Blog Buddies

Guess who I hung out with this week-end?

These two…

Yeah, it was as awesome as it sounds. 

Kim and I had met a couple of times before but this was my first time meeting Cindy.  She was brave enough to drive down from Minn-e-sota to spend the week-end with Kim and I in the Quad Cities.  I’m glad she did because we had lots of fun.  I feel like these two are friends from college or something.  Who knew blogging would lead to new real life friends?  Not this weirdo who previously thought everyone on the internet was a serial killer.  They are both great and it’s so nice to talk house stuff with people who are equally passionate about houses/DIY.

We were all horrible bloggers and didn’t photograph our adventures.  Seriously.  Bloggers without photos.  The shame. 

Friday night was an action packed evening at my house.  We made cookies, ate pizza, and talked….a lot.  And it was wonderful.  Ike put on quite the show…as expected.  On Saturday we spent the day thrifting, browsing, eating, and snuggling Kim’s pugs. 

Kim’s husband did take our only group photo after a long day on Saturday.  Lola didn’t think it was necessary for me to stand for this photo.  Or could I no longer stand from shopping so much.  I’ll let you decide.

What did I find on our adventures?  Not a lot but what I did find was beautiful.  Vintage Pyrex makes my heart go pitter-patter.  Pyrex is becoming a problem in my life.

These pieces will join others I received at Christmas…

The blog will be lame again this week because I have been neglecting my house and having fun without it.  BUT I have ideas a brewing, items on order, painting in progress.  Stick with me through the lame.  There will always be cute Ike pictures to get us through…

Was your week-end as awesome as mine?  Have you met fellow bloggers?  Are you up to meeting other bloggers?  Any fellow Pyrex addicts out there?

Monistat Chaffing Relief Powder Gel

By popular request, I will share with you the wonders of Monistat’s Chaffing Relief Powder Gel.  I never thought I’d be writing about a Monistat product on this blog.  But it’s happening.  Mom, be proud.

I first heard about this life changing product from my dear blog friend, Rachel.  You can read her little blurb about the product as a make-up primer by clicking right here.  I really like to be trusting of my blog friends but this just seemed crazy.  Crazy enough for the pharmacist in me to want to check it out further.

I headed on over to Amazon to read the reviews.  Great reviews as a make-up primer….and to prevent “chub rub” (note: not my term.  I took it directly from the reviews.)  This product contains dimethicone which is used in expensive make-up primers. The price was right at $5.99 for the tube.  I’ll try it.  Why not?  Please Amazon Prime two day ship that to me so I don’t have to purchase it in a store.  Thanks.  Store clerks do judge you.  I’m a pharmacist.  I know.

This stuff is incredible.  Seriously. 

Why do I love it so much?

• It comes out of the tube as a gel and then dries to a super soft powder finish.  Not sticky at all.  It is also scent free.
• It makes my face incredibly soft.  It’s crazy.  I like to pet my own face now.  Ike is jealous.
• It minimizes pores. 
• It works great as a primer.  I wear Bare Minerals make-up and this product helps my make-up go on smoother.  I also need to use less make-up.  Cost savings!
• I have a super sensitive face.  Any time I try something new, my face usually breaks out.  (Unfortunately, I’m a sucker for products…and a slow learner.)  My skin has actually improved during the month that I’ve worn this. (Way to jinx myself.)
• I normally have trouble with dry skin in the winter.  My face has stayed nice and moisturized since I began using it.  (I did, however, start using a new moisturizer around the same time.  It’s called Cerave…and I’m also in love with it.  I think the combo together has kept the face all nice and moist..but not too moist.  Isn’t moist a gross word?)
• Speaking of gross…this product is fun to freak people out with.  I made my mom try it.  She thought I was messing with her.  Until she put it on her face, loved it, and didn’t care if it was a Monistat product or not.  I also think it makes Nate all nervous.  Even better.
• You don’t need very to use very much of the gel.  I’ve been using mine 5-6 days per week and the tube looks like I’ve hardly touched it.

There you have it.  The day my blog went down the tube….when I wrote about a tube of Monistat.

Who’s going to try this interesting product or can you not get past the Monistat?  What’s your favorite beauty product? 

Guess who I’m hanging out with this week-end?  It may or may not be two awesome blog girls.  The suspense…

***I was in no way compensated for this post.  I just think the product is awesome and thought you might too!***

DSLR for Dummies- ISO

Let’s chat about ISO today.  Okay? Okay!

I first Googled ISO.  ISO stands for International Standards Organisation.  That’s helpful.

Nate………help!  SOS.  I’m falling asleep.

Nate informed me that ISO has to deal with shutter speed, lighting and “noise”.

In a DSLR camera, there is a sensor that receives the picture.  This sensor used to be film.  (Interesting.  I miss film.  Sort of.)  The invention of the digital camera was awesome for photography because previously your film determined your ISO.  Once you started a roll of film, you had to take all of your photos at that ISO.   Now we just do some button clicking magic and we have a new ISO whenever we want!

What exactly does ISO do?  ISO changes the light sensitivity of that sensor in the camera that is receiving the picture.

The lower the ISO, the less sensitive the sensor is to light.  The sensor gathers less light which may results in a longer time to take the photo (slower shutter speed).

How do you know determine what ISO to use?  Nate usually shoots in ISO ranges from 200-800.  He tells me that anything over 800 will result in more noticeable grain or “noise”.

So, why would you use anything over 800?  You are most concerned about ISO when you are in a low light setting.  In low light you will want a higher ISO because the higher ISO will give you a faster shutter speed.  The trade off with this faster shutter speed is the “noise”.
I asked Nate to give me some examples of situations and what ISO I should use…

High ISO:  An indoor basketball.  (There is probably poor lighting and that fast shutter speed will come in handy.)  Hand holding the camera at sunset.  (You will want the increased “noise” versus the blurry picture you will get with a low ISO.

Middle ISO:  Our house at night with the lights on/no natural light.  (He suggested ISO 800-1000)

Low ISO:  Outside on a sunny day.  Nature photography.  Sunset on a tripod.

The following photos are my ISO learning photos.  I am showing you my Picasa screen shot.  In the lower left corner, Picasa gives you the camera information.  Very helpful when writing these posts…

ISO 200  f/3.5  1/10s

ISO 400  f/3.5  1/15s

ISO 800  f/3.5  1/30s

ISO 1600  f/3.5  1/60s

ISO 3200  f/3.5  1/100s

What difference do you notice in the pictures?  (Other than the ISO 800 photo that is blurry due to operator error.)…..  Do you notice anything???..........I’ve got nothing.  It all looks the same to me.  Seriously Nate, are you just messing with me?

He first had me notice the shutter speed.  As you increase the ISO, the shutter speed increases.  I did notice this while taking the photos. 

He then had me zoom on in a little closer…

ISO 200

ISO 3200

Notice how the second photo is all dirty looking.  That’s the “noise” he kept talking about.  I might be getting it.


Summary:  Higher ISO = messy close up photo   Lower ISO = pretty and clean photo

What questions do you have about ISO?  We will answer those and the aperture questions this week-end.  Hopefully.  I’d also like to set up a Flickr group to force you all to practice now instead of putting it off.  Peer pressure!  I’ll keep you posted!

Blogging Basics- Social Media

First important news of the day.  By popular request, I will share my thoughts on Monistat’s Chaffing Gel on Friday. What has this blog come to? *hangs head* Must finish projects soon so blog does not go down the tube.

Next important news.  Let’s talk about social media.

Have you noticed those pretty yellow social media icons at the top of this blog?  They allow you to easily stalk me on various social networks.  How fun is that?  (You can read a tutorial on how to make them here.)

I did not realize the important role social media played in blogging until just a few months back. Networking with other bloggers makes this whole blogging thing much more fun!

Twitter and facebook are great for:

• Building relationships with other bloggers.
  • Leaving comments helps establish relationships but messaging back and forth is great too.
  • I mention more day-to-day type things on twitter than I do here on the blog. As do other bloggers.  This kind of chat helps you feel a little more connected to that girl that always covered in paint and/or hot glue.
• Finding opportunities in blogland.  I don’t know about you but I always feel like I’m behind in the blog world.  Twitter and facebook help me feel a little less behind.
  • “So and so is giving away a free ticket to Haven.”  “Enter this great giveaway here.” “Great link party happening over at …”
• Promoting your blog.
  • Shameless self promotion is expected…and encouraged!
  • If you think about it, blogging is no different from anything else in life.  If you want to succeed, you have to get out there and tell people how fantastic you are.  And trust me, it’s much easier doing so on your couch behind a monitor than it is in real life.

Why/how I use twitter and facebook.

I was a little hesitant about joining the twitter…

I still don’t think I fully understand it. @ this, retweet that.  It’s such a fast paced site.  I may need someone to guest post on how to use twitter.  Don’t let that scare you though.  Sign up.  It’s fun.  Just pretend you know what you’re doing like I do. (Like the time I got my internet fixed after a storm in 2 days versus the 30 I was told on the phone…)

Facebook I can handle…

I like my Decor and the Dog facebook page because it allows me to “like” a bunch of things/places without junking up my personal facebook.  I’m selfish.  When I started my page, I encouraged family and friends to “like” the page if they were interested in reading.  This way they were informed on new posts without me annoying everyone else in my facebook feed.  Brilliant.

Now I here that Google+ is the next big leap for bloggers. Didn’t I just mention always feeling behind? I have an account.  I don’t find it user friendly.  It just may be my old age holding me back.  I’ll let you know when I tackle that one.  Any pointers?

Are you on the twitter?  How about facebook?  Leave your info in the comments so we can all make some new friends via social media!  Not signed up?  Get on it! Any questions regarding social media and how it can benefit your blog?  Fellow bloggers, what benefits have you found from social media?

Life Favorites

I started some projects this week-end.  I didn’t finish a single one.  I should be working on them now but Michelle sleepy.  Sleepy Michelle leaves you with a photo list of some of my favorite things in life right now…brought to you by my phone.

L to R: (Eek. I have boy hair.  Not a favorite but it's life.)  (Lazy, X-Games obsessed husband.) (Leopard flats from Target.)

L to R: (Q&A journal.  To write all of my brilliant life thoughts each day.) ($2 pitcher from SalAl.  And yes, it is still the New Year in our humble abode) (Gumball machine Christmas gift.  My dad gets me.)

L to R:  (Magazine and Kindle love.  Currently enjoying Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.) (Walking the dog in 50 degree weather in January...in Iowa.  What?)  (Monistat Chafing relief powder gel as make-up primer. (Similar to Smashbox)  Rachel, thank you for changing my life.  This stuff is AMAZING.)

L to R: (sleepy Ike) (Ike destroying our couch and melting my heart all at the same time) (Ready to play..or destroy things)

Tell me about some of our favorite life things right now!  I’m all ears….or eyes.   Since I won’t really hear you…

Not A Valentine’s Day Mantel

Our mantel was looking a little sad without it’s Christmas garb.  I needed to fix that.

I just wasn’t feeling the Valentine’s Day mantel thing.  Pink doesn’t fly so well with the husband.  I am more into calming neutrals lately so red was out.

I’m also not a big Valentine’s Day fan.  I’m not one of those that will dress in black and say things like “stupid Hallmark holiday”.  It’s just not a day that we celebrate much in our house.

But that mantel.  It was looking so boring.  What to do?  What to do?

A Pinterest browse sparked an idea.

I found a tutorial for yarn wrapped letters over at My Sister's Suitcase.  Everyone is making yarn wrapper letters.  I can totally do this. 

Yarn letters are not fun.  I am not good at making yarn letters.  I will never make yarn letters again.  At least not the letter “X” anyway.  You win some.  You lose some.  The end.

Do you like my new sassy owl friend?  I found her at Menards for $7.  A sassy owl at Menards. Who would have thought?  (Who.  Owl.  I kill me.)  She looks flirty.  Perfect for the upcoming holiday.

There you have it.  My not a Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day mantel.

Are you a Valentine’s Day decorator?  Do you think it’s weird that I have a bird phobia but love little sassy owls?  Yeah, me too.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Nate and I normally like to eat a nice and healthy breakfast on Sundays.  And by nice and healthy, I mean horribly bad for us.  We try to eat healthy-ish during the week but splurge on the week-ends….especially Sunday morning.

We’ve been skipping our normal unhealthy breakfast for the past few Sundays to recover from the holidays.  This past Sunday we hopped back on the bad-for-us bandwagon.

I saw a recipe over at Iowa Girl Eats for 8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls.  Sign me up!

Look at that concentration.  And the designer outfit.

This recipe is so easy that I made it 100% by myself without annoying Nate once.  Impressive. 

I used the The Pioneer Woman's maple frosting recipe (minus the coffee) to top them off.  Delicious.

Crescent rolls.  Butter. Sugar.  Can you wrong?  Of course not!

Nate and I both thought these were a great substitute for homemade rolls.  Are they as good as homemade rolls?  No.  Were they just as good because they took 30 minutes instead of hours to make?  Yes!!  I think these would be great to serve at a brunch or shower beings that they are bite size and super easy to make.

Iowa Girl Eats recommends eating 2 or 3. 

We may or may not have devoured the plateful.  Oops.

What’s your favorite breakfast dish?  AKA, what should I cook this week-end?  Do share!  Anyone else dumb enough to post pictures of themselves with bedhead on their blog? :)

DSLR For Dummies- Aperture

We’re going to do today’s DSLR post a little different.  I’m going to share with you what I learned this week about aperture.  (There is an Ike photo at the end for those of you who aren't interested in this DSLR business!)  I’m glad to have this all written down because I will probably forget before next week’s lesson.

What does aperture mean to me?  How wide the shutter opens = how much light gets in

What is f-stop?  The f-stop controls how wide the shutter opens.

• The smaller the f-stop = the more the shutter opens = more light in = faster shutter speed. 
• The larger the f-stop = the less the shutter opens = less light in = slower shutter speed
• Wow, that was intense.  This is the part I had to keep being reminded of.  It takes awhile to sink in.  You’ll get there.  Hopefully you learn faster than I do.
• I got a notebook out after Nate repeated this to me about 212 times.  I'm studious.

What advantage is there to moving the camera from “auto” to “A”? Or I like “auto”.  Why should I rack my brain this hard? 

• You get more control over the depth of field (blurriness of background).
• In auto, the camera picks everything based on meter in the camera.
• In A you can pick the f-stop and ISO.  The camera selects the shutter speed.
  • Side note on shutter speed: The faster the shutter speed, the less motion shown.  1/50 is faster than 1/20. (Ex. photographing sports you would use 1/1000.)

How do you know what f-stop to use?

• low light (our house): smaller f-stop
• blurry background (portrait): smaller f-stop
• bigger depth of field (ex. landscape): larger f-stop

What should this f-stop business look like on the camera?



In the following photos I will share with you what f-stop I used.  Notice as the f-stop gets larger, the background (ex. the deck rails) will become more in focus.  Fancy.  And I got to touch the camera.  Super fancy.

f/3.5 (f-stop), 1/60s (shutter speed), ISO 800

f/8.0, 1/13s, ISO 800

f/22.0, 1/2s, ISO 800

Get your cameras out!  When you increased the f-stop, did you notice how long it took to take the picture?  Weird.  And it makes sense.  The larger the f-stop, the less light that gets in.  The less light that gets in, the longer it takes to take the picture (slower shutter speed).

And now, a cute picture of the Ike-man with my newly learned f-stop skills….

f/3.5, 1/30s, ISO 800

Any questions on aperture?  Nate will answer them because this is all I know.  Did you learn anything?  Who wants to snuggle with Ike?

Blogging Basics- Finding Your Niche

Let’s continue the Blogging Basics series!

If I was an organized blogger, a blogging series would go in order.  Since I am not, you get whatever I feel like writing about this week.  It’s fun being in charge. 

Today I would like to discuss finding your niche.

I feel like this important topic gets missed when the big bloggers discuss blogging and how to grow your blog.  As a baby blogger, other baby bloggers are going to be the key to you enjoying blogging. (I don’t believe anyone that says they don’t care if anyone reads their blog.)  Other bloggers of small blogs will be the ones that comment on your site.  They will be the ones that encourage you to keep going with your projects.  They will be the ones you go to when you have a question regarding blogging. 

How do you find your niche? 

I had trouble finding the answer to this question.  I started by visiting some of the larger blogs that I read.  I then clicked on their comments and visited the blogs of their commenters.  Slowly but surely I started finding blogs that I related to….DIY, late 20/early 30 somethings, design focused, dog lovers, witty, crafty.  I also looked through the blog rolls (list of blogs on the side bar) of the new blogs that I found…and the commenters on these smaller blogs.

Once you locate these small blogs that you enjoy reading, comment away!  Comment nicel and be genuine.  You can skim the posts of the big guys but be sure to read the posts of your new found niche friends.  They will know if you actually read the post.  (I can totally tell.)

Over time, you will start to see who your niche is.  This can take months.  It takes time to establish relationships in real life.  It takes time in blogland also.  Be patient.  Your niche will make blogging a ton of fun.

Who’s in my niche?

I was going to list out my niche but I don’t want to forget anyone.  I’d feel bad. Basically my niche is located in my blog roll (on the right side under “Must Read List”).  Look, I did your homework for you.  Happy clicking!

Any other questions about finding your niche?  I’m sure I am forgetting something important because my brain is cloudy from dealing with way too many drug interactions. 

I also encourage you to leave a comment today with a brief description of your blog.  This will make it easy for everyone to help locate a new niche friend or two!  I like the word “niche”…can you tell?

Another Old Lady Hobby

Just when I think I can’t make myself seem any older, I go and take up another old lady hobby.

Kim over at NewlyWoodwards recently posted about a quilt block a month series over at In Color Order.  The series looks fun.  Each month in 2012, a quick tutorial for a traditional quilt block using half-square triangles will be presented!

Once a month.  That’s pretty low pressure.  Finish a quilt top in a year.  That’s about right on schedule for my normal projects.  Let’s do this!

Look at me getting all confident in my barely existent sewing skills!

Ladies (and maybe gentlemen?  Dad? Nate?)….here is January’s half-square triangle block of the month…

Overall, I’m pretty proud of myself.  It resembles a quilt block.  It’s not perfect but I’m going to call it perfect enough for my first attempt.  Most of my corners match up-ish.

The finished block should be 12.5” square. Mine is a hair over 12.25”  What’s a quarter of an inch? Right? Right. I might be able to press out a little more.  And kick myself later for not following directions.

It was recommended to use your fabric stash.  I don’t really have a stash yet so I purchased 2 charm packs of Moda's Flora.

I wanted something shabby chic to go with my shabby chic way of quilting.  Shabby chic is a good term to cover up laziness/lack of patience.

Was this attempt hard?  Yes and no.  The instructions are fairly easy to follow.  The cutting and aligning were very testing for my overall lack of patience in life. I think this block took me about 3 hours.  (I did it in bits and pieces.  Ripped out some seams.)  I think/hope the next one will go faster.   This project will be good for me though.  I’m pretty excited about it.  Bring it February square.

Would you like to join along?  There is still time to complete the January block…or you can catch up at anytime! You can also check out the flickr group.

Any other quilters out there?  Is there hope for me?  What’s your favorite old lady hobby?  What’s your favorite fabric collection?