Elf on the Shelf Ideas

I love our Elf on the Shelf, Richie.  Last year was our first year with an Elf, and it was magical.  I cried the day Richie left our family and returned to the North Pole!  My 5 year old is counting down the days until Richie joins our family again - Thanksgiving evening!!   It is fun to look at Pinterest and other blogs and see what other elves have been up to!  Here is a little recap of our last year's antics and some links to other elf mischief.  I can't wait to see what Richie does this year! Follow my Elf on the Shelf Pinterest Board HERE Richie & Rapunzel sharing a bottle of syrup

Of course the toilet papering of the Christmas Tree!

The M&M bath

 Crusin' around with Merida in the back of the truck

Chillin' in the freezer

Sleeping in

The underwear display

Epic game of Battleship with Rudolph

Dry erase marker on the school pictures

Crape paper barricade

Elf-size tea party

Red marker Rudolph Noses on the children

Again - hangin' with Rapunzel

Popcorn party gone out of control

Good advice

Jokes are a hit with the 9 year old crowd!

Lego mini figures feeling neglected

Just fishin'

Richie loves his princesses!

Hanging by a stocking

Hiding in the wreath

Playing with the Vinylmation collection

Buckled up in the car


The day before Richie had to go back to the North Pole (December 24th) Richie was granted extra magic which meant we were able to hold him - but only that day.  This was such a thrill to my little girl - this was the most special day ever.

Elf antics from around bogland.......

@ Over the Big Moon
Hanging from Candy Canes @ Happiest Mom on the Blog
Hanging from Ornaments @ Happiest Mom on the Blog

Snowball Fight @ Crazy Lou Creations
@ Dandee-Designs

Elf Kissing Booth @ Living Locurto

Rustic Farm Table Reveal

It's finally here - the day I have been waiting for!  My rustic farm table is finally finished!!  This project all started when I got the crazy idea to sell my dining room set to my friend and use the money to purchase reclaimed lumber and have my husband build me a table!  It all started in February.....

Living in California, reclaimed lumber is hard to find and it is expensive!  I called and researched places that sold reclaimed wood.  There wasn't too many to pick from in the LA metro area.  We ended up driving out to the valley where this guy had a huge garage/yard full of lumber.  We choose Michigan Oak that was used in a subfloor of a barn.  I am guessing its 60 to 80 years old.  For the price of my dining room table & 8 chairs - I got a truck load of lumber.  Seems reasonable!!


Oh the projects we could make!!!!


The wood sat in our back yard for about 6 months while we gathered the right tools, additional lumbar, etc....and while my husband came up with a plan for the construction.  Then, one day in September, it happened, the table started coming together.

We constructed it in 2 sections.


I am not going to write too much detail on the construction.   If you want to build one, leave me a comment, and I can send more detailed instructions :)

These are the pedestals for the table.

Here it is all finished.  It took 3 men to get it into the house!  It is super heavy!  I wasn't sure what type of protective finish to put on the top.  I didn't want a shiny or thick polyurethane.  I looked into linseed oil, but didn't feel good about that choice.  I went with Minwax finishing wax.  I have used it before and it turned out to be the perfect finish for the table.  It still feels like the original wood and will repel moisture.

The chairs are mismatched: some are chairs I had and others are from my adventures garage sailing!  They are white, antique white, heirloom white, and ivory. 

 I love that the table seats 14 people!  5 on each side and 2 on each end.

This photo really shows all the different tones in the wood - I love that darker piece.

I bought a new chandelier to go over the table - that was a project in itself.  I ordered it from Amazon.  I really like it - it just took a long time to rewire everything because the wire it came with was way to short.  It is really bright and sparkly!  This is me adding each crystal one at a time!

Marbles also loves the table!!