Four Seasons | {Megan}

I've always found it a little more difficult to dress in the winter. Like most people, I have clothes in my closet that I strictly wear in the summer and clothes that I strictly wear in the winter. But as I've gotten older, I've found myself not wanting to spend so much of my money on clothing.

Peace. Love. Junkstock. | {Megan}

Twice a year, one of my favorite events takes place on a farm on the outskirts of Omaha called Junkstock. I first heard of Junkstock a few years ago when my mom, owner of Barnyard Boutique, decided she wanted to be a vendor. Ever since then I have enjoyed going to help out my mom and also do a little shopping of my own. Each year the event has gotten bigger and better. During the Harvest Edition this past weekend, there were over 160 vendors. Every vendor is unique and offers something for everyone. Junkstock isn't just a place to shop. They have live music, many food trucks, activities for kids, and one of my most favorite things, many photo opportunities. Enjoy a few scenes from Junkstock below!

Flower Crown | {Megan}

Once I got engaged, I knew that I just HAD to have a flower crown to wear for my wedding. I love the ethereal look and feel of a beautiful, handmade flower crown. I had a hard time deciding what flowers to choose, but ultimately ended up deciding on baby's breath, mini carnations, and some greenery.

All About Prints | {Megan}

Whenever I go shopping for new clothes, I always tend to gravitate toward solids or stripes. I think it's because I know I will be able to wear them in many different ways. Recently while shopping at Target, I went a little out of my comfort zone. The first item I bought was a printed, flowy, sheer long-sleeve kimono. I figured I could easily transition it from summer to fall. The second item I purchased was a pair of cute high-waisted floral shorts. I'm such a huge fan of high-waisted shorts because they can easily be worn with a crop top or a shirt tucked in, like I did here.

















Outfit #1 (Floral Shorts):
Tank top // American Eagle
Shorts // Target (similar here and here)
Shoes // Target
Necklace // Dogeared

Outfit #2 (Printed Kimono):
Kimono // Target
Crop top // Von Maur
Shorts // Charlotte Russe (similar)
Sandals // Charlotte Russe

Industrial End Table DIY | {Megan}

I've never really been someone to go out and buy brand-new furniture when I know that I could always redo a piece of old furniture, or even build something if I really wanted to. Before I moved into my current apartment, the one thing that I didn't have was end tables.



Luckily, I stumbled upon this old saw table that my parents had laying around at their property and thought it would make a really neat table. Turning the saw table into a cool industrial end table only took about an hour or two to create.



Supplies:
-Metal saw table frame
-A couple of 2x4s
-A couple of 1x4s
-Wood glue
-Clamps
-Hand sander
-Drill and screws
-Wood stain

To create the table top, I cut four 2x4s down size to fit the metal frame.

Next, I glued the boards together and clamped them together tight.



Once the glue was dry, I sanded the boards to give them a smooth finish.



To make the top more secure, I spaced out two 2x4s to the underneath side and screwed them into place.

The metal frame allowed me to add a shelf, so I cut five 1x4s that would be able to sit in the frame. The edges of these boards needed sanded as well.



The next step was to stain all the boards. I used General Finishes in Antique Walnut.





Once the stain was set and dry, I simply put the five pieces on the bottom in place to create a shelf and sat the table top onto the metal frame.

I love the way it turned out. What do you all think?

Frikadeller 2 Ways: Family Recipe vs. Lightened-Up Recipe | {Megan}

Growing up, frikadeller (aka. Danish meatballs) was a recipe that my mom had on rotation for weeknight dinners and it's always been one of my favorites. My family is proud of our Danish heritage, and that is likely why I grew up eating some of Denmark's trademark foods. Once I moved out of my parent's house, I was constantly calling my mom and asking her for dinner recipes—this one is still my favorite to this day! Here is the recipe for the frikadeller I grew up eating:



Ingredients:
• 1 pound of hamburger meat
• 3/4 sleeve of saltine or Ritz crackers
• 1 egg
• A splash of milk
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• A couple squirts of ketchup
• Note: many recipes call for chopped onions but I prefer mine without

Steps:
1. Mix all of the ingredients together





2. Form the meat into firm balls



3. Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil
4. Add 4 tablespoons of butter in the pan around the meatballs
5. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes





I've always loved this exact recipe, but one day I thought I'd try experimenting a little to try to make a healthier version of frikadeller. I looked up healthier substitutions for many of the ingredients and this is what I came up with:



Ingredients:
• 1 pound of ground turkey breast (substitution for hamburger meat)
• 1 1/4 pieces of ezekiel bread (substitution for the crackers)
• 1 egg white (substitution for egg)
• A splash of milk
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (substitution for melted butter)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• A couple squirts of ketchup

I followed the same steps as above, except I didn't add any butter to the cookie sheet before baking.







I honestly can't decide which recipe is better. A couple of months ago I made the healthier version for my parents and I knew my dad would be the true test for whether or not it was as good as the original, and I think he loved them just as much as our family recipe!



If you decide to try out either recipe, let me know what you all think!

Vintage Vanity to Modern Desk Redo | {Megan}

Having a nice desk was a big priority for me when moving into my new apartment. It took me a long time to decide what kind of desk I wanted. Buying a new desk wasn't an option because all of the desks I liked were hundreds of dollars. After discussing it with my mom, she offered to let me use an old vanity she had bought a few years ago that she never ended up doing anything with. It was in pretty rough shape so I knew it'd take quite a bit of work. As you can see from this picture, it was missing some pieces and the veneer was coming off in many places. It was a long process but definitely worth it. Here are the steps we took to turn this beat-up old vanity into a modern desk.

1. We decided to make a new top for the desk so the first thing that needed to be done was to take off the top. All we did was unscrew the screws holding it into place.





2. The vanity wasn't as long as I wanted it to be, so next we removed the boards that attached the two drawer pieces together.



3. Once the two drawer pieces were separated we needed to remove the veneer. Veneer is fairly easy to remove with a scraper. Once the veneer was removed, we sanded the wood that was underneath.



4. The vanity was not tall enough to work as a desk so we added a couple of 2x4s to the top of the drawer pieces. We simply cut the pieces to size, glued them down, then secured them with a nail gun.



5. The next step for the drawer pieces was to sand down the drawer fronts and paint them a crisp white. I decided to spray paint the current knobs white as well.



6. While the paint was drying, the next step was to build the desk top. I bought two 8-foot 1x12s at a lumber store and we cut the boards down to 5 feet. We used wood glue and clamps to secure them together.

7. Once the glue was dry, we screwed a 2x4 in the middle of the bottom side to give it extra support.



8. To finish the top of the desk, we added Cabot pecan stain. Once that was dry, we added Tung oil to seal it.

9. Once the top and two bottom pieces were dry, we put them together. We used wood glue and screwed screws into the planks from underneath.

A new desk wouldn't be complete without a chair, so I took a modern green chair and spray painted it with Valspar outdoor spray paint in the color "Jellyfish".



Here's the finished product in my new apartment!:

Tivoli Fest 2015

Happy Friday! It's Kali—the other girls and I wanted to share our Tivoli Fest 2015 experience with you all today! Every year, on Memorial Day weekend, Elk Horn, IA holds Tivoli Fest. It's Elk Horn's annual celebration of Danish heritage (you can read more about it here). My parents grew up in Elk Horn/Kimballton, and my whole family lives around there. Us girls don't always make it back every year, but luckily this year, we all made the trip back. Zac had weekend-long golf plans in Lincoln, so he did not come with me, but Zeke and Tad were able to also join us! It's always fun when the whole family gets together.



Saturday always starts off with the Mill to Mermaid 5k run. I tried it once years ago, and those hills just aren't for me, but Megan and Shelbie have competed in it for as many years as they can remember. This year, they were even lucky enough to have Tad and Zeke join them in the run. The race starts at the windmill in Elk Horn, and stretches all the way to the Mermaid fountain in Kimballton. It's definitely a challenging 5k due to the very long, very large hills.



Megan ended up winning her age group (20-29 years old)! Overall, Tad placed 6th, Zeke placed 9th, Megan placed 13th, and Shelbie placed 25th.



Post-run, our grandma Nadine made them some aebleskiver (aka the most delicious pancake balls ever) to recover!



I joined everyone in Elk Horn right as the parade was about to start. As in previous years, my mom had her Barnyard Boutique booth setup, and as always, I wanted everything!








^^ I ended up buying this for my front porch!




The weather wasn't the greatest (as usual on Memorial Day weekend), but it wasn't too terrible. I just wish the sun would've come out for a little bit! After the parade and lunch at our aunt Sherri's, we walked around to check out the different vendors. We also obviously had to go to the Egg Krate while we were there. I didn't end up buying anything this time, but Megan found a few gems.





After that, we all agreed it was time for a beer. We headed over to the fire station, where the Iowa Craft Beer Tent was all set up for the weekend.







In all the years I've been going to Tivoli Fest and just to Elk Horn in general, I don't remember ever taking a tour of the famous windmill, so since this was also Tad's first time at Tivoli Fest, we thought it'd be fun to finally do it!









After heading back to our parents house for a quick power nap, we went back to Elk Horn for the night's festivities. We did a little pre-gaming at Sherri and Joel's, watched the fireworks, then headed back to the fire station for more beer and music! All in all, it was a great weekend. If you've never been to Tivoli Fest, I'd highly recommend checking it out next year!









You can check out my Tivoli Fest 2013 recap here!