How to Keep Ice from Forming Inside House Windows

On cold days like today (it is zero degrees outside with a 23 degrees below zero (F) windchill) I am glad I searched for sealed the air leaks in my home. We can tell the difference because our house was warmer and our heating bill was lower almost immediately.

Unfortunately, if your home is too air tight, it can be just as bad as having air leaks. Jen and Joey Go Green found this out the hard way. If you have ice building up inside of your windows,  her post  Stop Ice Build Up on Windows has some easy ways to fix the problem.

If you live in one of the Arctic Vortex zones, please take precautions against frostbite if you are unlucky enough to be outside.

2013 DIY Goals Wrap Up

I almost always put too many things on my yearly DIY Goal list to finsih by year’s end. I'm the Queen of Overscheduling. *royal wave*

I did something different when I made my DIY Goals List for 2013. I focused on more general/umbrella type goals and limited my list to seven items. It is 2014. Let’s see how I kept my 2013 DIY Resolutions.

1. Concentrate on projects using the items I already have. I really needed to knock the growing list of projects off my Someday list. Not to mention, the offhanded comments Husband uttered from time to time about my reclaimed material stashes. Yes, stashes. I completed 12 projects this year using things I already had on hand. I made Husband happy and cleared a corner of “treasures” from the garage. Bonus.

Big Ten team barn wood Welcome signs. I made these for Christmas gifts.

 

10 more ways to use orange peels because it is a shame to toss a useful Christmas orange rind.

One Small Green Change 2013 Resolution Wrap Up

Happy New Year 2014!

I find that I’m better at keeping my New Years Resolutions if I make them when I need them instead of making up a resolution on New Year’s Eve for the sake of making a New Year’s resolution.

During 2013, I made one small green change each month. My changes weren’t necessarily Earth shattering or big. I focused on the small stuff. The easy stuff. The hey-I-should-probably-do-that stuff.

This way, I can evaluate whether it works for me or not. I'm more likely to keep monthly resolutions because some green changes are seasonal where I live. If you look at all of those little changes that became permanent, it can make a big, huge difference.

Here's the 2012 One Small Green Change New Year’s Resolution wrap up.

January

My Top 10 Posts of 2013

 2013 was an exciting time for our family because we welcomed the pitter patter of little feet (which is really more of a romp! romp! romp!) with Lacey's adoption.

Working with Lacey on her behavioral issues took precedence over most DIY projects, including finishing  my garage workshop – again. It was worth it though. Lacey has come a long way in learning dog manners, obedience and a few cute tricks, and is puppy stepping her way through socialization. Lacey still has a way to go with her behavioral rehab and we are looking for a good confidence building sport or activity she will like to do. 

It is a good time to reflect on my 2013 top posts and projects on Condo Blues with the new year and a fresh start right around the corner.
Besides, that’s pretty much all I can do right now because I’m spending my holidays like this.

Nurse Lacey is on the job. She hasn’t moved from my side since I had to stay off my feet.

You may have already seen this picture if you follow the Condo Blues Facebook page.

How to Make Duck Tape Stars

This post brought to you by Duck Brand provided by ShurTech Brands, LLC. All opinions are 100% mine.

Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my holiday highlights.  Every ornament has a story and I try to artfully place each one in just the right spot on the Christmas tree.

This year I switched up some of the ornaments we display. It made  the big holes in between the some of the branches of our Christmas tree more noticeable. Instead of running to the store to buy bigger ornaments, I ran to the garage and grabbed the Holiday Duck Brand® Tape

 Pin this idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Let's Duck the Halls!

No, silly, I'm not going to tape the holes in my tree together.  I'm going to use the Duck Brand® Holiday designs (Seasonal Sweets, Snowmen, Holiday Bows, and Penguin) to make stars to fill the gaps in my Christmas tree.

House of Love Christmas House Tour

I'm teaming up with a fabulous group of bloggers to tour how we decorated our homes for the holidays.

I'm trying to balance my desire to run out and buy all new whimsy fun Christmas decor to celebrate how much adopting Lacey has made us smile and laugh again with a potential tirade from Husband about our current state of Christmas tree ornament overpopulation, uh, I mean being green,  having more money to spoil Lacey with on Christmas Day. (Same eco goal, but sorry environment, spoiling our girl is the truth this year.)
To get my idea machine running, I took the decorations out of storage and grouped them on the floor in mixed up combinations  from the way I usually display them. I played with grouping items by color, theme (all snowmen, etc.) as well as things I haven't displayed in a while.

 I realized I have plenty of Christmas whimsy decor if I change how, when, and where I use it. This year I decorated using red and bright green. It really  sings with the red curtains and lime green accent wall in the living room! I clustered snowmen in the bathrooms, wood Christmas decorations on the end tables, and created my first North Pole Christmas mantel.

And glitter.

Lots of shiny glitter! Because we have more girls than boys in this house now and girls like sparkly things (that I already had on hand and never used together until this year.)

Let's start at the top!