The Style House

Hey there!

Hope you lovely ladies have had a wonderful weekend so far! I've spent mine sick -boo. But I still had some fun yesterday cheering my Louisville Cardinals on in the annual rivalry game against UofK. They pulled out the win! We also got snow - about 4 inches or so. Kobe is in heaven. Me, eh, I'm neutral. But man is it pretty!

Anways, onto the fun!

I'm not a huge 'resolution' person. I feel like goals are more realistic & attainable. Both short term & long term. I will be outlining my 2013 goals [read: how i will OWN 2013] in my post on January 2 when I link up with Miss Janna for the 'I Define My Own Perception' linkup. Seriously excited. Post is already finished for this bad boy.

One of the main things I want to impliment this year [besides business & health goals] is having more FUN! That's right, making more memories, finding the fun in the everyday, etc.

For this reason, I've created... dun - du - duhhh... The Joy Jar! Basically it's a jar to store all of your fun memories all year long. Then, at the end of the year, you read through them & remember!

You may have seen similar creations on Pinterest - I don't claim to be the inventor - but here is my take on it!

What you need:
- A large mason jar w/ lid.
- Letter cut-outs. [I got mine in a package from Michael's crafts]
- Hot glue gun & glue sticks
- Modge podge/ glue
- Glitter
- Paper cut into strips

Step 1: Decorate
Basically I took my mason jar & hot glued the word 'JOY' onto the front. You could use any word you like, but I thought 'Joy Jar' had a nice ring to it. I decorated my lid with glitter. Just brushed on Modge-podge & sprinkled on glitter. A clear spray coat would be nice to top it off with, but mine is MIA, so I used hairspray...




Mine has a permanent position on the kitchen counter, front & center, so I can remember to add my memories.

Will you make a 2013 'Joy Jar'? What would you call yours??

xo
Sam

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Hey loves!

Happy day-after-Christmas! It's already Wednesday! I'm supposed to be working today, but here in good ole KY we have some ice/snow/sleet & I'm thinking about rescheduling my week so I can just hang out at home today. I am the worlds worst driver in bad conditions & for the sake of all other drivers out there [& my little car], I'll stay off the roads!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas & spent time eating yummy food, hanging out with friends & family, giving thoughtful gifts [& maybe recieving some, too!] Of course I couldn't forget about my furry friends, so I whipped up these easy dog treats & they absolutely fell in love!

Peanut Butter Doggie Treats

Adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

-2 cups whole wheat flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1 cup natural peanut butter
-1 cup low-fat milk (i used 2%)

-dog bone cookie cutter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Roll out dough on a lightly floured flat surface with a roller to about 1/4" thickness. Cut out dog bone shapes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet & bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool & store in an airtight container. Watch your dog devour them!

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...a Merry Little Christmas!

I have to work this morning, but then I'm coming home to relax for a while. I can gladly say that I have all of my shopping & wrapping complete!

Tonight we are headed to Jason's family Christmas. There are always a ton of people & it's fun every year. There are no gifts; just games, food & wine, which is fine by me! We are bringing Guesstures & Pictionary, along with buffalo chicken dip (traditional Christmas fare, ha!), and wine.

Tomorrow I'll visit my parents & brother early to exchange gifts, then come back & spend the day with Jason. We are having cinnamon rolls that morning, then homemade pizza once we come back home from his parents.

Don't worry, I didn't forget about Kobe & Dax :)

Homemade peanut butter dog treats! They are in love! Can't wait to share the recipe with you guys.
This was Kobe after.... he looks like he's in a food coma!
You can see how his staying-off-the-couch training is coming...

And just because... here is a little book Christmas tree I spotted while out last week:

This is in a little coffee shop/book store called Karen's Book Barn. Love this place! I learned a new drink order here from someone that used to work at Starbucks. It's called a Cafe Meil. Steamed milk, expresso, honey & cinnamon. Sooo good! Make it your next order at your favorite coffee shop, I promise you will love it!

Merry Christmas everyone!
What are your plans??

xo
Sam

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Hi guys,
Back today with my Charlotte recap! I loved the city, I thought sizewise it was comparable to Louisville. While Jason was slaving away at meetings in the afternoon, I was out galavanting around town. I found some cool areas to explore, NODA historical art district, the South End, and Dilworth made my it list. Sometimes exploring a new city or just new surroundings in general really boosts your creativity & gets you inspired! Or at least that's the way it is for me :) Check out my trip - in pictures!

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Hiiyaa Friends!
I've been MIA with my trip to Charlotte this past week, plus a super busy weekend getting things caught up. However, I still had to fit in my workouts, which is what I'm here to tell you about today.

You may notice the title 'Hidey-Ho', but today we're talking about Cassie Ho!
Cassie Ho aka the Blogilates Queen! Haven't heard of her? You are missing out! Hop on her website or just do what I do & YouTube her. (Idk if it's right to say 'YouTube her' like you would say 'Google her', but I'm going with it :) She is full of workout good-ness!

I'm LOVING her ab workouts. Just knocked this one out tonight & my abs are a'hurtin! Check it out.




The best part - free (obviously). The next best part - Cassie is an amazing motivator & FULL of personality. Plus all of her workouts are in real time & done to different popular songs. If you like this one you will LOVE the Plankathon workout.

Ok. Ready. Set. Go workout!
I'll be back tomorrow with a Charlotte recap :)

xo
Sam

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Hiya lovely ladies!
Shewww it's been a while.
Quite the blogging hiatus.

So we have a morning radio show here where the host has 'Free for All Fridays' meaning people can call in and talk about any subject their little hearts desire. So today I'm having my own Free for All Friday to catch you guys up!

 [posted on Thursday, because I'm busy tomorrow & I can never get the dang scheduled posts to work as, well, scheduled!]

I have been super busy with both cleaning & real estate clients,
not to mention holiday festivities, the dreaded Christmas shopping, holiday mailers, etsy shop glass orders... bla bla bla bla bla.

Happy to say that I've pretty much wrapped up my Christmas shopping, & within budget to boot! (to boot... who am I?)

Jason has been sick over in these parts so I have literally been able to stretch one nights dinner of crockpot chicken soft tacos into 3 nights worth of meals. Anddd I'm not even tired of them yet so that's an indicater that you should try 'em out!


Last weekend, we had friends over, had a few drinks & went all retro & played... Pictionary! Our 1985 edition is pretty dang fun. Especially when we mess up the words. I got a card that said 'Matinee' and I guess I just read it wayy to fast as 'Manitee'. So here I am drawing a manitee & that's not even the dang word. Oh well, Jason didn't guess it anyway. Our 'drawing styles' are totally out of sync! Kobe was enjoying the company though.

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So you think you are ready to buy a home...
There are many questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to seriously start your search.
There are lots of factors to consider & I'm going to outline what I consider to be important below.

What Can I Afford?

Take a deep look into your personal finances. Look at your monthly & annual income. Make sure you have a monthly budget & examine it. What are you able to allocate to home expenses? Do you have any money for a down payment saved? Do I have an emergency fund in place? Before you even visit a lender or mortgage broker, you should have a grasp on what you are comfortable with spending each month. Just because you can get approved for $X amount that results in $X monthly payment, that doesn't mean it's necessarily the right amount for you and your lifestyle. Bottom line - nobody wants to be 'house broke'.

What Kind of Home Works for Me?

Do you want a single family home? Maybe a condo or patio home? There are benefits & setbacks for each depending on the buyer. If you don't have the time or desire to take care of the exterior maintenance that goes with owning a single family home, maybe a condo [where you pay a monthly maintenance fee] is for you. New home or old home? Fixer upper or move in ready? New construction or existing home? These are all questions to ask yourself before you seriously start looking.

What Area Do I Want to be In?

This is very important. Do you want an urban or rural setting? City or suburb? Land or subdivision? Do you want to be near your work, schools, or family? How long are you willing to commute? Real estate prices are higher in some areas & more affordable in others. Your Realtor can help you look into how home prices & taxes vary from place to place.

What Are My Needs in a Home?

Do you need a ranch style or are you Ok with a 2-story? Contemporary or traditional? How many bedrooms & bathrooms? Is a basement or a garage necessary? What about overall square footage? Depending on your age, the size of your family, and your personal preferences all of this can vary. It's important to know your options & weigh your wants vs. needs. Your Realtor can help you identify what is available in your market & how the different options will affect the home prices.

Bottom line - with todays technology, information is literally at your fingertips. Don't be uninformed on one of the biggest financial decisions you will make. Here are some informative links for ya!

1/2/3

Hope these tips help! Feel free to leave any additional tips you think are helpful in the comments :)

And just for fun, here are some home related Pinterest finds & links for you to devour :)


Dream Home Source: Customize your house & get an idea of how much it would be to build.


Ikea Hackers: Learn how to customize normal Ikea items into awesome things for your house.
[I love Ikea items as they are, so I can only imagine!]


I do this! Fill one of those sink scrubbers with a 50/50 mix of dish soap & vinegar. Leave in your shower & scrub while you are in there! Such a time saver & really works!


This Site is like the mecca for home organization! Oh how I want to take a week & implement each and every one of these ideas!

Ok click the links & become addicted. Ready. Set. Go.
Enjoy your evening!!

xo
Sam

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