House View - Step Right Up Folks!

Yesterday on my Facebook page House of Views, I said I was finishing up a small project.
I finally finished it, yeah!
Like I told you before, I can paint walls and such with no problem, besides an achy neck and shoulder afterwards, but as far as painting a piece of "furniture"....well it always seems sooooo tedious.
All the little nooks and crannies you have to shove the brush into?
And no matter how careful I am, there is always a drip and runny paint lurking somewhere on the piece once it is finally dry and finished.

Anywho, I had this half painted wooden step stool just hanging out around my house that the B'Dog DIYed for me a few years back. It has been super useful because I am vertically challenged, but it was never really cute. Especially with my half ass attempt at painting it 3 years ago! I must have been super annoyed & void of all patience the day I started it and then I just never went back and finished it.

But this week I got bit by a little painting bug and wanted a project.
And there was the step stool, looking all sad with her half dressed paint job, or lack thereof.

So I pulled out some black chalk board paint(which I have loved for a couple years now), a brush, and some newspaper and went to work.
Thinking it would be quick.
But noooo, it took me the span of 3 days to finally finish it.
Between having to let the paint dry in between coats and entertaining hanging out with Miss L this summer, it seemed to take FOREVER!
But she is all done up purdy now!
Step right up(pun intended) and take a little look-see:

Isn't she cute now, with all of her chalk board love?

As you can see, I am no artist, people. 

Those flowers(Yes, they are flowers) were the best I could do, haha.

I actually think I picked a small project as a diversion to my large dresser project. 

I am totally procrastinating  on that intimidating project. 

I think I am ready and going to check out some colors in person this weekend. 

Hopefully I will have some sort of a post about the "beaut" sometime in the next 2 weeks.

Are you working on any fun DIY projects. Let me know and share them on my Facebook page!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Enjoy your View~

Jenifer

 

Book reView- The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

To me there is just something about summer reading. It just seems appropriate to get lost in a good book, during the lazy days of summer.

I have always been a reader, but my interest ebbs and flows. 

There are seasons in my life where I will devour one book right after another, not being able to get enough.

AND there have been other seasons in my life where it will be months of literary drought. Where I can't seem to get my mind to slow down enough to comprehend anything. Almost like I have ADD, but I know I don't. The older I get, the worse it gets. Anyone else with this problem?

I am happy to report that reading season is in full swing. In the last month I have read 3 books!

I blogged about 7: an experiment mutiny against excess here.

While I was on my 7 day hiatus I finished reading: Cross Roads by Wm Paul Young.

This is the same author who wrote The Shack. Which was a great book! 

I had 'Cross Roads' downloaded to my Kindle FO-EVAH! I picked away at it little by little. 

It was an interesting book and a great concept, but there was something about it that didn't quite hold my interest enough. 

However, I finished it, and I am glad I did. I really do not like starting a book and never finishing it. Especially if I buy it!

Last week on our first summer outing to the local library I searched for an Elin Hilderbrand novel.

When I see people's reading lists this is the author I see the most. 

So I thought one of Hilderbrand's books would have to be a safe bet. 

I chose 'The Castaways'.

'The Castaways' was a very fast read. 

It kept me entertained and riveted, just how I like my summer reading.

I see why she is a best selling author.

There are 8 main characters who each have a story of their own.

Even though it was fiction, I found so much real life woven into the story.

It's about life getting messy, and stagnant. 

It's about love and loss. 

It is about friendships and marriages.

AND it also takes place on Nantucket Island.... it just feels like summer.....and now I want to go there.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a nice & easy summer read.

I will definitely read more of Elin Hilderbrand.

What are you reading this summer? Let me know, I love a great book suggestion!

Enjoy the View~
Jenifer

Home View - a loooonnnggg overdue redo of a large pine dresser

For about 3 years I have been considering revamping this beaut:

It is our master bedroom dresser.
At one time I liked the look of  pine furniture.
I don't hate her now, but I have a different vision for her.
One that includes paint.
She's big Folks.
So that means a lot of painting.
Intimidated much?
Um Yes, yes I am.
Why, you ask?
Because I think painting furniture is about as fun as clipping a toe nail too short(which isn't fun at all).
All the prepping: sanding, priming, painting...coat after coat after coat. UGH!
Take me out to pasture and shoot me please!
Sorry, that was a little dramatic, I know.
Hey I can paint a wall like nobody's business, but furniture....no thank you!

However, I have been reading about a certain product for the past 2 years that eliminates all but the painting step.
It is chalk paint.
And every time I go to an occasional sale, where they redo old furniture, the pieces that are painted with chalk paint are the ones that I get most excited about.
They have that cottage-y look I love so much.

So with that being said here are a few pieces of inspiration for my pine beauty.
These are all Annie Sloan brand chalk paint.

Provence Blue with gold hardware

Duck Egg Blue with glass knobs

Aubusson Blue with gold pulls

White with oil rubbed bronze pulls

Keep in mind the wall color of our master bedroom is:

Storm by Benjamin Moore

I am thinking a nice pop of color, like Provence Blue will do the room some good. 

But then my practical mind gets thinking that White is a universal color and what if I get sick of the blue(which I cannot imagine because it is my favorite but I am fickle like that, remember?) and White goes with dang near everything, so the chances of having to paint it again go down drastically, right?

What do you all think? 

Which one would you pick? 

Or would you go with a different color all together?

Please don't tell me you would stay with the pine look, because that is just.not.happening. :)

Enjoy the View~

Jenifer

Beauty View- sitting by the dock of the bay

HOWDY!
I am back from my blogging/facebook/computer hiatus.
In my last blog post I told you I was taking a planned 7 day departure from the internet.
It was quite fabulous and I barely missed it at all.

I wasn't busy doing busy stuff, but I was occupied...by one of my most favorite places...Pelican Lake, Orr, MN.

Let me show you one of the millions reasons why:

Dreamy, isn't it?

Let me share some more of the fun we had......

There were big fish caught by little girls....

A lot of casting off the docks.....

Hours upon hours spent digging in the sand....

More hours spent lounging in the boat trying to hook "the big one"

Workin' hard for dinner at Crappie Point.....

Boys looking for nature inspired weapon material.....

Kids learning new skills......

Baby girls mastering the art of  blowing bubbles....

A smokin' hot tray of garlic bread..."Hey Shannon, what could be burning?"

Girls becoming Forever Friends.....

And....A really great group of people to share it with!

What a perfect start to summer in Minnesota

....until next year Pelican Lake, you were a great host!

Book reView- 7: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker

My plan with this book review on 7: an experimental mutiny against excess, was to do it by chapters, as I read them.  

Let me explain why that did not happen... I devoured this book like a crazed premenstrual lunatic eating a triple chocolate fudge brownie & hastily washing it down with glass of chocolate milk.

I tried to savor it but it didn't happen that way. 

It got me....it got me like the smoke got Sweet Brown(just in case you have never met Sweet Brown, let me do the honors of introducing you to her here). 

Many times I found myself choking on the smoke of  my own ego and my own excess.

First off, I adore the author, Jen Hatmaker.

I haven't met her....yet. 

In fact I had never even heard of her before I was led to this book. 

I actually admitted on Facebook to having a slight girl crush on her. 

She is witty and smart and funny and raw and real. 

If she lived closer, I would make her be my friend.

After I finished "7", I immediately downloaded Interrupted & Ms. Understood. 

Both written by Jen Hatmaker.

I am beyond excited to read these two books!

In fact, reading is exactly what I am going to do when I take my 7 day hiatus from all things internet, starting this Saturday.

This was a planned departure from the WWW before I read this book, but I am finding quite a bit of irony in it, since it just so happens to be 7 days.

Readers, at the risk of sounding hoo-doo voo-doo, I have to say someone is speaking to me on a much higher level than where I stand. Leading me to sit up and take notice of the things(the many,many things) & people that surround me.

If I ever had a small desire to want to downsize my life, that small desire snowballed into an avalanche after reading "7".

Quick overview:

Jen identified seven areas of excess in life that she thought her family needed to work on. They were:

#1- Food- Her and her husband only ate 7 foods for 30 days

#2-Clothes- Both only wore 7 items of clothing for 30 days

#3-Spending- Her family(including 3 kids) only spent money in 7 places for 30 days

#4-Media- They picked 7 types of media to abstain from for 30 days

#5-Possessions- they gave away 7 things each day for 30 days

#6-Waste- adopted 7 green habits for, yep, you guessed it 30 days

#7-Stress-observed 7 sacred pauses, every day, for 30 days

With each chapter finished,  I became more and more enamored with the idea of my own mutiny against excess.

I really think I will do some version of Jen's experiment. 

I just do not know what that is going to look like, except for the fact that I am taking 7 days away from this key board. 

And frankly the whole idea scares me, because I am terrible at following through with ideas and experiments.

Remember B'Dog calls me fickle and indecisive?

Yeah well, this one, this idea... I am going to take some time to think on. 

It is not something I can just jump into. 

It's not for the faint of heart or the thin skinned. 

AND this idea makes my heart feel faint, and my skin feel thin.

I hope when I come back from my 7 day departure, I will have an idea of what my first 30 days of  mutiny will look like and be able to share that with all you lovely readers.

Until then I am going to run with the idea of just......

ENJOYing my View...I hope you enjoy yours too!

~Jenifer

Food View- Breakfast in a Ball jar? Sure! Why not?

As I sit here at my lovely blogging station aka computer desk, I am eating my breakfast from this exact jar.

You are probably wondering, "Hey? What the....hey?"

I thought the same thing folks when I seen this recipe over at Optimal Living's Facebook page.

Cold oatmeal you say? Um, I guess I will try most things once.

I was extremely surprised how much I liked the cold, overnight oatmeal. 

For me, it has become a morning staple(when I remember to quickly whip some up the night before).

It is a super fast breakfast with a lot of healthy goodness inside.

Let me show you how easy it is to make!

First off, you do not need a pint size mason jar BUT lately I have been having a small love affair with all things mason jars, especially Ball Mason Jars....AND I am trying to get the plastic stuff out of my kitchen as well, so mason jars make a great container to store food. AND they are charming as well!

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup of rolled oats(Old Fashioned). I use:

3/4 cup of milk. I have to use almond milk but any whole-fat milk will work for this recipe. I have also seen recipes that use organic yogurt as well. I use:

1/3 cup of any kind of berries you would like to use. Typically I use raspberries, but it will not matter. This will completely just be personal preference. 

1 TBSP of Chia Seeds. Here is the brand I use(click).

Click here to read about the health benefits of chia seeds.

1 TBSP of pure maple syrup. 

The REAL stuff. Not Mrs. Butterworth, Log Cabin, or Aunt Jemima(do they even make Aunt Jemima anymore?). There is nothing real about most of the "maple syrup" on the grocery shelves. Although if you read the ingredients, you will probably be able to find 1 or 2 on the shelf that is the real thing. These WILL NOT contain, High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)! Yes real, pure maple syrup is expensive but you use much less than that "other stuff", so to me, it is worth the extra expense.

Here is one I use. Another bonus? It is local!

Next step is to put all these ingredients in your jar, stir or shake(cover), put in fridge over night (hence Overnight Oatmeal) and Enjoy in the morning! There ya have it, quick and easy!

To me, it was like dessert for breakfast and very filling, with lots of healthy goodness packed into a pint size jar. 

Much better than a bowl of lucky charms, cheerios, fruit loops and any of that other candy in a box we have been brain washed into thinking is a great, healthy breakfast.

Let me know if you try it, and what you think of it!

Enjoy the View~

Jenifer