Collage Wall

My latest project has taken me forever to complete.  It was also VERY frustrating to arrange and display!  For some reason when it comes to printing out pictures I am a huge slacker!  Framing them always presents hard decisions for me because I love so many of the pictures I have, it's hard to choose just one or two to frame!

Once I got all of the pictures printed out and framed the hard part was arranging the photos and attaching them to the wall.  I first arranged them on the floor, taking pictures (otherwise I NEVER would've remembered where they all went).

Hanging them on the wall was so frustrating, I can't even begin to tell you!  My walls are so tough, it was like trying to drive a nail through the sidewalk.  I ran out of nails, bent several, and did this all by my lonesome.  Usually I rely on Matt to help me hang things on the wall, but he had to go to bed (he works graveyards) so I did it by myself!  I'm sure all that banging on the wall kept him up anyway though.  Every time I wanted to bring another picture from the floor to the wall I had to put the bulk of them on the wall first to make sure I was getting my spacing semi-right.  And if course I couldn't drive another nail into the wall without first removing all of the pictures I had already hung.  I made the mistake of skipping that step several times and ended up with my pictures flying off the wall and crashing to the ground.

I saw this project on many craft blogs before I attempted it.  I wonder if their projects were as trying of their patience as mine was?

Guest Post!!!!

Hey readers!  Today is the day of my guest post over at Scissors & Spatulas so head on over and get the full story on my DIY Play Kitchen with updated pictures!

Here are some more photos for you to see!

Before and After

Here are some photos I edited in hopes of making them more appealing!

Photos

Photography

Lately I've been trying to get into photography more and more.  A few months ago I got my first DSLR and I LOVE it!  I've been constantly taking pictures and recently I've been learning more about photo editing.  


I decided to start up an account at 365Project and I've had a lot of fun browsing and uploading images there.  It's nice to be able to get some feedback on your pictures from other amateurs and professionals.  I've also created an account at Pinterest which is like a virtual pinboard of all your favorite photos.  It can be pretty addicting to browse there!


Anyway, I'm going to start uploading more and more pictures that I take, some will be edited and some will be SOOC (probably most will be that way).  They will all be my images unless otherwise noted.  Also if you'd like to view my 365Project you can do so here.

A Kitchen for the Girls

Wow, it's been a while since I have blogged!  I apologize for that.  Beautiful sunny days mean less time inside, therefore, less time on the computer!

A few months ago I started a project for the girls and just (finally) finished it (enough to play with).  Evelyn used to have a play kitchen, but it was given to someone else, so I decided to make her one of her own!

I started out with an entertainment center that someone was throwing away.  Brought it home and got to work!

 First I sanded the whole thing down and removed the cardboard back (with Evie's help of course).

Then I started drawing measuring and marking my cut lines for the back, doors, and shelves.

Which my pop then helped me cut (and yes I did do some of the cuts myself, but I can't safely photograph myself cutting!).

Next I cut out a hole for the sink, primed the whole thing, and attached the back.

And after many coats of paint (at least 4 all around) I was ready to put the doors on and shelves in.

After the doors and shelves were attached I installed the faucet and sink bowl (which is just a stainless steel bowl), oven, door handles (from Lowe's), utensil rack (from Ikea), stovetop dials (which I failed to take a close up of, also from Ikea), and an apron hanger on the side (Ikea again).

The revealing of the kitchen (can you tell the girls were excited?).

I still have some touches to add (a curtain for under the sink and a "window" with curtains above the sink).

This was an extremely inexpensive gift to make, just time consuming (especially the painting)!  The only things I spent money on were the handles, utensil rack, apron hanger and a sheet of particle board.  I had the paint, faucet, and "sink" already.  Total cost?   Around $30!  Hopefully it will last a long time.

2nd Chance Prom

Matt and I went to 2nd Chance Prom a few weeks back. It was a lot of fun! They had a live band, followed by a DJ, free beer and spiked drinks, and tons of great hor d'ourves!

Here are a couple of links to the pictures from 2nd Chance Prom a few weekends ago!

Photo #52 from 2nd Chance Prom | Pictage

Photo #53 from 2nd Chance Prom | Pictage

Atlanta!

For my birthday this year, Matt got me a ticket to Atlanta to see my best friend Steph.  I had a blast!  Although I must admit that I was very anxious about leaving my kiddos for four and a half days, I knew they would be just fine with my husband, but still was so nervous about being apart from them!

I took a redeye out of Seattle and got in on the morning of the 23rd (of March), took a nap after getting home and then set out to do some exploring!  I absolutely fell in love with Atlanta, such a beautiful place!  I had flown into the airport there once while in the Army, but never got to spend any time in Atlanta (I left straight for South Carolina for Basic Training).  Everything was in full bloom there and was absolutely breathtaking!  If it wasn't for the sweltering hot humid summers, I could definitely see myself living there!

The day I got there was pretty much a "relax" day.  I was tired from flying the night/morning before so we took it easy with pedicures, lunch, a nice walk and a movie!

The next day I was there we hopped on the local train (the MARTA) and headed south to the aquarium for the morning.  We had such a good time there, I couldn't believe all of the exotic fish we saw!  It was by far the largest aquarium I'd ever been in.  Right about this time, I was REALLY wishing I had brought my nice new DSLR with me.  All I had was my crappy Nikon point-and-shoot and it really wasn't doing the trick!  After the aquarium we walked up and down PeachTree Ave and had some really good food, and great drinks!

That night we went to a local restaurant across from Steph's house that hosted a nightly trivia game.  Needless to say we were interested in playing, so we signed up and played for three hours!  It finally paid off and we won the game out of a restaurant full of people playing.  Basically, with our prize ($50), we got all of our drinks and entrees for $3!

On Friday we drove south to Stone Mountain Park.  It was a beautiful day to be outside, and I'm so happy we went when we did!  We toured all of the antebellum homes in the park and drove completely around it.  It was a beautiful day with MANY opportunities to take great pictures.....but no great camera to take them with.  BAH!

Saturday it was raining so we decided to stay close to Steph's house.  We drove around the neighborhood to check out some more antebellum homes and toured Mittie Roosevelt's (Teddy Roosevelt's mother) old house!  It was definitely an educational day for us :)  That night it rained harder than I'd ever seen it rain before.  The lightening and thunder about scared the pants off of me!  Tornado warnings took into affect and it started to get a little creepy outside!

Sunday I hopped on a plane home to see my beloved husband and children.  I had a great vacation and am very blessed to have such an opportunity, but I was definitely happy to get home to my family!

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip.  I wish I had some fascinating ones to show you, but that's my fault for taking my crappy camera :(

Waiting for the MARTA

One of the sting rays that I got to touch :)

The King and Queen Towers in Sandy Springs.

Dickie House (Stone Mountain Park)

These beautiful purple trees were everywhere!

Bulloch Hall (The home Mittie grew up in)

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday was on Monday, I turned 25!  My best friend called me up to wish me a happy birthday and then said, "We're so old!"  To which I replied, "Steph, I'm not old, I'm 25 and have two children, I don't feel old!"  Just because I don't have much of a social life these days doesn't mean I'm old! ....or does it?

I don't have much to say about how my birthday went, really it was just another day.  I also share the day with my brother's youngest kid now so I didn't get any birthday dinner or party, but she did and that's what I did on my birthday.  

Anyway, I wasn't expecting anything from anyone, however, all but one of my immediate family members made an effort to give me something meaningful for my birthday.  I got an awesome bird feeder (complete with seed!) from my parents to hang outside of my window (my kids and kitties LOVE it!), a beautiful soap dish and workout video from my sister (which is kicking my butt!), and a MONSTER bag of unsalted, dry roasted pistachios (which you cannot buy in the stores in Ellensburg, and I don't want all that extra salt) for cooking from my brother Phil!  

It was a very peaceful birthday, I only wish that I could've seen Matt for more than 10 minutes that day!

The girls at the park ( minus Bea )

Jillian Michaels 6 Week Six Pack

Ever heard of this????

Well for my birthday my sister gave me this and I must say that this is the most intense workout I've ever done!  I've only done it for two days now and I can feel it working everything!  Although I highly doubt that I'll have a six-pack like that after 6 weeks, but I'm sure to have more than I have now!

Guess who is finally losing weight???

Me!  Last week I joined Weight Watchers and I couldn't be more thrilled about it!  I have been inspired by some of Matt's family members who are WW members and have been losing weight consistently (and looking great if I do say so myself).  I lost five pounds in my first 5 days with the program!  I love all of the recipes they have to offer online.  The first one I made was this turkey and vegetable chili which was amazing!

I also made sure to measure out perfect portions to freeze for later.  YUM!

Here's to change!

Remember These?

Foam curlers!  Recently my Mother-in-law gave me some of her curlers and Evie was dying to try them out!  So one night after her bath we gave 'em a shot.

After we finished putting them in it was bedtime.  In the morning we took out the curlers and she was so shocked by her reflection in the mirror!

Decoupage Recipe Box

For my best friend's birthday I decided I would make her something from the heart and not waste a bunch of money on something she probably would never use.  She lived with me at my parents house for a while when we were younger, so she has gotten full exposure to my family cooking style and our recipes.  Needless to say, she LOVES our cooking (as most other people do too)!  This is the coolest way I could think of to bring a bit of "home" to her in Georgia.

I had seen an idea for a decoupaged recipe box on a blog I follow called S.B. Creatively a while back and instantly wanted to try it out for myself.  I got an unfinished recipe box at a craft store, pulled out the Mod Podge and paper and got to work!

I failed to take a "before" picture before I started painting, whoops!

Finished product

I bought the recipe cards but made the dividers from card stock and stamped the letters on.

I thought about printing out the recipes, but this seemed like a better idea for a more personalized collection.
I wrote out a TON of recipes and laminated them with my dad's laminator.  

I thought this project turned out great, and it was a lot of fun to do.  I can't wait to make myself one to keep!