'm totally inviting myself for dinner in Richella's fabulous kitchen, but only after she paints her stools. {wink}

source

As for Solutions, there were bunches of good ones this round!


You won't believe the way Rachelle rigged up her kitchen window treatment. Cuteness!

Amanda at Imperfectly Beautiful shared her Solution to spending big bucks on Ballard Designs accessories: make your own!


Jessi's Solution to an old melty candle? Reinvent it!

There are bunches of fun Dilemmas to take on and Solutions to drool over. Check it out if you have a chance.


Get ready to come back on March 10th and link up any Progress you've made on Dilemmas in your home.

This party is open to anyone (whether they've linked to Decorating Dilemmas in the past or not) who wants to showcase the work they've done to take their problems from Dilemmas to Delightful! If you've participated in Decorating Dilemmas in the past, consider choosing one of the posts you enjoyed the most.


Progress is anything from making a few notes and choices as to the direction you want to take or actually heading to Lowe's and tackling your project. I can't wait to see what you've been working on!


If you haven't already, take a moment to sign up for the Custom Blog Button Giveaway in celebration of my blog's new look. It's open until 5 pm (ET) tonight (Thursday). 


I've had so many sweet comments on the party and the Giveaway post. I hope you will all forgive me for not being able to return every comment on my blog this time. I've visited each link for the party, but I just won't be able to get to returning the comments on my post. Thanks for understanding!


{Happy Decorating, from one amateur to some others!}

Decorating Dilemmas Party...Round 6!

Welcome to the Decorating Dilemmas Party! This is a spot for bloggers to link up a post detailing a design problem area OR to share a Solution they are proud of. Have fun!


I feel that I ought to preface this post by saying that contrary to what the following pictures might tell you, I am not a crazy doll lady who sits in her dining room talking to Madame Alexander dolls all day.


I'm just a girl who moved into her first house, got a little bit desperate to find something (anything!) to fill the empty space with, and made the unfortunate decision of settling on a very country looking curio cabinet. And to add insult to injury, I filled said curio cabinet with dolls and figurines that I received as childhood gifts. And then I left it like that. For several years.


Oy.


If you have a sensitive stomach, you may want to avert your eyes.

It's not completely awful, it's just not the look I want to aim for. And the dolls aren't hideous. I just don't want them in my dining room.

My plan is to move the dolls and figurines to a shelf or two upstairs where my girls can continue to appreciate to them. They love to sit in front of the cabinet and get their sticky little fingerprints all over it.


The cabinet will move to another wall, as it presently sits in an area where there is room for a much larger piece. (I'm thinking a small buffet and accessories)


My Dilemma is: How can I update this piece a bit so it's not so Country? 

It's hard to take photos of this piece because the inside back of the cabinet is mirrored and the shelves are glass. The sides are also glass, as you can see from the first photo.


I was thinking of painting it white and adding a nice neutral "wallpaper" (scrapbooking paper) to the back to cover the mirror up. Should I leave the shelves as-is? Leave the sides see-through? How should I change the knobs?

Not sure what I'll put in there yet. Perhaps my nice dishes, or a collection of white pitchers/serving pieces, etc? Anything but dolls, right? {wink}


Okay, so enough about me...Let's talk about you.


I'd LOVE for you to link up, but I do ask that you please follow my guidelines!!


I hate to be all preachy-teacher-schoolmarm, but it keeps things flowing smoothly and it saves me time and hassle when everyone just reads the guidelines before linking up. Thanks!

1. When you enter your link, please enter the permalink to your specific party post, not your blog's homepage.

(You can do this by opening your blog, clicking on the title of the post that you want to link to, and then highlighting it to copy and paste here in MckLinky. If readers can't find the correct post on your blog, then you won't receive any feedback.)

2. *Please leave me a comment with a link to your post.*

This way, if McLinky hates me, dumps me, and ignores me, we can still all visit each other through the comments! Also, I like comments. And I need help too!

3. Please include a link in your post to this party (again, not my blog's homepage!) when you join.

Just add it in somewhere within your blog's party post before you link up. That way your readers can join in the fun later if they want to. If I don't see a link to THIS post, I'll have to delete your link.

4. It won't be a party if we don't mingle!

This is where I jump on my blog party soapbox for a moment:

Please try to visit at least one other link on the list.

This party isn't about promoting your blog by sticking your link up and then waiting for comments and visits to come rolling in. It's about offering genuine, thoughtful feedback to others, and receiving the same in turn.

If you can't get around to visiting right away, that's okay (really!), but please make an effort to stop by a blog or two by the end of the week. I'm not asking you to write an essay-comment for the blogs you visit, but please leave a helpful thought or two. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to see someone else's Dilemma and come up with all sorts of ideas.

If you notice you haven't received any comments, take a few minutes to comment on the other partygoers' posts, and be sure to tell them you are visiting from my party so they know to return the favor. That makes a successful blog party. Otherwise, I'm just hosting a big list of people's links, and that's no fun for anyone.

Okay...got that out of the way....

Have fun, everyone! Link Up Here, and please be sure to scroll down to help me with my Dilemma! 

In Other News:


Please take a moment to visit my Custom Blog Button GIVEAWAY if you haven't yet! It's open until Thursday evening. If you already have a blog button, consider thinking up a new blog party or blog award, and have a button made for it. There are loads of possibilities!


Link up in March to share your Progress on any of the Dilemmas you've linked to a Decorating Dilemmas party. 

I'll be HONEST--there's not been much progress here in the T house, but hosting the party is incentive to get busy. I count progress as anything from reading through your comments and making some design choices to buying some supplies and rolling your sleeves up to work! **There may be a GIVEAWAY for participants for this one, friends!**

Extreme Blog Makeover : Giveaway!

Don't panic! You haven't clicked on the wrong link.

This is Amanda, and you're checking out my new look here at Serenity Now!


I hope you like it. We played with all kinds of backgrounds and fonts, and I think that this one still seems like me.


My favorite thing? The navigation bar under the new banner. If you're new here, you can fish around up there to find out about the blog, a little about me, and more.


It was time for someone to come in and clean up the clutter here. Nate Berkus and Ty Pennington refused to pick up the phone when I called (or answer emails. or Tweets. or texts.), so I had to find someone to help me.


I did a lot of research over several months, looking for a blog design team that works with clients to create custom looks that are still affordable.


Enter Designer Blogs.

Erin, Amy, and Lauren work together to fashion delightfully eye catching blog designs. I was skeptical when I saw their Price List because everything seemed so reasonable for premades and custom designs, and then I was blown away by the colorful Portfolio they have displayed. That sealed the deal for me.


Placing an order and payment was a breeze, and Lauren was easy to work with. Once I told her about the look I was going for, she humored my every whim and cheerfully reworked the design until I was happy. I really can't say enough good things about working with them!


To celebrate the launch of my new look, Designer Blogs is giving away a Custom Blog Button with share code to one lucky reader!


If you already have a button, consider thinking up a new party you can host on your blog, and have one of the Designer Blogs girls create a button for that.


To enter, please visit the Portfolio over at the Designer Blogs site and leave me a comment here telling me which design is your favorite. (sorry, mine doesn't count, haha!) I think you'll be pleased with what you see. The blog button portfolio page is great!


The Giveaway will stay open until Thursday, February 11th, 5 pm (ET). I'll announce the winner on Friday.


If you decide to place an order with Designer Blogs, please be sure to let them know I referred you.


I hope you like the new place...same content, same blogger, just a little less sidebar clutter, and more information above.


Coming up tonight: Decorating Dilemmas! Read about the party here or check out the last party here to see how it worked. Hope to see you here!

Pottery Barn Inspired Kids' Table Makeover

I really love Pottery Barn's style, but I really don't love their prices.


This was my inspiration:

A sweet little table in the Addition for my girls to scatter their crayons on and fight over Polly Pockets share some special moments.


I was very patient, and one day I stumbled across perfection at Salvation Army's "Make a Deal Saturday."

Well, I know it doesn't look like perfection here, but I had a plan! I haggled the manager down to $10 for the whole set and managed to fit it in the back of my Trailblazer along with a double stroller.


Close-up:

Yeah, okay, it was pretty bad.


I started by cleaning it and slathering about 5 coats of primer on top. That dark stuff is hard to cover up! 


Then the set received several coats of the white paint that we used on the trim and baseboards in the Addition. Already had it on hand, so it was FREE!


My friend Andrea (the sewing guru who helped me with my other Salvation Army furniture makeover) helped me measure and cut new foam and fabric for the cushions because, y'all, those things were nasty!! Orangey old moldy corduroy that was way past its prime.  


Final product:

I think the clients were pleased!

Linking to Kimba's weekly DIY Day and Holly's Pottery Barn Knock-Off Party over at Homebody.

{Hope your week is off to a great start!}

Decorating Dilemmas: Coming Up!

Mark your calendars, friends!

I can't tell you how many emails from bloggers I get after the MckLinky for this party closes saying they forgot/didn't have time to post/just found the blog, etc. but really really wanted to participate. 


This is your official reminder to start looking around your house for an area you'd like to have some feedback on. 


Do you have an empty space over your buffet that you're just not sure how to fill? Is your bedding boring? Have pictures of your empty patio from last summer and you want some ideas for how to make it a livable space? 


Take a photo or two, write up a quick post detailing what you'd like some help with, and add a link to me within your post. Then link up here at Serenity Now and party! Make some visits and leave a suggestion or two for a few bloggy friends, and you should receive the same in turn. 


You can go here to view the last party if you are new to this blog.


Don't have a Dilemma? Then I'll bet you have a Solution to share! Have you found a way around a pesky design problem? Please feel free to link that up as well.


The party will go live after 10 pm on Tuesday, February 9th (provided I still have power!!), and the MckLinky will stay open all day on Wednesday. That's one day of partying! Partygoers are encouraged to visit other links.


Note: The party will only be open for a day. I found that people who link up earlier tend to receive more comments, and after about a day bloggers move on to the next party. This will be short and SWEET! If you can't make it this time, plan on coming to party for the next round.


After you've had a chance to put some thought  into your Dilemma, come back in March to link up for the "Show Me the Progress" Party on Wednesday, March 10th. I want to see how you took a Dilemma and made it Delightful. (I count "progress" as anything from reading your comments and deciding what you like to the actual transformation)

Hope to see you partying with me here!