Highlighted Weekend Links-- Share Your Best Post!

Happy Saturday! Are you enjoying your weekend? Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading party.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, home remedies, room makeovers, crafts, fashion advice, book reviews, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post.

If you haven't yet, please be sure to visit some of the other links from the party and say a quick howdy to those who have taken the time to visit you. I'd also really appreciate it if you'd take the time to add a direct link back to me within your post(s)...I like to return the favor by Featuring the bloggers who follow through with good blogging etiquette!

Keep reading to see just a few of the posts that caught my eye so far.

***PLEASE, If you are a Pinterest user, Pin from the original source so that each blogger gets credit for his/her work.***

~Polka Dotted Tiered Planters via Positively Splendid

~Glamping (Camping) Party via Crafty Texas Girls

~Upholstery Transformation via The Hunted Interior

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to Weekend Bloggy Reading. I hope you'll link up your best post of the week today, and maybe leave me some comment love. Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

All kinds of posts are welcome--recipes, crafts, funny stories, home decor, etc.; but please do not link to Etsy shops, businesses, items for sale, etc. (I have a Sponsors section, if you'd like to Advertise with me.)

Here are a few of my faves from this week:

sources listed below

~Cottage Screen Door Planter Rack via Centsational Girl

~Reusable Shopping Bag to Apron via My Sister's Suitcase

~Spring Mantel via Our Life in a Click

~Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries via Mrs. Happy Homemaker

~And Me? This week featured:

• Painted Bunny Silhouette Sign
• What is a Blog Party? (How to Blog Party series for bloggers)
• Shirley Temple x 2
• Grace at Home

Time to link up your best post of the week!

Grace at Home

As a mom of two small girls, there are many times where I send the kids off to bed at the end of the day and feel a complete lack of grace in my home. Did I raise my voice too much when they didn't pick up their toys? Did I spend enough time with them? Should I have folded that laundry instead of watching Downton Abbey on DVR? Why didn't I come up with something better for dinner?

The questions and self-doubt could go on and on. I think that when you have a baby you are immediately embedded with some sort of guilt chip that fires off in your brain cells at least 5 times a day. Many of us live in a perpetual state of mom-guilt. And if we're not feeling guilty, we're feeling guilty that we don't feel guilty. You know what I'm saying?

source

After reading my friend Richella's latest announcement about her new linky party over at Imparting Grace, it occurred to me that perhaps I am just not looking for those moments of grace when I should be. 

The whole family (even the four year old!) engaging in a meaningful conversation at dinner, watching my girls play together without shouting or flinging My Little Ponies across the room, taking a moment to reflect with friends at Bible study, just relaxing on the couch with the dog and the man at the end of the day...those are all moments of Grace. 

Richella is my newest sponsor here at Serenity Now, and I've actually had the pleasure of meeting her in person! I wanted to share her own words about this wonderful new link party:

"I want my home to be full of grace, too. I want it to be a place where my family, my friends, and my guests feel special and loved and welcome. I'm betting you feel the same way about your home.


To celebrate all the things we do to make our homes places of grace, I'm starting a new weekly linky party: Grace at Home."

I love Richella's link party idea because it's not just another "come link up your 52 crafts" type of party. This one has purpose. You can share anything related to making your home a place of grace. Talk about encouraging!

Posts that are welcome:
DIY projects
decorating
recipes
hospitality
homemaking tips
parenting
marriage
faith
self-care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, Richella and her readers want to hear about it.

The Grace at Home link party will be open each Thursday, and it looks like she's off to a great start. If you have a post that fits with her theme, I hope you'll edit in a quick link to her blog and link your post up to her party over at Imparting Grace.

And if you just need a little bit of encouragement, please head over to Richella's and spend a few minutes browsing both the links and her beautiful blog. You won't be sorry. I've yet to meet a kinder, more thoughtful, or graceful woman!

Here's to keeping an eye out for those moments of Grace in our lives!

Do you have a hard time spotting Grace in your life and in your home?

What is a Blog Party? (How to Blog Party series)

Welcome back! Today is the first official post in my new blogging series, How to Blog Party (you can click over to that link for details, and I'll be adding each link in the series to that post). This series will be full of tips and tricks for bloggers. I think it will also be helpful for non-bloggers to see all of the work that goes into linking to and hosting blog parties.

We'll be starting with pretty basic, beginner stuff. Today's topic is a definition of what a blog party is.

*I feel like I should preface this post by saying that I am in no way a link party "expert" or anything like that. I joined my first blog party in 2009, and also hosted my first link party (for Decorating Dilemmas) that same year. So, I do have a bit of experience...but I don't have a doctorate or anything, ha!

If you're a seasoned blogger, this post idea might seem a little silly, but I can remember a time when my blog was brand new and I kept seeing one of my favorite bloggers talk about hosting a link party on her blog.

"What in the heck is she talking about?" I remember thinking.

It took me several months of reading before I figured out what she meant by a blog party and before I could work up the nerve to join in. I get comments all the time from new bloggers who aren't sure what a blog party is. So, this post is for you guys! (If you know a new blogger, you might want to direct him/her to this series.)

What is a blog party, anyways?

A blog party (also called a "link party") is, in its most basic definition, a spot for bloggers to share their work with an audience they might not normally reach, and an opportunity for the host blog to gain some extra traffic.

In detail, a blog party is a specific post that Blogger A publishes on her own blog, allowing other bloggers to feature individual posts from their sites. Blogger A becomes the "host" (or hostess) of the blog party by letting other bloggers (guests) leave a link from their site within her post.

Anyone with a blog can add a link from their own blog to Blogger A's party post. They can do this by pasting their URL into a special link hosting system that Blogger A has embedded within the blog party post.

Most blog parties are open for bloggers to add links for a set amount of time, and when it closes, the links are hosted on Blogger A's site indefinitely. It looks like this when bloggers have added their links:

The act of adding a URL from your blog to a link party is called "linking up." Participating bloggers can display a descriptive title and a small photo (called a thumbnail) from a post of their choosing, just like you see above. People who read Blogger A's blog can click on any of the above thumbnail photos and the link will take them directly to the corresponding post from the person who added it.

For example, I host a blog party every weekend here at Serenity Now. I add a special code to my post for Friday morning that creates a little entry form for guests to fill out and link their posts up with. When my party post is published on Friday morning, Suzie Blogger can stop by my site and will see the special spot for her to add the link for her recent post on Chocolate Cake. She adds her URL link, titles it "Chocolate Cake Recipe," chooses a thumbnail photo from her post, and submits it. My readers will see her thumbnail picture and click on the "Chocolate Cake Recipe" title to be redirected to her post.

There are all kinds of blog parties! Some are weekly, like my Weekend Bloggy Reading party; some are monthly; some are just hosted on occasion or one time only. Many have themes that revolve around special interests like crafting, home decor, cooking, or holidays. We'll touch on this later in the series.

Why should you join a blog party? Come back next week and I'll tell you {wink}. You may want to consider signing up as a GFC Follower on my sidebar or even Subscribing so you don't miss a post!

Any questions? Please feel free to email me or leave a comment below. I hope you enjoy this series.

If you enjoyed this post, or found it helpful, I'd love for you to share it on Facebook or use one of the "Pin It" buttons to add it to Pinterest!

Shirley Temple x 2

Dear God in Heaven, what was I thinking?!

Yes, those are tap shoes.

My first mistake was taking Michaela Byrd with me to the local children's consignment sale in the Expo Center. It's like a giant circus of bargains. And my girl loves accessories just as much as I do. Which is a-LOT.

When her eyes landed upon the glorious (like-new) tap shoes for just $4, it was love at first sight. She. had. to. have. them. And when we saw some in Natalie's size, those had to come home with us too, because it would only be fair, right?

Yes, it's only right that if one girl gets to "tap" through the kitchen like a drunken clogger at a county fair, the other one should as well. 

My girls take ballet every week, but tap has eluded us thus far. I think I may looking into jazz/tap class for this summer to get it out of their system.

At least it's not drums, the recorder, or a violin, right?

Have you ever made a noisy parenting mistake?


Watch out, Shirley Temple...these two will give you a run for your money!

Painted Spring Bunny Silhouette Sign (Easter Project)

Today's craft is a super easy Spring or Easter craft that can grace your front door, or even the wall of a porch area. I hope you like my Spring Bunny Silhouette Sign! (Please forgive the lighting on the photos...I actually made this craft last year for another site)

They say curb appeal is everything. I'm not particularly sure who "they" are, but they know what they're talking about!

When I took a closer look at the hanging decorative slate I had on the brick wall outside my front door, I was really embarrassed! I didn't want to greet my guests with something that not only has peeling paint, but is also just not really my style.

Today's project would be simple to recreate, even if you don't have a slate. A board, old plaque, or framed paper would work just as well. (But if you'd like a slate, I see them in thrift shops all the time)

After doing a bit of brainstorming, I rounded up my basic supplies to work on a transformation. The real star of the show was my Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray paint.

I sanded down the slate to get the icky peely stuff off, and took it to my high tech spray painting work station, otherwise known as the back yard.

A couple of coats later, and the slate was already looking better:

I wanted something to hang outside my door that will reflect our celebration of Easter, but also carry through the Spring season. I decided to do something with a bunny silhouette...using my Silhouette.

My original plan of creating a stencil and painting on the letters didn't work out so well (Craft Fail!), so I opted to use white vinyl letters for my phrase:

I also used some vinyl to make a rabbit stencil. It peeled some of the blue paint off, but I was thankfully able to touch that up with some paint sprayed on a paper plate and a Q-tip. Because I am resourceful like that. (And also too lazy to start over.)

I used some yellow (permanent!) Acrylic craft paint and a little foam brush to paint the bunny.

I wasn't lovin' it. It was just a bit too plain for my taste, so after some advice from a few crafty friends, I decide to give my bunny some burlap jewelry. Using some from my stash, I fashioned a tiny rosette and some "streamers," which I layered underneath and hot glued down.

I was definitely not digging the old leather cord that used to hold the slate up, so I cut another long strip of burlap and some white ribbon and forced them through the tiny holes to make a new hanger. No real technique here. Just some eye balling and maybe a few bad words whispered under my breath until I could get both ribbons through.

Final product?

Here's to better curb appeal this Spring!

If you liked this project, I hope you'll click one of the "Pin It" buttons and add this to your Pinterest page.


Linked to Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, Positively Splendid, Southern Hospitality,

More Highlighted Links--Share Your Best Post!

Good morning, friends! If you're here to link up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, it's open for new links until 10 pm (ET) tonight. Please share your best post of the week with us...crafts, recipes, home decor, book reviews--all kinds of posts are welcome.

I like to Feature bloggers who not only have great projects, but who also take the time to  link back to me within their post(s). I add many of these Features to my Pinterest page as well as Facebook, so there's some extra incentive to add a link back to this party.

Here are a few links from Weekend Bloggy Reading that caught my eye!

*Pinterest users, please Pin from the original sources listed below so that each blogger gets credit for his/her own work!*

~Union Jack Pillow via Shabby Love

~Dollar Store Easter Jars via Itsy Bitsy Paper Blog

~Bold Boy's Room via it all started with paint

Highlighted Weekend Links-- Share Your Best Post!

Happy Saturday! Are you enjoying your weekend? Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading party.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, home remedies, room makeovers, crafts, fashion advice, book reviews, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post.

If you haven't yet, please be sure to visit some of the other links from the party and say a quick howdy to those who have taken the time to visit you. I'd also really appreciate it if you'd take the time to add a direct link back to me within your post(s)...I like to return the favor by Featuring the bloggers who follow through with good blogging etiquette!

Keep reading to see just a few of the posts that caught my eye so far.

***PLEASE, If you are a Pinterest user, Pin from the original source so that each blogger gets credit for his/her work.***

~Spring Entryway via The 36th Avenue

~Spring Mantel via Potentially Beautiful

~Chili's Style Queso Dip Recipe via Ramblings from the Sunshine State

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to Weekend Bloggy Reading. I hope you'll link up your best post of the week today, and maybe leave me some comment love. Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

All kinds of posts are welcome--recipes, crafts, funny stories, home decor, etc.; but please do not link to Etsy shops, businesses, items for sale, etc. (I have a Sponsors section, if you'd like to Advertise with me.)

Here are a few of my faves from this week:

sources listed below

~DSLR Lens Tags via Cleverly Inspired

~Hair Tool Storage via The Idea Room

~Garden Gate Sign Tutorial via Three Scoops of Love

~Jewelry Box Makeover via Made in a Day

~And Me? This week featured:

• Picture Frame Chalkboard
• New Blog Series: How to Blog Party
• Empty Space
• Back to Normal

Time to link up your best post of the week!

Picture Frame Chalkboard (Chalkboard Adhesive Vinyl!)

I am pleased to have a crafty project to share with you guys today. With all of the travel and craziness around here, I haven't been able to do any projects. Today's craft, my Picture Frame Chalkboard, uses Chalkboard Adhesive Vinyl from Silhouette.

This is a fun, simple, and inexpensive craft that anyone at home can try.

Here's what you need to get started:

• Chalkboard Vinyl and Transfer Paper
• Picture Frame (I bought a black one at the Dollar Tree and spray painted it)
• Scrapbook Paper
• Coordinating Fabric
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun

Notice the very sad "Before" shot of the plain black plasticy frame? Wish I'd gotten one with the stock photo it came with, but that's the only Before pic I snapped.

Directions:

1. After my spray painted frame was dry, I cut my scrapbook paper to fit and slipped it in place of the fake family photo that it came with. Already an improvement.

2. I chose a frame shape in my Silhouette software, but if you don't own a machine you could trace a simple shape onto the back and cut it out. Then I used the transfer paper (following these instructions) to adhere the shape to the front of the picture frame glass.

3. I put the frame back together and had a plain chalkboard. Cute, but it needed something new.

4. I made a few quick fabric rosettes (I love layering them!)--no measuring or sewing--and hot glued them down to the frame.

And the final product?

I love that I can just turn the backing of the frame around and have the chalkboard horizontal instead of vertical!

I wanted to come up with something cute and creative to use with the chalkboard vinyl, but travel for the funerals, lack of funds, and hours spent getting things in order after our trips had me short of time and funds. I realize that a chalkboard is about the most obvious thing you could do with chalkboard vinyl, but I think the picture frame and patterned paper give it a fun twist.

I spent less than $4 on my Picture Frame Chalkboard, and I think it will be so fun to use as part of my Spring and Easter decor. I love a good quote, so what better way to have words on display?

If you liked this post, I hope you'll use the Pin It button to add it to Pinterest!


Linking to Centsational Girl, Positively Splendid, oopsey daisy, Thrifty Decor Chick, Pretty Handy Girl

Disclaimer: I received the Chalkboard Adhesive Vinyl from Silhouette to use in my project.

Empty Space (Suggestions Needed)

With minimal amounts of complaining, I was able to get rid of a problem piece yesterday. The girls protested some, but ultimately I won and the play kitchen has a temporary residence at a kids' consignment sale. I am now blessed with beautiful, glorious empty space (minus a diva model dog)....

Now you see it.

(PS. Travis is pretty much the nicest guy you'll ever meet. And handsome. I'm just saying, girls.)

Now you don't.

This may seem cruel to you if you don't have children, but if you do have small ones, I bet you understand. My kids played with that kitchen set exactly 2.3 times in the last couple of years. It takes up a fair amount of space, and they used the area behind the leather chair and around the play kitchen to stash toys and play plastic food that they didn't feel like putting away.

It was the bane of my existence, and a constant source of complaining from T, who mistakenly believes that the living room is his "man cave" (that is for another post, entirely). So I took a chance and cleaned the piece off, attached all the extra accessories, and stashed it in the back of the Swagger Wagon. It felt so good to clear some of the toy clutter out.

I'd love some suggestions on what to do with that empty space. When you live in a small 1970s Colonial, storage space is minimal, at best. I thought about maybe a small storage piece because I want something that will serve a purpose and not just clutter the area up. No extra side tables for the sake of having a table there or anything like that...

The umbrella stand needs to be spray painted, and lack of funds require that I keep the current shades and window treatments. But it's nice to dream, right?

What do you think? Have you gotten rid of anything lately that freed up some room in your house?

For now, I am just enjoying the empty space....

New Blogging Series: How to Blog Party

I've held off for as long as I could, but I've finally decided to announce my newest series for bloggers- How to Blog Party. If you're looking for some helpful blogging tips and tricks, this is the spot!

I get emails several times a week from bloggers who have questions about all aspects of blog parties:

• What is a blog party anyways? 
• How do I host a link party? 
• How exactly do I link up?
• What's a link back? 

Rather than continue to copy and paste my response into multiple emails per week, I decided to write a series that I hope bloggers will find informative.


Like my other series (Commenting 101 and Blogging Myths), this one will start pretty basic and will move forward from there. I know there are some people out there who are brand new to blogging and don't know what a link party/blog party is, or how to join them.

I plan on covering topics geared for bloggers who want to link up as well as for bloggers who want to host their own parties.

There are so many of blog parties out there, and I've seen single posts linked to as many as 50 or 60. What should and could be a useful tool for bloggers who link up as well as bloggers who host has turned into a bit of a three ring circus.

I know there are some readers and bloggers out there who won't agree with everything I share, but I'm okay with that. It's the main reason I held off for so long on writing this series, but I'm hoping that bloggers will read it and maybe link parties can become great sources of traffic for those of us who link up and for those of us who host.

I'll aim to post something related to the series once a week, so I hope you'll tune in.

I have a pretty good list of topics to cover, but I am interested to see what you'd like to learn about.

Do you have any specific questions about blog parties? 


Post #1- What is a Blog Party?
Post #2- Why Should I Join a Blog Party?
Post #3- When am I Ready to Join a Blog Party?
Post #4- How to Find a Good Blog Party
Post #5- Choosing a Post to Add to a Blog Party
Post #6- How to Add a Text Link Back to a Blog Party Post (What is a "Link Back"?)
Post #7- How to Add a Button to Your Blog Party Posts
Post #8- Why Linking Back (the Right Way) is Important
Post #9- Choosing the Best "Thumbnail" Photo for a Blog Party
Post #10- How to Add Your Post to a Blog Party

Back to Normal

I'm ready to get back to normal after a very crazy two weeks. Two funerals, a lot of traveling, not enough cleaning my house, and the day-to-day routine have me ready to take a deep breath and get things back in order around here.

I decided not to mess with Texas after all. I think Texas knew what I was contemplating, and in a final "I told you so" move, Texas made me trip on the curb at George Bush Intercontinental Airport yesterday morning and busted my knee up pretty bad. I think I almost would have preferred The Frizz, but I am pretty vain, so it's a toss-up.

Houston greeted us with beautiful weather that was, at times, cooler and more Spring-like than what we left behind in Virginia. Friday, the day of my grandfather's memorial, was beautiful. Sunny skies and a cool breeze in the air. We had to drive to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, but the military service was touching. My sister (an Air Force veteran) explained that the soldiers who perform the military honors aren't just any "Joe Schmoes" who get assigned to the duty. They volunteer and go through special training, and they serve at military services on their days off. Knowing that gave me even more appreciation for them...they showed so much respect for our family and the years of service my grandfather gave to our country. The flag ceremony is timed so precisely, and the gun salute gave me chills.

My sis snapped this shot, which I think pretty much says it all...

It's sad that funerals are sometimes the only thing to bring families together. Although I wasn't particularly happy to be together at some points of the trip...namely at 11 pm on Thursday night as my mom tried to maneuver the rental car out of the airport and through Houston. There was a lot of shouting and waving of the hands. It was like a flashback to 1997, when I had cheerleader bangs and didn't want anything to do with my family. I was very sad that I didn't pack my expired pain killers because there was some pain that needed to be killed in that rental car.

The trip wasn't all sad. We ate delicious Tex-Mex and caught up with our cousin and made fun of people on Doomsday Bunkers. We even hit our favorite used bookstore, which seemed like one of those "normal" day kind of activities.

I'm ready to get back to normal-day activities. Kindergarten drop-off, play dates, my DVR. Even getting the house back together after two weeks of limbo. T held up so nicely while I was gone. None of the children went missing, and they were even fed and clothed when I returned. I was pleased to see that their outfits even matched and he put bows in their hair. Bows, people, bows! I knew I'd rub off on him someday....

So, all this is short to say, thank you for letting me take another day to "vent" here. I didn't feel like jumping back into posts about my family room or the latest recipe I've tried. I'll be folding my laundry today if you need me.

Back tomorrow with an announcement about a new series for bloggers!

Highlighted Weekend Links-- (Belated Features)

Happy belated Sunday! Did you enjoy your weekend? I left for the airport early this morning, so this is the first chance I've had to peruse links and share some features. There were some really fabulous links at my Weekend Bloggy Reading party this weekend.

If you haven't yet, please be sure to visit some of the other links from the party and say a quick howdy to those who have taken the time to visit you.

Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye.

***PLEASE, If you are a Pinterest user, Pin from the original source so that each blogger gets credit for his/her work.***

~Dining Room Makeover via Hoot Designs

~Burlap Bunny Silhouette Banner via Uncommon