Today I am posting about one of my favorite rooms in the house…the game room.

And that isn’t JUST because it holds the poker table.

It is where board games became art.

framing monopoly setsAnd it had the bonus of helping one of the “issues” in my marriage.

*Rewind 20 years*

My husband is an avid board game collector.  In the very early {and dirt poor} years of our relationship, we entertained ourselves with antique mall shopping in search of games.  Any game was good, but an old Monopoly set was the holy grail.

And then eBay was invented.

Oh my.

Let’s just say that all worthy games that landed on eBay between 1995 and 1998 are evenly split between my house and a guy in Florida whose collection rivals my husband’s.  About a year into the Monopoly set bidding war, a gentleman’s truce was made to stop the inflated pricing creating peace and harmony between the growing collections.  Our collection growth was in direct proportion to eBay’s growth.

Again, Oh my.

When we built our home 6 years ago, I wanted to make sure that the game room displayed the prized board game collection.

After a bunch of math, I decided on a panel size that would allow 8 color blocks to display the Monopoly colors – purple, light blue, pink, orange, red, yellow, green, and Boardwalk blue.

framed monopoly sets on a game room wallIf you start there on the left and move clockwise around the room, you will visit each color block in order.

The color is painted on the wall inside a simple picture frame molding trim painted black.

I was a little surprised that at that time it was a bit tricky to match the bright colors.  I guess these colors aren’t as popular as I would have thought!

The next step was to find how to hang the boards.  I looked into a ton of options including framing, glass covering and mounting.  Most seemed WAY too expensive when you consider whatever option was chosen would have to be repeated 24 times.

The cheapest and most effective solution found was to cover the boards with a cut piece of plexiglass.

framing monopoly on yellowEach piece of plexiglass was cut a bit larger than the board creating a clear mat and three boards were hung vertically on each colored panel.

Yep, a bit more math.

Each square clear “frame” was drilled with three holes.

framing monopoly on greenEach of the three holes was filled with screws with plastic button covers.

The bottom two screws support the weight of the board and keep it from slipping out of the arrangement.

framing monopoly color panelsMy husband chose some of his favorite boards.

*cough*

When I told my husband the plan for the room, he was very excited and replied that he would get started on finding some special boards to buy for displaying.

Obviously the 100s of boards in the attic would NEVER do.

What did Holly Clean Today updated with 2Today Holly cleaned the gunk off the microwave control panel with Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner.

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He crawled up in my lap for comfort.

dead plantI held and rocked him back and forth as he sobbed.  Big tears rolled out of his green eyes dropping down onto precious cheeks with a deliberate splash.

How could you, mommy?

I am so sorry, Rhett. 

How could you?

I should have done something sooner – when you asked.

I asked you over and over!

It was true.

A week or so ago he brought home a plant they had nurtured in Kindergarten.  What had started out as a dark, lifeless seed had magically grown into a 5 inch tall green, leafy plant.

He had watered it.

He had placed it in the right light.

He had loved it into growing.

And then he brought it home with directions…

My teacher said that it needs more dirt.  She said we should plant it in a bigger container as soon as we get it home.

Not today sweetie.  I am busy.

Can we plant my plant today?  My teacher says it needs more dirt.

Not today sweetie.  I am busy.

I have asked several times, mommy, can we plant it today?

Maybe later today.  I am busy.

But I forgot later and here we are a week later with a plant that needs life support and a boy heartbroken in my arms.

We ended up attempting the transplant.  It took exactly 2 1/2 minutes to find some gravel for the bottom of the pot, add some potting soil and improve the soil to plant ratio.

2 1/2 minutes that couldn’t be carved out of my busy schedule for the last 7 days.

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A few months ago, I dropped the kids off at school and came home to find this in my kitchen.

Two cameras.

4 lights.

A camera crew.

A make-up artist.

A big platter of breakfast pastries.

A professional interviewer.

And me.

pledge multi surface antibacterial cleaner filming

It was a shoot for the new Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner’s appearance on the Health and Home Report with Laura DeAngelis.

Did I mention it was for Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner?

pledge filming holly takes a pictureThe crew set up and the makeup artist made us look pretty.

We practiced our lines.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I practiced MY lines over and over while Laura was super sweet and supportive.

pledge holly and laura interviewIt was like we just appeared in my kitchen that morning to chat about Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner.

Of course!

That is how it is in my kitchen!

pledge shoot make up applicationWe might have had to do a few takes on my lines which required re-application of makeup.

serious about pledge IIDon’t mess with me.

I am VERY serious about Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner.

Except I couldn’t say it.

You try! 

Go ahead.

Say, “Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner” 5 times really fast.

In front of a camera crew.

In my kitchen.

pledge help photo updated with IIWe finally had to make a large sign and post it over Laura’s shoulder.

And then I had to not OBVIOUSLY read it.

I am not normally coordinated, so this too was a challenge.

The long-suffering crew was so patient with me.

I can’t say enough nice things about the whole event.

After the Health and Home Report interview was completed, we shot some additional video for the web.

I cleaned electronics.

pledge cleaning electronicsYes!  Pledge® Multi-Surface Antibacterial II Cleaner works GREAT on electronics when used according to directions.

I cleaned stair rails.

pledge cleaning the stair railYes!  Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner works GREAT on almost ANY hard surface in the home when used according to directions.

I cleaned unexpected places…

pledge on a boat bed…like in my kids’ room {according to the directions}.

It was a fun, exhausting day that was completely out of the ordinary for me.  I want to thank the entire crew and the team that works on Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial team.

I am also VERY excited about this because it kicks off a month long Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner Extravaganza here at June Cleaver Nirvana.  They have graciously sponsored my blog this month and allowed me to plan some fun things over the next few weeks.

Oh, and when I know when/where you can view my brilliant video performance, I will let you know!  In the meantime, be sure to check out Pledge.com for more information about Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner

Pledge Logo for June Cleaver NirvanaI am working with Pledge® to promote the new Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner.  They are sponsoring my blog and paid me for my video participation.  They even sent me some Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner, which I love!

The opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks so much Pledge® !

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what you might not know about me

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gross anatomy Holly Homer

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rhett and rope swing

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iphone take pictures

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pinerly title

Pinterest’s success has created an out of control bandwagon. Jump on board! There is internet traffic for all! In real life, any investigation ends with the money trail.  In internet life, any investigation ends with the traffic trail. Where there is traffic, there is the hope of money. One of the first to jump on [...]

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future lawyer of america

There was a heated discussion in the backseat. Reid(8):  There is NO WAY you would make it all the way through law school. Rhett(6):  I could so. It is YEARS and YEARS. I could do it. No you can’t. I can!  I am going to be a lawyer just like Ryan. Ryan(11):  Rhett, law school [...]

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