Family Game Night. . . .

Winter is creeping upon us for real now.....the excitement of Christmas is over and the temperatures in the Northeast are finally cold enough to support snow instead of rain....

What that really means is that evenings can get very L-O-N-G.....and siblings 

can start to argue.....wrestle.....annoy....and drive their parents CRAZY!!

I never like our default family activity to be watching t.v. or a movie, so I 

thought that I'd share some of our favorite things to do on a cold night....

We love to grab some popcorn, hot chocolate and play games....here are some unique games that we have that go beyond Uno and Go-Fish!

Sleeping Queens

This game was designed by a 6 year old but even my almost teen-aged son loves it.  The goal is to "awaken" the 12 queens who are worth a certain 

amount of points...along the journey there are opportunities to steal queens and put them to sleep....a great game that lasts about 20 minutes and encompasses ALL ages!

Rat-A-Tat-Cat

This has been a family favorite for almost 7 years!  Our dear friends in Wisconsin sent it to us and this game now goes on every family vacation with us!  The goal is to get the lowest amount of points....the challenge is that you can't keep looking at the cards!  Yep...for the mom of the family who answers a million questions during the game, it's a killer on your memory, but I figure that somehow it's strengthening my brain!  

You can finish one round of this game in about 10 minutes.

Bananagrams

We purchased this game at Christmas and LOVE it! (except for the fact that my

husband kills us all because of his extensive vocabulary!)

Let me preface this with I HATE the game of Scrabble...there is something tedious and OCD about that game for me.....crooked letter tiles drive me crazy?!

In Bananagrams, each person builds their own board and you are racing against

all of the other players.....the game goes SO much faster than Scrabble!

All ages can play this one....you'll just have to supervise whether your new reader is actually making real words!

Here are some other games that we are in the process of learning.....

Ratuki

This game resembles Dutch Blitz.

Carcassonne

A little bit like Settler's of Catan

Dominion

Yeah..if you know how to play this, let us know...we're still deciphering the instruction manual!

I added the Amazon widget to my side bar that includes all these games...obviously, if you purchase from the widget I earn a percentage.  

But truly, these are just games that were recommended to our family and have provided hours of laughing....some arguing....and a great basis for family time!

Happy gaming!

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Guest Post. . . .Beauty and the Beast Within

Do you struggle with your weight or how your feel about your weight?

In college, I put on the "freshmen 15" plus a little more.....my weight was constantly a yo-yo-ing struggle during that time period

.....it probably had something to do with the unlimited ice cream and dessert bar every night!

I lost the weight after college, but really began to worry again with my first pregnancy....how would I deal with 

watching the pounds pack on again?  Would it be difficult to lose them?

Even now....being only 8 pounds off of my high school weight, I still wage a mental battle when I eat

desserts or indulge....I'm almost 40...will there be any point at which weight and the "are my jeans tight or did they just come out of the drier?" mentality factor into whether it's a good or bad day??

My good friend, Dee, has addressed these issues in her new book.....

Here's a little excerpt from Dee.....and keep reading.....she's giving some of her books away!!!


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I saw this photo today and it struck me…this is why I wrote the book.  Because as far back as I 
can remember the scale and my body image have been my enemy.

It’s time to take back what the Enemy has stolen from us.  Our true identity is in Christ.  We don’t need to be obsessed with being a certain size or give into being overweight and unhealthy.
 

Believe it or not there is a healthy, peaceful, spacious place we can live in.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. ~Psalm 31:7-8

Too many of us have given up on that.  We feel like we have been handed over to the enemy of food, overindulgence, lack of exercise and that there is nothing that can be done about it.  We forget that He sees our affliction and He has set our feet in a spacious place.  The battle has already been won for us if we would just believe it and start living it.

I hope today you feel some empowerment.  It doesn’t need to be that same crazy cycle you have been riding for years.  It is time to take back the victory over food, weight, and body image that is already yours. .


This book is not going to be your typical 21 days to a better body or the 21 day diet. This book is going to be a book about balance. Some of you may turn the last page and be on the path to a healthier thinner you but for some of you, you will turn the last page and go sit down and have a piece of cake.


See, beauty and the struggle with it goes far deeper than the outside appearance. So some days are going to have us look deep within ourselves and some days are going to be about healthy changes that will affect our health and body size.


This journey will not be about achieving perfection but finding peace. You see perfection is impossible to attain and even if we found some semblance of it before we even got to enjoy it, it would be gone. Peace on the other hand can be lasting. At the turn of the last page I hope that beast within is tamed. That you know your true worth and value and that beauty is about far more than outward appearance.

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Dee would like to give away 3 copies of her book Beauty and the Beast Within

to Thrifty Decorating readers......

Just leave me a comment for a chance to WIN!

If you would like to purchase the ebook, Dee is offer a discount of 

50% off with the code tamethebeast.

The giveaway will end Sunday evening!

Thanks, Dee, for sharing your heart and your wisdom!

 

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Thrifty Thursday #43

There were amazing projects linked up this week on Thrifty Thursday , 
but this play kitchen from Remodelaholic has got to be one of my 
favorites.....and my daughter's as she sits beside me saying "Make me one!"

Ugly Duckling turned an old IKEA table into this beauty.....

Babblings and More turned an old cami that she had into this adorable girl's shirt!

A Home in the Northwest created these sweet aprons from placemats!

The aprons went with the oh-so-cute baking-themed birthday party 

that she threw for her 4 year-old daughter....

Meg and Mum's turned a mismatched table and chairs into this beautiful set....

While Life at 2810 used paint to transform this estate sale find....

Happy-Go-Lucky shared how to make your own rug using fabric and vinyl flooring....

52 Mantels shared a thrifty idea for recycling your old sweater....make a headband!

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab one of my buttons!

Here are some very simple suggestions for the party:

1. Please become a follower of Thrifty Decorating.

2. Be sure to link to your POST and not your blog.

3. Please copy and paste my link button somewhere in 

your post or blog so that others can link back.

You can also party with Johnnie 

at Saved by Love Creations!

or Erika at Thrifty and Fabulous!

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Rosette Pillow

After I finished up my DIY slipcovers, I had a pile of scraps left over.....what if I turned those into pillows???

Some of the scraps even had finished edges!!!

So I found the finished edges and overlapped them to make a pocket....

With the RIGHT sides together, I sewed a square and made a little pillow cover!

Then, I had an old pillow (my favorite stuffing material!) and leftover black cloth from 

my daughter's ladybug Halloween costume.....

I grabbed my hot glue gun and started rolling fabric rosettes!!

And it didn't cost a thing!

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DIY Slipcovers. . . .

I recently embarked on a venture that I NEVER thought I would undertake.....slipcovers!

My sewing machine and I have had a rocky, sordid past....never getting a long very well....but recently, I discovered my problem!

I would be sewing for about 5 seconds and the thread would break.....the stitches wouldn't be even and I

was angry, frustrated, and confused......I kept following the manual diagrams for 

adjusting thread tension and nothing seemed to work.....so I had a brain storm.

What if I started the thread tension at ZERO and worked my way up.....wouldn't you know.....it WORKED! The tension needed to be set between 0 and 1!

I will not even begin to tell you how to do the slipcovers....Miss Mustard Seed is the QUEEN of this

and I sat with my computer RIGHT NEXT TO the sewing machine....

I'd watch ( and re-watch!) the video tutorials and then embark on sewing it....Marian's

tutorials are so AMAZINGLY clear that even a spacially-challenged girl like me could follow them!

One of the best parts??  It's drop cloth, so if I made a mistake, I didn't 

feel like I was ruining expensive fabric!

I am now working on my living room chairs!

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Guest Post. . . . .Chalkboard Door

I want to thank Nicole for inviting me here to offer up a guest post.  I thought that I'd share with you today the project that kick-started my blogging career.


The on-the-cheap, make your own chalkboard door!





My home is filled with those cheap, hollow, faux wood manufactured doors, including the basement access door in our kitchen which previously looked this!





What I really coveted in the kitchen was this¦

Sources:  Country Living & Domino

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These doors can range anywhere from $400 to upwards of a few thousand.  Way beyond my budget.  Not to mention the additional costs for hardware and installation ...


So I put on my thinking cap and came up with an idea to turn our ugly builder grade door into something both beautiful and practical for a mere $30.00.


I started by gathering my supplies:





I had most of these on-hand.  I only needed to purchase the chalkboard paint (from JoAnne's for $5.00); the black foam core (from Office Depot for $10.00 for two 30' x 40' boards); and the 1 3/8' x 3/8' trim (from the Home Depot for $.79/foot). 


The foam core worked perfectly as the blackboard base because it's substantial, yet lightweight, yet not too thick that when framed out with trim would make the panels look built-in ...


Step 1:  Use the X-Acto knife to cut your foam core to size ...





Step 2:  Apply two coats of the chalkboard paint to the foam core panels.  (Since they're porous, the foam core started to curve upwards at the edges. I solved that problem by turning them over and applying a coat of paint to the back sides ... once dry, they sat perfectly flat).


Step 3:  Use the miter box to cut the trim pieces. I used simple joint corners versus the more fancy mitered ...



Step 4: Give the trim two coats of paint that matches your door. (I used Benjamin Moore white semi-gloss).


Step 5:  Apply the Power Grab to the back of the foam core and attach to the door.  Use your level to make sure they are, well, level.  Hold in place for 3-to-5 minutes to make sure contact is made.  If you use painter's tape to hold the foam core chalkboard in place it may damage your chalkboard like this:



Step 5:  Apply the Power Grab to your trim pieces and affix to the door.  Use painter's tape to hold in place while it dries.  Just be sure not to attach the painters tape to the foam core board.



Step 6:  Caulk along the outside edge and corners and touch up with the semi-gloss ...



In the end you'll turn a previously boring door into something both beautiful and functional!






I loved it so much that I re-created it on the powder room door!

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As soon as I saw this project, I pinned it.....I just LOVE it!  

Here are some of Linda's other amazing projects over at It All Started With Paint!

{Entryway Before and After}

{Painted Porch Rug}

{Gorgeous kitchen before/after}

Linda is also running a great link-up this month...

<a border="0" href="http://itallstartedwithpaint.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-impossibilities.html" target="_blank"><img src=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4eNmdVpYkLqIFGPwR9kxAWxZkS25vzFLmFcvAnqHqLXbgydzKh3o3SwR7W0rLo-eJVXK4aAMabRqmSV4cTSiChufHHDjBbCVZqZf6wxCayIHr7htQ7OcckVKW-erCclebIJDE_0YXnH4/s1600/itic+Final +5.png></a>

Is there a project that just seems impossible?? For me, it was painting my stairwell last year! Go over and link your "impossible" project and Imagine the Impossibilities!

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