A Rant & Lots of Raves

I arrived at my local Starbies (Starbucks to those of you who aren't diehards) to discover the menu and decor to be changed out for the Christmas Holiday. Come on Starbucks! Can't I just enjoy my Thanksgiving Blend coffee or Spiced Pumpkin latte through Thanksgiving??! Not only is the Thanksgiving Blend not available; they also increased their prices. Double boo.  So listen up Starbies - Michaels may choose to put up Christmas in August and everyone else soon there after but you're above that nonsense.

Ok now that I have that off my chest - let's chat about Fall. I love Fall. The clothes, the cooler temperatures (yes, they've dropped in Cali), the leaves changing and our time we've spent with family & friends.

Here some of my Fall Favs (in no particular order)

My 1st Minnesota Twins Baseball Game in October!

Playing with my favorite niece in Kentucky

Any & every minute w/ my family

Eating carmel apples covered in Reese Cups for Nick's Birthday

Nick's Awesome Pumpkin & Pirate Dorsey in the background

Passing out Halloween candy

Having Nick's brother visit us from Alaska

So Starbucks might have decided that Fall is over but I'm choosing to enjoy the final days because it's way too good to just let go!  With Thanksgiving, more family time & pumpkin pie on the horizon I'm one happy girl.

What's your favorite part about Fall? Tell me before it passes us by! xo

B is for Baby Boyd

My best friend is expecting her first child in February. So exciting! Upon hearing the news - my girlfriends and I immediately started planning a baby shower in our hometown.  With Emily & her  husband moving to DC in November and the Holidays, we had to act fast!

We didn't know the sex of Baby Boyd prior to ordering the invitations and planning the decor so we went with a "gender neutral" - yellow & gray, bumblebee theme.  The other hostesses and I had the best time finding cute ideas on Etsy and elsewhere.

Here's what we came up with:

Custom Baby Bunting 

Classic Clothes Line with a Wooden Monogram

Tissue Pom Poms

Bumblebee Food Cards 

Invitation said, "Buzz on Over for Brunch" :) 

What an adorable Mommy-to-be

She got LOADS of precious clothes, monogrammed blankets and all those other baby necessities.  Baby stuff is just so darn cute!

Mommy + Hostesses 

What a fun and special day for Emily and all of us who got to share in it with her! We all can't wait to meet Baby Henry in February.

Evening Stroll

Only a few streets from our house there is a really magnificent tree. We pass it on our evening walk with Dorsey Dog and every time I am in awe of it's size and beauty.

This picture doesn't do it justice

And just past this tree is a spot where we get to enjoy this view...

I love our evening strolls for these beautiful sights and of course the wonderful company too!

Hope you're having a great week. xo

Witch or Pirate?

Nick and I are in the camp of no clothes on Dorsey Dog but we do make an exception for Halloween.

On my way home from work I made a quick stop at the It's Only 99 Cent store for water but low and behold I stumbled upon two dog costumes. Yes for 99 Cents each!

Costume 1: Witch

Costume 2: Pirate 

*D's ears are tucked under that cap - no easy task.

Here is a behind the scenes glimpse of how we got the above images...

We'll chalk this up to Father / Daughter Bonding 

Help Me Please - My Parents are Crazy!

Dorsey would like you to weigh in on her Halloween 2010 Costume - witch or pirate? You pick! 

Dose of Dorsey

My Dears...  It's been a while... I don't have time for a long post tonight but thought I'd share a series of pics that made me giggle.

Sweet & Calm = Not Her Usual Self 

Bahaha. There's our girl! 

Dorsey Dog is great and so are we! I miss blogging but I'm just out of sync right now. Motivation is on it's way - I ordered a new DSLR camera and think it's what I need to get back in the game. 

xoxo

j'adore.

Two years ago I said "I Do." A Little History - Nick and I met almost nine years ago in Dorsey Hall, our Freshman dorm, at Miami University.  Oh the memories we've shared!

Here are a few images from our wedding day...

How lucky I am... Cheers to us Nicholas Mark!

DIY: Dresser Revamp

Many, many moons ago, I shared with you a sneak peak at a project that I had in the works. Well, four months have passed (gosh that's embarrassing to admit!) and today I am finally ready to share the finished product.

Even though we completed a bulk of the work before we moved, we didn't have a spot for it in Mini House #1 and once we got to Mini House #2 it still needed hardware so I have been holding off on posting...

Spotted: Huge Thomasville Dresser on Craigslist

Large in Size, Small in Price - Only 40 Bucks!

Note: To kick this party off, remove the out-dated, brass hardware. 

Next up: clean & sand

Per usual, Dorsey supervising

Note: After sanding and before priming, use tack cloth to remove the access dust / debris.  

Next up: Prime & paint while wearing a mask

We are diehard fans of Rust-Oleum 2x Coverage spray paint. I've worked with other brands and none compare. Here's another tip - buy a spray paint trigger.  It is the best $3 dollars you will spend, trust me. 

In case you need visuals for when you go to Home Depot, Loews or your local hardware shop.

Note: For this project it took us 1 Coat of Primer, 2 Coats of Paint and 3 Coats of Wipe-on Poly.  Easy as 1-2-3, LITERALLY! 

Wipe-On Poly was recommended on lots of blogs to help protect one's hard work. Here's the rub though & a word to the wise: white or antique white paint + too many coats of wipe-on poly =  a slight yellowing... just sayin'  :) 

Alright if you've made it this far and haven't given up on this post - here's the after. 

What an improvement!

Isn't she pretty? 

Close-up (not a great one)

The total cost (excluding our manual labor) was under $100 which isn't bad, eh?  It was a learning experience for us and of course we are always looking for another project / adventure. 

Pelmet Box: Guest (My Sister!) Post

Growing up I was always the creative sister, but I will say my baby sister has definitely taken the reigns now as adults.  Feeling inspired by Emily's DIY spirit, I decided to create pelmet boxes using the how-to guide by Little Green Notebook.  She did a cute scalloped look - I just wanted a basic line to add a little something to my entry way & kitchen.

Here are the tools needed to make these:

• Fabric
• Trim
• Heavy Foam Core Board
• Duct Tape
• Fabric Glue
• Staple Gun
• Glass of Wine (optional but encouraged)

First measure your window and determine the necessary size for your foam board.  On the guide, it didn't really tell you how to cut the foam board. I honestly used a serrated kitchen knife.  So however you want, cut to the correct size then duct tape (yes, duct tape) together.  You'll also need to cut the sides to create depth.

Here is a closeup of my side.  Penny my poodle supervised from her bed.

Next, line with batting and staple the ironed fabric.  To make it more polished, I lined the back of the pelmet box with fabric as well.

Here we go... ready for trim and hooks.

Next, fabric glue the trim.

Then add key hole hooks to the back with epoxy glue or with fabric glue. I made two of these and both glues worked really well. Last but not least hang and admire your hard work. 

There you have it!  All in all this took me about two hours for each pelmet box with Penny's supervising, of course.

Cheers from the Middle Sis!  

Be Our Guest

I apologize for the lack of posts in the past week!  We were lucky to have wonderful out-of-town guests and  wanted to be a great hostess while they were visiting.  I LOVED every minute of each visit but am ready to get back into the blogging swing!

Wanted to share a few pics that make me smile.

 Seeesters 

Angels Game with Two of My Favorite Guys

Alright gang - thanks for hanging in there and following! Now get ready for lots of super fun posts headed your way!  You deserve em'  - xo 

Peachy Keen

Dear Blog Friends,
How are you guys? Good weekend? After my weekend, I'm just peachy keen and here's why (in no particular order)

• My best friend is expecting! Due in Feb 2010
• Friday afternoon nap on the beach
• Making homemade milkshakes w/ Nick
• Celebration dinner in honor of selling Mini House!
• 80+ degree weather - Summer FINALLY
• Sunset jog with Dorsey Dog
• Target + H&M = one giddy girl
• An answered prayer
• Detailing & washing my MINI 
• Being featured again on Remodelaholic - woop!

So true! You can buy this here

I have so many ideas for projects but bear with me while I get it together @ Mini House! 

Make it a great week! 

Sold.

Today we sold Mini House, our first home.  It was bittersweet.  From what we know about the buyers, this will be their first home and they have a French bulldog named, Tater Tot. How cute! They wrote us a sweet note about Mini House and I have no doubt that they will love it as much as we did.

When we closed (a little over a year ago!) it was a Friday afternoon and I remember how excited Nick and I were to kick off the weekend off as homeowners! Even better, my parents were out visiting and got to share in our excitement and get a first glimpse before we began all the transformations.

Mini House: June 2009

Throughout my life, I've had the opportunity to live in several homes, in several different states. Each one has such great memories tied to it from Country Club Lane to University Blvd!

There is a song on the radio right now by Miranda Lambert titled "The House That Built Me." The first time I heard it was around the time that we put our house on the market and I remember listening to the words and sitting at a stop light with tears rolling down my face.

Take a listen, the words are perfect.


Any special Homes in your life? I'd love to hear!

Happy Weekend to You! xoxo

Maiden Voyage

Surfs Up! Today Nick and I headed to the beach so he could test out this new wetsuit and surfboard! We've been telling people that we traded in the mountains for the ocean so inevitably Nick retired his snowboards and skis and invested in a beginner surfboard.

En route to Lost Winds Beach

On the way to the beach I was on the phone with my sister and she asked if Nick knew how to surf. Good question.  Answer - yes and no. Yes he has played around on a surfboard once or twice a few years ago but he has no clue what he was / is doing out there.  

Future Pro Surfer? Looks like it to me. 

After snowboarding and skiing for the past 15 years, it is a very humbling experience to pick up a new sport especially surfing. It's 90% paddling out then waiting and more waiting and finally catching a wave. I was playing the role of lifeguard but my services weren't necessary (thank goodness!)  All in all - great first day but I have feeling that Nick is going to be super sore tomorrow morning. ;) 

Nick use to religiously monitor the snow report but now it will be the surf report. From fresh powder to upcoming swells.  I'm slowing learning the lingo... 

Hang Ten and Happy Monday!  

DIY: Pelmet Box

On Saturday we marked off two projects from my our to-do list!  Always a good feeling.

The first project was repairing our gate that I backed into with my MINI.  Oopsie Daisy! Thankfully the gate materials cost around $5 + Nick's free labor.  Now the dent on my car... it will require a little more moolah and a professional...

Thanks Handy Hubby!

Next up was building a pelmet box for our bedroom. I purchased the fabric for this project with the ambition to build it for our bedroom at Mini House #1. I'm glad I waited / procrastinated because the window in our new bedroom is wider. Procrastination paid off (well, this time!)

Here's what ya need:

Fabric -  1 to 2 yards. I used Premier Fabrics 

1x12 wood - Loews

L-brackets - Loews

Batting - Local shop but of course Michaels has it

Powershot Staple Gun & Staples - Best.investment.ever.

Dewalt Power Drill - Nick's personal fav!

Here is my fabric. You can buy it here.  

There are many of ways to build a pelmet box. My sister Allison recently made not one but TWO adorable pelmet boxes by following these instructions from the Little Green Notebook.

We took a slightly different approach. Still easy & inexpensive but instead of duct tape and foam board we used wood and power tools. 

Lowes employee cutting the 1x12 into three pieces

 

Iron your fabric folks! Wrinkles are totally tacky.

Roll out and cut your batting to match the wood

Place fabric, batting & board. Supervisor Dorsey Dog. 

With our fabric, we had to line up the pattern so it would repeat correctly which required us to adjust and re-align several times. If you are borderline crazy like us, it has to be perfect.  

Staple your heart out! 

My advice - there is no such thing as too many staples.  When I did the pair of chairs earlier this summer I learned the importance of ample staples and getting the fabric very taut.

We made ours with three pieces - so repeat the above steps for the sides after you finish the center piece. 

Use the L-brackets to attach the sides

BEFORE

AFTER

Now that it's up, I'm considering some type of trim. I picked up some options at Michaels yesterday. What do you think?

I plan to get Allison's "how-to" guide on making a pelmet box sans power tools (hint, hint Sissy)! Happy Thursday Y'all!