Game Day Football Banner

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I know I talk a lot about football this time of year - #sorrynotsorry!  Since both Mike's college team and professional football teams are so far away (I've adopted our local pro team and could not love them more!!), we obviously can only watch them on tv.  I thought it'd be fun to add a little football-themed home decor to our living room to really get us in the spirit each weekend.

What you'll need: synthetic turf (I ordered the 12"x16" piece), copy paper, ruler, pen/pencil, tape, scissors, white paint, paint brush, hole punch, twine

Here's what to do:
1. Place the white paper over the synthetic grass and cut it so they are the same size.  With the pen and ruler, draw out the triangles how you'd like them on the white paper.  I can honestly say this is the first time I've used my high school math since, well, high school - pythagorean theorem FTW to determine my max number of triangles and dimensions - haha!
2. Tape the white paper to the back to the synthetic turf and use your scissors to cut them out.
3. Paint white lines down the middle of half of your triangles to represent the yard lines.
4. Punch holes in the top two corners of each triangle and string the twine through each triangle.

Now that the banner is made, it's time to sit back and watch our teams, but not before grabbing all of your favorite eats and drinks!  CVS is the best one-stop shop for everything GAME DAY.  In addition to the chips and popcorn to snack on, I also picked up SNICKERS® Crisper bars.  In select stores, you can also find special edition SNICKERS® bars with football packaging!  Click here to download a coupon to save $1.00 on any two SNICKERS® singles or king-sized bars!

My favorite way to enjoy SNICKERS® Crisper is snacking on pieces mixed in with some kettle corn - that sweet and salty combo gets me every time!

Check out even more game day recipes and DIYs by clicking here!   What's your favorite game day snack?

How To: Winterize Your Nails

January is definitely the worst month of the year.  I'm sorry to be a negative Nancy, but come on, it's true!  Even in South Carolina, the air is dry, it's colder, and everyone's a little sniffly and "blah" after the craziness and excitement of the holidays has worn off.

I don't know about you, but my nails seem to bear the brunt of January's wrath: there aren't any fun holiday parties to paint them for, they get super dry and cracked with the weather and all of that hand sanitizer, and I use them to scratch the price tags off all of those great new Christmas gifts.  Nails aren't exactly something that make the cut into New Year's Resolutions either.

Well, I think we should change all that.  I'm teaming up with Julep to share How To Winterize Your Nails.  To me, the first step in winterizing is all about keeping my nails (and hands - can't forget those cuticles) strong and smooth.  To do this, I use my perfect honey lemon nail and hand scrub made from simple ingredients.  It's the perfect start before all that clipping, shaping, nudging, and polishing.

Here's what you'll need: 1 tablespoon honey, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon, and 1 cup granulated sugar

To make it, just whisk together the honey and EVOO, then add the lemon and whisk again.  Finally, mix in the sugar and pour it into a jar with a lid.

When it's time to use the scrub, start with dry hands and remove all jewelry.  Rub about a teaspoon between your hands for 30 seconds and then rinse with water.  It will leave your hands feeling smooth and moisturized.

There are so many hand and nail benefits to each of the ingredients, especially to winterize:

• Olive oil: effective dry skin relief, diminishes the appearance of scars, reduces skin redness, and hydrates nails
• Honey: naturally antibacterial
• Lemon juice: removes dead skin and strengthens nails
• Sugar: natural humectant (helps keep in moisture) and exfoliates, giving hands a glowing and soft feel

Now, after you've scrubbed, you can continue on with Julep to winterize your nails:

Once nails and hands are winterized, you won't want to hide them in gloves anymore, so show them off with a fresh coat of polish.  Here are some of Julep's favorite winter colors.

Ilsa /// Sawyer /// Joanne /// Kiki /// Shari

Check out all of Julep's colors on their new nail polish color page, where you can see my winter favorites: Beverly and Misti!  Last, but not least, don't forget to check out Julep's blog for health and beauty tips, fun DIYs, and fantastic nail art ideas.

I hope you liked this collaboration with Julep.  Now I want to know: Do you winterize your nails?  What is your favorite winter nail polish color?

I Love Painting: Tuesday Tutorials

I really love painting.  No, unfortunately, not painting on a canvas or creating art, I'm talking about painting walls.  I'm not quite sure why I love it so much, maybe it's some genetically passed down passion.  My grandfather was the head of the painter's union at Electric Boat and really loved his job.  My dad learned how to paint from him and is REALLY good at it, as well.  I like to think that I'm good at it, but maybe I'm just the only one who enjoys it and that's why Mike keeps giving me the job of painting.  Nonetheless, I've had a hand in painting every single one of the rooms in our house [even when I wasn't living there].  

I just love it!  I love choosing the colors and the feeling of accomplishment when you get to pull the tape off the windows and the baseboards when you're done.  Now you think I'm a geek... If you're still with me, here are my tips for painting the cleanest and most appealing rooms:
1. Choosing your colors: You know how much I LOVE paint chips, but let's be honest, colors don't always turn out like they look in those chips.  It's important to buy sample paint [it only costs a few dollars] and paint it on multiple walls of the room.  The amount of light, shadows, and other furniture can make paint look completely different from room to room.

 

2. Choosing your type of paint: Now that you have your colors, you need to choose your type of paint.  You have two choices to make:  1. whether or not to do paint and primer in one and 2. paint finish.  
        1. This is a decision of whether or not you want to use primer.  You usually need two coats of either type of paint, but your choice is whether you want to do a third coat [primer, first], or paint with much thicker paint [with primer in one].  
        2. Paint finish is usually a decision based on the type of room.  You can feel what the different finishes look like at most paint stores.  Here are some pros and cons of each type:
- Flat [no shine]: Pro - great for concealing imperfections; Con - does not clean well; Great for: ceilings, bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms - Eggshell [low sheen]: Pro - easy touchups; Con - mars easily; Great for: bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms - Satin [pearl-like sheen]: Pro - scrub-ability; Con - more difficult to touch up because differences in sheen could be obvious; Great for: children's rooms, family room, kitchens - Semigloss [fairly shiny]: Pro - Resistant to humidity, stains, chipping, and is easily cleaned' Con - cannot touch up without showing imperfections; Great for: kitchens, laundry rooms, bathrooms - Gloss [mirror-like finish]: Pro - Easiest to clean; Con - Shows imperfections like a mirror; Great for: molding, trim, and woodwork
3. Start with sanding and sponging the walls: I swear, it takes like 5 minutes but makes everything look so much better.  Get a sanding sponge and extra large sponge.  Start by lightly sanding every wall to remove any impurities and finish by lightly [with VERY little water] sponging each wall to remove any dust.
4. Tape: Frog Tape is a must.  It might be a bit more expensive than other tapes, but the lines it leaves are so straight and perfect without allowing paint to seep under the tape.  Also, when you're done painting, make sure to take the tape off while the paint is still wet.  Yes, you have to be careful and you will get paint on you, but if you wait until it dries, you risk full strips of paint ripping off when the paint dries to the tape.

 

5. Your Painting Tools:  While I'm not a huge fan of rollers [my grandfather would roll over in his grave if he ever knew I ever suggested others use one], but unless you want to take hours and hours to paint, you'll want to get three different painting tools: high quality paint brushes, a roller, and an edger.  

I assume you know how to use the first two, but just in case: make sure you use the brush around the edges, near the tape and corners and use the roller in the big areas.  The edger is something new I learned about while painting with Mike.  Seriously, it's a miracle tool.  All you do is pour a little paint in a shallow tupperware container big enough for the whole edger to sit in.  Then, you make sure the little back button on the back is pulled backwards, dip the edger in the paint, and scrape off the excess with the edge of the tupperware.  Finally, flip the black button forward to create the paint barrier, and roll it along the edge of the ceiling.  It makes a perfect edge, every time!  Just make sure every time you need more paint, you flip the black button back to maintain the paint seal.
Now you are ready to paint!  Have fun and make sure to get tons of paint all over you - just like I tend to do...
Bonus idea: If you're looking to make a room extra fun, think about applying chalkboard paint!  It goes on really easy and we love it in our kitchen.