A DIY

So I am finally getting around to sharing a little DIY that I did about a month ago. I first saw something like it at Shanty 2 Chic. I knew right away that I wanted to make something like it. I am not normally all that crafty. I scrapbook...and that's about it. However, I'm trying to convince my hubby that I should be a stay at home mom once we have kids, so I am "attempting" to be more crafty/creative. Please forgive the terrible pictures to come...I had to use my crappy point and shoot. 

I bought a 2 x 6 piece of wood from Lowe's. Everything else came from Hobby Lobby. 

Supplies:

2x6 board, cut into 6-8 inch pieces (depending on the size you want)

Wooden candlestick

Wooden platform

Scrapbook paper

Spray paint color of your choice

Mod Podge

Wood glue

Finial if desired

Decorations if desired

These are my decorative pieces.

Here is my platform and the candlesticks and finials. 

The platform was 50 cents and the bags were less than $2. 

Modge Podge, wood stain, and spray paint!

(I only used the wood stain on the white one, since it wouldn't show up on the darker ones.)

So I forgot to take pictures at first. Oops. Bare with me. 

The first thing you need to do is cut your wood down into pieces. Mine were about 7 inches...done by the hubby. Thanks, hubby! Then I used gorilla glue to glue one of the wooden candlesticks to the platform, then the candlestick to the wood piece. I let this dry for a couple hours. When I was sure that it was glued together, I spray painted the whole thing. I chose black to match our bedroom. The next step is to sand the edges, if desired. This gives them a "distressed" look. I like it. 

The next step is to apply a light layer of Mod Podge to the front. Cut your scrapbook paper to fit and place it on top. Then apply another light layer of Mod Podge. Be careful when doing this or it'll have bubbles. 

I chose to layer another piece of scrapbook paper on top, the same way as the previous one. 

Now it's time to add any decorations that you want. 

I spray painted a mini clothespin (from Hobby Lobby) and glued it to the front. I then added a gold M for our last name (also from Hobby Lobby) and glued it to the front. I spray painted my finial and glued it to the top.

It was missing a little something so I added gold sequins where I thought they looked good.

The finished product. : ) I love it. It is proudly displayed in our bedroom right now. 

I decided to make two for my best friend, who just had a baby boy. She decided to do white and brown for his nursery, with accents of blue. They turned out SO cute, but I forgot to take pictures of the finished products. I am a terrible tutorialist, I know. Oh, that's not a word? Oh well. 

One of them...I added a clothespin to it for her to hang a picture.  

The other one. I spray painted two Fleur-de-lis in white and blue and glued them onto the front. 

What do y'all think? It sounds more complicated than it was...promise! Really it was just paint and glue!

Second thing for the day:

CSN has contacted me to do another giveaway. I can't decide. I definitely want to do a giveaway for reaching 400 followers, but I was thinking something new. What do y'all think? Would y'all want a CSN gift card/code? Let me know! : )

PS: Go ask me some questions...then I'll do a horrible vlog. I've gotten some very interesting ones so far!

Love, love!!

Edit: linking up here!

And here with TT&J!

Puppy Love

Today, something terrible happened. I hit the blog brick wall. I went to write a post...and nothing came out. Seriously. I am going to chalk it up to working a lot lately and this cold that I have. It's yucky...snot x 1 million.

So I was thinking, what should I blog about? Then, my little bunny bears started barking at the burglar (which was actually only the wind), so I figured that I would write a little about them.

Cue happiness.

I have two dogs. Diesel is a blue pitbull and Cashmere is a yellow lab. They are both almost two years old. I picked them up on the exact same day and brought them home together. They have been best friends ever since.

Diesel was the runt of the litter and was sick after he was born. Nobody wanted him and he was the last one left of his litter. They actually didn't expect him to live. He weighed 5 pounds when I first got him. He has been a little sicky ever since. He has had to have eye surgery and a spinal tap. Plus, he just finished heartworm treatment. He doesn't know that he's ever been sick though, so shhhh, don't tell him. He weighs about 80 pounds now and I truly think he would've died if I hadn't taken him. He is a total mommy's boy and would love to be a lap dog if it wouldn't smother you.

Cashmere weighs about 76 pounds and is the crazy, hyperactive dog. She never EVER stops running, jumping, panting, sprinting, etc. Endless energy, I tell you. I wish I could bottle it up and use it. She follows Diesel's lead and is definitely the laid back one. I taught her to "shake" one day and now she does it all the time. No lie. If you even talk to her, she tries to "shake" with you so that she will get love/treats/praise. : )

Here are a few pictures of the lives of Diesel and Cashmere. (Okay, a LOT of pictures.) If you don't like dogs, just skip this post! : ) (But you should love them.)

Bringing Cashie home.

She was so little and fluffy.

Diesel's first bath.

I think he looks like a rat. Ha.

Playing together.

They were instant best friends, but Cash had a rough first few nights. She whined and cried through the night for about 2 days. It was so sad.

It was a long and rough first day together.

A fluffy little bunny.

Getting so big.

We take them to a ballpark sometimes to let them run and play.

I was laying out one day and looked up to this.

They have made lots of messes.

They've taken lots of naps.

They've taken trips in the car...which always ends with puke.

(These are my two favorite pictures of them...little angel bunnies!)

They've snuggled with daddy.

Diesel has endured this evil contraption...twice.

(After eye surgery)

The rocking chair is Diesel's favorite place...just like mommy.

We fight over it. He usually wins.

Their first Christmas.

Just hanging out.

They celebrated their first birthday together!

They've gotten really dirty together.

Then had to endure the horrible cleaning torture.

We have had lots of fun in our almost two years together. Here is a current picture of the bunnies:

Diesel.

Cashmere.

Sorry if that was torture for y'all. That's what happens when you hit a brick wall. : )

On to my last little piece of the day, it's time for This Blog Rocks! I am going to take the easy way out and chose Sydney from The Daybook today. I realize that most of y'all have heard of her, but maybe somebody hasn't. She's fabulous, stylish, and hilarious.

I'm going to blow my nose now. Goodbye.

(PS: Please forgive the crazy picture layout in this post, I couldn't get them all aligned, then I just gave up.)

Love, love.

Rawr...the Monster is Coming

Caution: I am attempting something healthy.

Hi y'all! Yesterday I was reading Sam's post about her spinach, banana, and blueberry smoothie. I have heard several people talk about "the green monster." Basically it is a smoothie with spinach and a great way to get lots of nutrients in. It scares me. However, I love Sam, so I decided to try it. We went to Wal-Mart last night and I bought my goodies.

For my first attempt, I combined:

2 cups spinach

1 banana

1/2 cup blueberries

1 cup milk

Ice

As it was mixing, my hubby began to gag. Literally. Haha. It was hilarious. I was a little scared to try it, but it was decent. I definitely didn't taste spinach. It was a little bland though.

Today, I went back to the store and decided to add a few things:

2 cups spinach

1 banana

1 cup blueberries

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon of peanut butter

1-2 squirts of honey

Ice

I am happy to say that it is MUCH better! I am tolerating this one a lot better. I think that next time I am going to leave the peanut butter out and try some yogurt. It's kinda fun to experiment. Y'all have any advice? What else should I try??

Here is the actual website for the green monster. There are lots of versions to try. Keep in mind, mine is not bright green because I go light on the spinach. : ) If you try it, make sure to blend it WELL! Every now and then I get a little leafy crunch and let's just say it's not that pleasant.

This drink is supposed to give you extra energy and take you from this:

...To this:

Best of all...it is legal and won't get you stuck in here:

Let me know if you try it!

PS: I am drinking it as I eat a cake ball left over from Valentine's Day. Perfect pair, yes?

Love, love!

Love

Hey y'all! I ended up working yesterday for a guy whose daughter is sick. Thus, today is my first day off in over a week and my only day off this week. I'm going to keep this short and sweet so that I can enjoy some snuggle time with my hubby. Link up with Jamie here.

I love that I have today off, as does my husband.

I love that no one has commented, "Follow me" after my post last week. ; )

I love the fabulous weather we have been having. Full of sunshine, no humidity...yet.

I love that I "intend" to take the puppies on a long walk today.

I love my sweet snuggle bunnies. See the heart?

I love text messages. Anyone want to make my day? : )

I love my family.

I love the paycheck that I will get for working so much.

I love the amazing cheesy chicken spaghetti that I made this week.

Linking up with Jenn here.

I love my sweet hubby. It was fun to reminisce yesterday about our proposal.

It left me feeling all sappy and romantic.

I love my Savior.

I love each and every single one of y'all. Blogging makes my day...every single day.

Hope y'all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Love, love!

Our Engagement

Time for the story of our engagement. : ) (If you missed the beginning of our love story, go to the "love story" tab at the top of the page!) It's long...sorry!

Justin and I knew within about a month of dating that we wanted to get married. We talked about it a lot and couldn't wait to become husband and wife. In January 2010, we went and looked at engagement rings.

Side note: I think this part is up to each couple. Some girls don't want to pick out their ring, some girls do. I definitely wanted to try some on. I just "knew" that I wanted a three stone ring. I was dead set on it. I'm so glad that I went to try some on, because the three stone ring did NOT look good on my finger. I have long, skinny fingers and it looked awkward.

We had SO much fun looking at engagement rings. It was such an exciting experience...full of fun, anxiety, joy, and nerves. I ended up liking three rings and left the decision up to Justin.

Justin went on a fishing trip with his dad during the week of Valentine's Day. It was our first Valentine's Day together and we were miles and miles apart! He felt bad about missing it, but the trip had been planned for months. When he got back, he told me that he wanted to have a "redo" of Valentine's Day and that he had planned a surprise trip for us. He told me to pack a bag...that was all I knew. On March 5, 2010...we left for our little getaway. He wouldn't tell me where we were going until we were almost there. He took me to this adorable little Louisiana town, Natchitoches. It is about an hour from where we live. It's a quaint little town that is known for romantic bed and breakfasts and brick streets. I have to admit, I was thinking "maybe he is going to propose." It was definitely in the back of my mind. While we were driving, he started talking about how hard it was going to be to keep the proposal a secret and that he didn't want to buy the ring until right before the proposal because he was worried someone would tell me. I bought what he was saying and thought that he didn't even have a ring yet.

When we got to Natchitoches, he pulled up at this adorable bed and breakfast and said, "We are here!" I was so excited...it was adorable and I had never stayed at such a precious place before!

The bed and breakfast...with wrap around porches.

We unpacked and then decided to go walk around downtown. It is such a beautiful town, right along the river. They have lots of unique shops downtown and we enjoyed walking through each one.

Downtown.

As the day went on, Justin told me that we needed to go back and change because he had a dinner reservation. He took me to Mariner's...a restaurant right on the water. It was stunning and the view was literally breathtaking. For some reason, I don't have any pictures from there. I think I was too distracted with the mounds of food that we ate. : )

When we got back to the bed and breakfast, Justin said he wanted to walk around to the front of the house. When we got to the front, there was a horse drawn carriage waiting for us! It was amazing. We climbed in and went on a romantic ride around downtown. It was SO beautiful. It was the first time that I'd ever been on a carriage ride. (Later, Justin told me that he remembered me saying that I had never done this before, so he wanted to incorporate it into the proposal.) I was in heaven as we snuggled in the back and saw the beautiful town at night.

Our carriage.

When we finished our ride and got back to the bed and breakfast, we walked into the lobby. Justin told me that he had a "sweet and delicious" surprise to end our night. He told me to wait downstairs so that he could set it up. Now, if any of y'all know me at all, y'all know that I am a dessert girl. I was thrilled because I was thinking that he had some dessert to end the evening! It was so cute because I could hear him tromping around upstairs. After about 5 minutes, he came back down and got me. He told me that I had to cover my eyes and then he led me into our room. When he told me that I could open my eyes, I saw chocolate covered strawberries and diet coke (my favorite) set up on a little table. Right next to that, there was a huge silver box. I was "oohing" and "awwing" and trying to take pictures of it all set up. He told me to open the box. When I opened it, there were two teddy bears...a bride and a groom. I turned around and he was down on his knee. I was SO shocked and I just remember that I kept saying, "Are you serious?????" I eventually said "YES" and we hugged and jumped around! Okay, maybe I just jumped around. One of the best parts? He got it all on video! : ) He had set up his video camera in a hidden spot. It's my favorite thing ever.

Our first picture as fiancées!

The table set up. 

My two new loves. ; )

Happy happy happy.

We called all of our family and told them the great news. I was about to call my best friends when Justin told me that he had another surprise! He said that the next morning we were driving to Pineville (where my besties live) to surprise my friends! He had set it up with one of my friends. I was so excited!! He knows how special my friends are to me and that meant SO much to me that I was going to get to share the news with them IN PERSON!! : ) He also told me that after going to Pineville, we were then going to drive to my hometown for dinner and have dinner with my family! Hooray! : ) He's such a doll.

"Dad, she said yes!"

I made him reenact it.

My stunning ring.

After all those calls, it was time for dessert!

Please notice the "love" themed diet cokes.

A night that we will never forget.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a wonderful proposal!

The next morning.

Precious cake from my friend who was in on the surprise!

This is what my love bunny did while we had girl time.

I can't wait to have his babies.

We had a wonderful afternoon with my friends and then had a fabulous evening with my family! It was simply perfect! Justin knows me SO well and the proposal was perfect for us. I wanted a private proposal, but I wanted to be able to share it with my friends and family. When we got back that night, Justin said, "Okay, I'm done doing anything thoughtful for awhile...I'm tapped out." Haha! : ) He's such a cutie! March 5, 2010 was such a perfect day! It's funny because looking back, I can see how nervous he was that night. I can't believe that I didn't notice it!!

Love, love!