Dear Friends,

I'm alive.  I could blame a slew of things of things on my lack of blogging like - Christmas (crazy), lots of visiting company (awesome), my new addiction to Costco (pricey),  some travel here & there but all in all I've fallen out of the routine (translation - laziness!)

Like I've said before, I really love blogging. And since you are reading this - thanks for coming back and thanks to those of you who have asked if I was ever going to blog again (sisters, B$, et. al)

So I'll jump back in with little glimpse of how we closed out 2010 and how 2011 is shaping up so far. Lots of pictures

Sister Melissa out from OHIO for our 1st Cali Christmas

Waiting on our guests

Christmas Eve with my hubs

Walk on the beach Christmas Day

Family trip to the Zoo 

Happy New Year from Dorsey Dog

CHEERS! 

Night out in Las Vegas - on our way to see Beatles LOVE at the Mirage

Uber tourist shot at the Bellagio

Love the Chinese New Year decor

Sister in Cali - our gift for her 30th Birthday

Family field trip to the Getty Museum in LA

Phew! I wanted to post 100 more pictures but you get it. It's been a fun few months and I could go on and on about the who, the what, the when on everything but I'll spare you. Life has been and continues to be peachy.  

I just completed a fun felt project yesterday so I'll have a good DIY post for you later this week. Thanks again for sticking with me.   What have y'all been up to since November?!  

xoxo

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!