The Chew

I had a pretty great couple of days this past weekend. Saw my friend Kate in Lancaster, went to NYC for the day to attend the Oscar taping of The Chew, saw Strawberry Fields in Central Park for the first time, visited one of my favorite places, Woodstock, NY and saw Mumford & Sons in New Jersey. LOTS of driving, but it was well worth it. The Chew was fun. MUCH better than Rachael Ray. The hosts were so personable, funny, and interacted well with the audience. It was their Oscar special so we had to get all dressed up--long dresses, heels, suits--just to sit in the audience. We were kind of hoping we'd get some cool swag for dressing the part, but we didn't. Kate did get her grocery receipt drawn and was handed $150 cash from Mario Batali! The studio was colorful and nicely decorated. Overall, it was a good trip! I'd definitely recommend going to The Chew if you get tickets!

Valentine's Day.

Ok, I know Valentines Day was six days ago, but hey, every day deserves a little love. I made some homemade Valentines this year. You know that dollar bin at Michaels? Well every time I'm there I snoop through it and end up spending way more than a dollar. That's where these cards and stamps are from. The rest of the supplies I found around my house. There's something relaxing to me about getting all this together and taking some time to make some homemade love.

Valentine's gift from my BFF, Kate at Newlywed Kitchen!

Mid-Week Inspiration.

Image from Pen and Paint on Etsy.

Last week is going so. dang. slow. I had sorority recruitment at Duquesne over the weekend (I’m their General Advisor) so I was busy, busy, busy. From Thursday to Sunday my days were filled with preparing, rearranging, counting, and not much sleeping. And I loved every second of it. People think I’m crazy, but you have to remember this was my job for an entire year! Preparing for recruitment, recruitment, post-recruitment, etc. Plus it’s so enjoyable seeing the chapter come together to recruit new amazing members.

I did have a little break on Saturday, I went to see Les Miserables at the Benedum Center. It was my first time seeing it and definitely not my last. I knew the story, which definitely helped while watching, but was still so inspired and moved. I’ve been singing the songs for the past three days.

So since my past weekend was jam-packed, I so looked forward to a weekend with no serious plans. I went to Ikea, updated my bedroom, had an engagement party Saturday night, and relaxed and watched the Super Bowl on Sunday. It was just what I needed.

Chalkboard Crazy

Okay, so I know that chalkboard paint isn’t a new thing, but I just recently felt the need to buy it for some new crafty projects. I bought the actual paint and the spray paint, and I think I like the spray paint better. I went to Michael’s and bought a picture frame—I love how the the frame looks like old wood.

The process is super easy. Take out the glass, sand it, clean it, and then spray away. I did four coats, alternating between horizontal and vertical sprays, with about 15 minute drying time in between. It’s hard to do, but let the paint dry for close to 24 hours. Once it’s completely dry, prime the board by rubbing chalk all over it, then erasing it off. Viola, your new chalkboard is ready to use!

I’m tea crazy and was getting sick of buying the ugly Teavana tea containers, so I went to Marshalls and bought some cute glass canisters and painted the tops so I can label my tea! I thought this was a better idea than actual labels, because sometimes I go through a tea pretty quick so this way I don’t have to peel off and reprint labels.

My best friend’s birthday is the end of this month, and she is one of the greatest cooks I know. I wanted to do something different so I made her a little cooking basket. I found these cute glass canisters at Marshalls, painted the front, and filled them each with a different spice—curry powder, Hawaiian sea salt, and apple wood smoked sea salt. This way when she uses them all up, she can easily reuse the containers!

This isn’t chalkboard paint related, but it is a chalkboard. I was cleaning and found this old chalkboard that I bought years ago when I was in Williamsburg, VA. I brought it in to work with me and each month I change the phrase—something fun to add to my office!

So, after all that, I think I owe a big thank you to whoever the wise guy was who invented chalkboard paint. You’re the best.

Great Outdoors.

My family is a camping family. We’ve been going to the same campground for decades. My pap went with his family growing up, then he started taking my gramma, mom, and uncle, and now my mom takes us! Not only that, but for years my pap’s brothers would still come up, my gramma’s brother and his family, and many other relatives throughout the years. It’s something we all look forward to each and every year.

When I say camping, I don’t mean we go to a nice cabin in the woods, with a working kitchen and bathroom, sorry people, that’s not camping. We make the 2 ½ hour drive to Warren, PA with our car packed to the brims with tents, water jugs, blankets, fishing gear, camping stoves, coolers, you name it. Ok, we do sleep in a tent trailer. But don’t think that’s all glamorous. One person moves, you all move. One person snores, you’re all awake. Wake up with your sleeping bag touching the side of the canvas? It’s wet. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyway, the reason I’m saying all this is because I stumbled across this site, Shelter-Co, and could not even believe how amazingly perfect they can make actual camping look. You find the place; they’ll come and set up canvas tents, a kid’s play area, a bar, and a real bed—yes real bed, mattress and all. Ok, so it’s not actualcamping. But it’s better than going to a cabin or one of those ginormous RVs. I have a feeling I’ll never get to experience this, considering the weekend minimum is $2000. Uh, I choose to go camping because it’s a cheap, fun, vacation. So I think it’s safe to say I’ll have to settle with just looking at their pictures.

New Year, New Thoughts.

I’ve never been much of a resolution person—I always thought, why set yourself up for something you’re most likely going to fail at? Seriously though, studies show that only around 10% of people actually go through with their New Year’s resolutions. Sure, everyone wants to eat healthy, go to the gym, stress less, but it’s always harder than it seems.

Instead of setting “goals” I’ve decided to come up with a list of open ideas I’d like to happen in 2013. If they happen, super. If they don’t, no biggie. Here it goes.

Spend more time outside. Have something to look forward to. Plan a vacation. Send handwritten & handmade notes. Attend more concerts. Take another cooking class. Cook more for my family. Be spontaneous. Not feel guilty staying in on the weekend. Spend more time with my family. Inspire others. Stay organized & clutter free. Keep my space tidy. Love every day.

I think 2013 is going to be just magical.

Wanelo.

Ok, think Pinterest, except you can easily buy all of the items you pin. Genius, right? That's what Wanelo is. You can search, tag, or save all the different products you see. My sister introduced me to this and now I'm addicted. Everything is so cute and unique, and surprisingly reasonably priced!

Here's a look at what the main page looks like--

This is what my profile looks like--and you can see some of the items I saved. 

How about that freaking VW van tent?! I wanttttt. Bad. You can find me on Wanelo @harbisonk.