Keep Calm and Chalkboard On

Don’t you love bloggy trends?  Keep Calm posters, chevron, buntings, chalkboards, etc.  You know, the trends that get blogged into the ground.  Just when you think that you can’t see another _____ (insert least favorite trend here), a blogger goes an does it again.

That’s me and chalkboards.  I love them.  A lot.  I can’t get enough of them.  I know they make some cringe…like when I see a bunting in a room other than a nursery.  Buntings. Bleh.  Nothing against you bunting lovers.  We all have our thang.  Chalkboards are mine.

I’m too much of a commitment-phobe to paint an entire wall with chalkboard paint (even though I drool over every one that I see) but I have made room for a smaller board in our house. Once I made my first board, I was hooked. I recently discovered chalk pens (thanks Ashley) and the need for another chalkboard arose.

A $3 Salvation Army print/frame turned chalkboard was just what my mudroom was looking for. It just may not have known it.

This is what I see when I walk in the door every week night at around 5:20PM…

Makes me smile every time.

What’s your favorite bloggy trend?  What’s your least favorite? Do those Keep Calm posters make you smile or do you want to set every poster you see on fire? Do share!

Chalk pens are fabulous.  They are easy to write with and are very bright. I purchased mine at Michael’s Print a 50% off coupon from their website before you go! 

Before Chicago Was Cool

Last Friday, Nate and I took an afternoon trip to Galena, Il.  Galena is a town rich in history.  It was hopping back in the day when Chicago was still a swamp.  Although Chicago clearly moved up in ranks, Galena is still a great town to spend an afternoon or week-end.

Some of our Galena favorites include:

The historic main street that is home to lots of shops and restaurants.  (Our favorite is Procento’s pizza)…

The beautiful views seen around town…

The old homes…

And the home of Ulysses S. Grant’s home…

On the way there we stopped at a few scenic overlooks and Palisades State Park to enjoy the fall scenery…

And what do I do with my short attention span while Nate practices up on his photog skills?  Bust a move, of course…

What’s better than a Friday afternoon off of work spent hanging out in a fun town and soaking up some scenery with this dude?…

Not much.

Where’s your favorite day destination?  How do you entertain yourself while your significant other/friends pursue their passions?  Please tell me I’m not the only one getting down my bad self…

Mudroom Art

Remember our mudroom that I talked non-stop about for an entire week?  It’s baaaack!

We last left the mudroom looking like this…

Prettier but still needing some life.  Bring on the picture frames…

Ike is digging the dog shrine.  (He also loves that he can easily slam his dog food dish against the bench.  It’s one of his favorite past times.  Don’t let that pretty face fool you.)

I decided to stick with some classic black and white photos of the family Ike, a pencil sketch of our house (edited in Picnik), and a couple of prints that I had pinned on Pinterest that I whipped up in Photoshop.  The frames are either from Target or our basement.

The room is definitely starting to feel like home instead of a dirty room that we had to walk through to get to the rest of the house. 

I have one more project planned for this room.  Guess you’ll just have to wait in suspense.  Or stop back later this week.

Anyone else have more photos of their dog in their home than most people do of their children?  Don’t you just love when rooms start to feel like home?  Even if your beautiful dog likes to take mouthfuls of food and spit them all over you newly finished room’s floor.  I guess that’s how you know you’re home, right?