Nominated for a Libester

I'm not sure how Naptime Nothings found me, but I'm super excited that she nomintated me for a Liebster Award!  How cool!  Thanks Sarah for passing it along to me! 

The Leibster Award is basically a supportive award that is given to new bloggers. While I'm not necessarily a new blogger and I obviously need some blogging support, so hello, Leibster Award!! Haha! And can I just mention that everytime I say Liebster, I think of my sister Libby who sometimes we call Libster, or Elizabit** -- but that's another story.

This award is pretty cool because it focuses on bloggers with 200 followers or less.  Like me.  It is a great way for smaller blogs like Little Miss Martha to make new friends and share their ideas.

So, here we go. 

Rules:

There are always rules...

1. Thank your Liebster Award presenter on your blog and link back to their blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs that has 200 followers or less whom you feel deserve to be noticed. Be sure to leave them a comment on their blog to let them know they have been chosen.

4. Copy and paste the blog award on to your blog. It is an award so show it off! Wink...Wink.

And onto the Questions to Answers...
11 of them....

1. When do you find the time to blog?
HAHA!  When?  That's right... when DO I find time to blog?  Honestly it's usually at night before I got to bed - literally laying in my bed with my laptop on my lap and the tv on trying to catch up on dvr items - or first thing when I get to work in the morning.  I try to have everything in line so all I have to do is edit and post if I have to do it in the morning. 

2. IF you could be any animal, what would it be and why?
This is a toughie.  I'm not sure.  It's not that I don't like animals, it's just that I don't really want to be one.  I guess I'd pick a turtle.  Weird, I know.  But I have some weird love for them... probably becasue they are like me with their hard shell on the outside and softness underneath.  I tend to keep a guard until I get to know you.  Not a mean guard, just a I don't want to get hurt guard.  Plus, slow and steady wins the race, right?

3. Describe what you feel when you see your favorite color?
Ok, my favorite color is red, but you will rarely see me in it or see it in my home.  I'm not sure why it's even red these days, but I like the boldness of it and the classic feel of it.  It's one of the primary colors so I just think I like it because it's original.  I can't believe I'm even saying this... hah.  Seriously though, it makes me feel happy. 

4. What is your favorite television show?
My favorite TV show right now is Shameless, but it's season is over for now.  I love the dysfunctionally functional Gallaghers.  I love that they do whatever they need to do to get by -- and when it's illegal it makes the show much funnier.  Never a dull moment...

5. What one thing would you like your children to take into adulthood?
Work Ethic.  I probably should say their creative being or their sense of humor, but I see TONS of kids these days who don't know what it is to work hard.  It's annoying.  I hope my kids (only one now) know the effort it takes to earn a dollar and that they are willing to do the work necessary to make money. 

6. What does your family think of your blog?
My family thinks it's cool that I have a blog, but I don't think that they read it... maybe they do... if you do shout out in the comments people!  But it doesn't really matter what they think in the end because I really enjoy it and I like to use it as a creative outlet.

7. What would your dream vacation be?
FIJI -- Not sure why exactly, oh wait, because it looks freaking phenominal!!!  Yea, thats right.  I've just always had a wierd affination for this place... Hopefully I'll get their someday.
8. What is your favorite midnight snack?
Potato Chips?  I could eat them anytime, anywhere!  Love them. 

9. What daily chore do you despise the most?
Wait, people have time to do daily chores?!?  I very much dislike cleaning the bathrooms, but I'm not going to lie -- this doesn't happen daily.

10. What advice would you give to a first time blogger?
Don't give up. I've never really given up, but I've had my inconsistent moments... like recently and then look what happened -- I received this award!  There's nothing like the feeling of just letting it out there... I feel like I write things and if people like it great, but I wrote it for me in the end.  It's tough, but you can do it!  Do it for yourself!

11. If you had 3 wishes what would you wish for?
(1) I'd wish for three more wishes. (1) I'd wish to have ALL my debt paid off.  I hate debt looming over me.  It's like a dark cloud everyday.
(2) I'd wish to enjoy my job or have my own business that I could enjoy.  My job is a job.  I get paid well, but man o' man does it every stink... nothing fun, very negative people, at the moment, no room for movement.
(3) I'd wish for all my house projects to be completed -- like voila!  Started & Completed.  There is a list for when the genie comes around.

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I have been married for 2.5 years now.
2. I have one little girl who is a spitfire and the love of my life.
3. I used to be a figure skater & actually taught lessons until about 1 year ago.
4. My husband is a hockey player & coach.
5. We won our honeymoon from Brides Magazine.
6. I'm a closet craft hoarder.
7. I have a sewing machine and can't get it to work. 
8. We have 2 dogs - Lex the Labradoodle & Louie the Schnoodle.
9. Deep down I want to be the next Martha Stewart.
10. I hate to exercise.  Well hate might be an overstatement and I think it's just because I"m usually tired.
11. I'm an Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot!  But if you read this blog already you might know that.  I've actually set a goal to add 4 more people to my team by July - who's in?

And here are my 11 Nominees:

Rosy @ A Joyful Kind of Life  

Jess @ View From River Mountain

Melanie @ Messages from the Muellers

Samaa @ Honey Sweet Home

Jean @ Flower Hill Design Company 

Diane @ Crave Cute 

Lisa @ Team T Adventures 

Kiri @ My Lovely Life

Lisa @ A Room With A View

Kirsten @ The Foreign Domestic

Allie @ My Life as a Wife

Happy Liebsters!

xoxo,

A Bold New Adventure...

This month, with the launch of bags and totes we are inviting you to join us on a bold new adventure...

We've just doubled our market with this amazing collection and we are so hot right now we've been featured in Lucky, Women's Wear Daily, Rebook, & InStyle...

And our Classic Bag was just featured in a National Smirnoff Ad Campaign!

When you join us this month you will receive an extra $100 in product credit.

You sign up for $199 right now and get your business in a box AND $450 in product credits! 

I have room for two new stylists on my team still!  I'm always growing and expanding and inviting new amazing women to join my team, but I have room and time to train two more at this time! 

If you love fashion, accessories, learning, feeling empowered, and constantly feeling inspired, this is the perfect thing for you!  We have fun stylists, part-time stylists, full-time stylists -- We have lawyers, doctors, teachers, nurses, and stay at home moms -- We have sisters, mothers, and friends.

We'd love to have you.

We can sponsor across the US so you can be anywhere!

If you are on the fence, have questions or want to sign up, message me! 

Or, visit www.stelladot.com/abbyk and click on JOIN. 

Seriously, this is the perfect time to start your new social selling business with Stella & Dot

and we can't wait to have you!

xoxo,

*You can become a stylist at anytime, but the extra $100 is for a limited time only -- ends April 30th*

Stella & Dot Glam On The Go Sweepstakes!

At Stella & Dot, we're celebrating the launch of our Summer 2013 Collection and the debut of bags with a fabulous sweepstakes!

Who wouldn't want to win a $500 shopping spree anywhere, let alone to Stella & Dot?!? 
If you are like me and love any contest/sweepstakes enter here: http://bit.ly/119yPAf

Our new handbags and totes are to die for -- believe me, you need one, or two... or who am I kidding, all of them!  Check out this cute little less than one minute video...

Did you watch it?  There's going to be a quiz at the end... just kidding, but seriously, like how cute is Laurel's Mom? 

Not to mention our amazing accessories as usual...

I have room for 2 more online shows now through May 5th.  All of these great pieces could be yours... See the rest at my website. 

Or, if you are in the giving mood, get together with a few friends, and give your child's teacher the hostess rewards!  They'll love you for it and it will be one of the best teacher gifts they could get! 

Remember, Teacher Appreciation Day is just around the corner...
And Mother's Day...
And Graduations...

xoxo,

Pallets

So yesterday I posted about getting your patio ready so that when you are ready to sit out there and sip a cup of coffee and watch the sun rise or drink a beer and watch the sun set, you are ready.  Who am I kidding? I can't see the sun rise or set from my patio... but that's beside the point! 

But while prepping yesterday's post, I came across this picture via Martha Stewart
(more the left side of the picture)


And it got me to thinking...
I could do 4-5 pallets 2 deep and see how that looks...

Here is my side yard...

And yes, this is what it still looks like 3 years later...

How hard would it be to get 8-10 pallets (or make them) and set them out there like a little deck?  I always thought a deck would look brutal out there, but I'm thinking with the right accents ala planters and landscape, it might actually work.  What do you think?

I'm thinking a few pallets, a few cement planters, and maybe a couple of things (unsure what yet) to make sure it's balanced and level but I'm thinking it will work and look adorable!  And be a place to set a table & chairs, a little sandbox for Ells, and get the dogs messes out of my face when I walk out the door!  haha.

Have you thought about working with pallets before?  It got me looking and here are a few other projects I found interesting!

Once the patio is finished, I think this would look great on a table out there! Love me some succulents!

via

I think this would be a cool addition to a corner I have and am unsure what to do with it!

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These would look cute under my TV Stand in the loft... for the innumerable amount of toys that have crept into my house.

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Love this... and love the colors too!  What a great idea! 

This would be a cute piece at the garage entry too.

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And I'm not sure what it is about these wood accent walls... I am in love! 

I hate panelling, but if it's white I love it and now, I'm in love with these planked walls! 

I think it would look really cool on one wall in our pantry. 

via

What do you think?  Have you or would you use pallets to decorate spaces of your home? 

xoxo,

Remember, it's Autism Awareness Month so show your support by purchasing a Spirit Bracelet before they sell out!

Mondays With Martha -- Spring Cleaning

Happy Monday Blog Hogs!  Here we go again, right?

I hope you all had a lovely Easter.  Ours was nice.  Nice enough.  We had a very short trip home, less than 24 hours, and a late night of driving back.  Fail.  But it's always good to be home... even if your home is a super hot mess when you walk in. 

With that being said today I'm going to share some organizing tips from Martha. 

Mondays with Martha

Spring House Cleaning Solutions! 

1.  Deep Clean Rugs & Carpets

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 --   Make sure to spot-clean your rugs and carpets as stains occur and to deep clean 2x a year!  You can either DIY with a rental or hire someone to do it... I feel like our carpets are always a mess, but I hate to move everything around!  Groupon & Living Social seem to usually have carpet cleaning deals so you may look there for discounted hire.

2.  Clean Window Treatments
-- Make sure to take down your draperies and launder or dry-clean them; dust off blinds and clean with a sponge. Freeing these areas of dust helps to refresh the air in your home so you can breathe easy. I know our drop cloth drapes could use a cleaning -- they seem to attract my dogs hair... fail.   3. Replace Outside Doormats -- Give your front door a fresh new look for spring. Replace your winter ravaged doormat with a new one -- you can even DIY a new one if you like!  I can't wait to hit the ground running with this warmer weather and make a new one for the front porch!    

4.  Check Batteries in Smoke Alarms

  -- Make sure to check your smoke alarm & batteries - Fire safety includes doing a battery check every six months.  I think we did this already because we had an angry carbon monoxide detector and we thought it was the smoke alarms.... but a great way to make sure you always do it is to check them when you set your clocks for daylight savings.

5.  Organize Your Home Office


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 -- What does this mean?  For me, this could take months and then not even be done or stay that way!  Ugh... Try to go through files and shred unnecessary papers.  I know I must do this!  Then give your computer a once over and figure out what can be deleted, what needs to be saved, what can be transferred to back up drives because it's important, etc. I think about picture especially!  Transfer to Shutterfly... Then tackle the clutter that goes along with it.  Find homes for papers that need to stay, trash others. 

6.  Make the Laundry Room More Efficient

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-- Wait, a laundry room should be efficient?  What?  Mine is the most unorganized, inefficient place in our home.  Go through and organized products into bins depending on their function.  If you don't already have one, get a collapsible drying rack to save room when you are not air drying your clothes. 

7.  Service Air Conditioners
-- Inspect your air conditioning units.  Make sure to remove and clean filters (or replace if disposable), and vacuum vents on window units. If you have central air, have a professional service it. I'm thinking this is hopping high to the list since our thermostat keeps turning off on it's own... seems like the unit still functions, but the actual thermostat just goes blank. Anyone else ever had this problem?!?

8.  Clean your Coffee Maker

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--   Makes sense right?  If you are like me, you use it every day.  Once a month, remove mineral deposits by pouring equal parts white vinegar and water into your coffee maker's tank. With carafe in place, run the machine for half a cycle, switch off, let sit for an hour, then finish. Run several cycles of water to remove any aftertaste.  You can also buy cleaners/rinses at the store to use which might be easier... could also be worse.  I can't remember those instructions.


9.  Prevent Bugs
-- Does Anyone else have a potato or roly poly oly bug problem like we do? What a random bug to have crawling around.  As the weather warms, insects return in search of food. Time to make sure all dry goods are stored in airtight containers. Wash your pet's dishes as soon as they finish meals.

10.  Clean House Siding
-- Whether it be wood or vinyl, the siding on your house needs a good rinse down with a garden hose about twice a year. 

11.  Prepare Your Outside Spaces

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-- Make sure you are ready when you'll want to go sit out there!  Start picking up and prepping your deck or outdoor space now so that you can just relax when the weather is right! I think I might try something like this on my side yard!

12.  Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet.
-- Go through and restock supplies, discard old medicines, refill prescriptions, and replace any expired cosmetics.
13. Prep For Summer Guests

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-- Stock the bathroom with fresh, neutral linens and lightly scented soaps. Bring out a summer-weight quilt, replace pillows, and do a deep cleaning.  It's nice too to have in-room refreshments so throw a few bottles of water on a shelf for your guests. 

14.  Host a Garage Sale

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-- Hubby would love me for doing this!  Cant' wait to have one!  Baby clothes, random collections of items that make their way to our garage when I move everything on a whim!  Can't wait, can't wait!!!  And it's a great idea to throw one with a friend!  That way you have more for buyers to browse!

15.  Get Set to Grill



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 --Before Memorial Day, make sure gas units are firing evenly by clearing clogged burner holes with a sewing needle.  We've always used a charcoal grill because Mr K likes it better and I think ours pooped out on us last year so this should really read make sure to replace your grill if necessary.  Also though it is nice to remove grime by spraying grates.  You can use a solution of equal parts distilled vinegar and water -- Close lid, leave for an hour, then scrape gently with a putty knife.  So nice to not have to do this when you are ready to cook! 

With all this now laid out for us I guess I better get to working!  :)

xoxo,

Don't forget the Autism Awareness Boutique Opens Today! 

Shop for the Cause here:  http://bit.ly/YVAnwm