(Another) New Chapter...

Things are a little bittersweet these days. I'm making another change.

I'm quitting my job. At the bridal store.

The job that I enjoy immensely and where I get to meet all types of women, some of whom feel like real friends. I have taken my job very seriously. I see things through to the end because I care about these women. I want this part of the wedding planning to be as enjoyable as it can be. I have been at this particular bridal shop for a year and when the brides that I have helped over the months come in, they know me by name. They ask to work with me. They ask for my opinion. They smile and chat and ask how I am. They make me feel like a friend, someone they will always remember. If I have made their dress shopping enjoyable and memorable, then I have done my job. There is nothing that beats that feeling.

I hear so many positive comments from customers. I never get sick of "you were great" or "you made this so much fun" and "you were made for this job". I sometimes go home feeling like I'm on cloud nine.

But there are just some things that make it tough. At what point do you move on to something that may not be as much fun but allows you to take back your life? I can work my tail off but at the end of the day, the only thing that I get out of it is satisfaction. And satisfaction, as great as it is, can't get you too far in life.

So starting in November I will be starting a new endeavor. It's a desk job. And I used to hear "waa waa" (thank you Debbie Downer) at those two words. But now I hear "less physically demanding" (you lift 3 or 4 umpteen pound dresses at the same time, up and down steps; in and out of dressing rooms, multiple times a day). I hear "no more nights and NO MORE SATURDAYS!" Woot woot! Finally, Friday night date nights and more time for friends. Two days off in a row. More time for family, a full weekend for house projects, days off before and/or after Holidays! Vacation! Oh my gosh...I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

And the biggest bonus? My horses! I cannot wait to be able to get back into the show ring!

Bring on the desk, the phone and the computers. I can do it. I will be the best I can be. I can move up. I can have 401K (and actually be able to retire someday!) My family tells me that's called a normal job but I'm not certain I've ever experienced "normal".  I am excited to see what the future hold for me. And us as a family. God is good. Life is good.

Now I just wish I could friend all my brides on facebook and let them know how much working with them meant to me and how they each made me a better person. But that wouldn't be creepy. At all.

Good night friends! Can't wait to keep you posted on the next chapter!

You Can DIY...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I worked all day yesterday and then my husband and I went out for a friends birthday. We don't go out all that often these days, so after getting home at 1:30AM (yes folks...that's WAY past our bedtime...) we weren't all that ambitious today. Sundays are the ONE day that I get for having my wonderful husband help me with that "honey do" list. Since neither of us were overly motivated today, just getting my DIY painted sign hung up was a huge accomplishment.

It's only been sitting in the basement workshop for...eh...2 months.

Since starting my flea market hobby, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for an old painted, vintage sign. I've seen old signs promoting motor oil or tobacco, and while they can be neat, that's not quite what I was envisioning in our kitchen.

When all else fails: search Pinterest. Here are some of the images that helped inspire me.

I used this PIN as some guidance.

Then I totally winged it.

I normally feel that their are enough tutorials available on the web for people to find out how to do something. However, I started thinking that there are a LOT of people that wouldn't think themselves capable of doing some of these projects. So maybe I need to share that it's totally and completely possible.

First rule of thumb. DON'T put pressure on yourself to be perfect. 

I'm an extreme perfectionist, so this is challenging. But here's the thing: if you embrace the things that you are capable of, it will make for a very personal atmosphere in your home. And a house isn't a home until it reflects YOU.

So while I doubted that my sign was perfection, I stuck to my gut and in the end, I think it's pretty cool. I made that. Better yet? My husband said it looked like something you would see sold in a store. Thanks husband. You have no idea what that means to me.

So here is what I did to make my sign:

I searched through our out buildings until I found a board I thought would be perfect.

I used stencils and traced them in pencil on the board. This way I could figure out the layout and just paint over the pencil if I didn't like it. 

I made my go-to chalk paint for the base color. You can choose any color. I went with a cream color (leftover from a bathroom paint color). I painted around my penciled in letters and went as close to the lines as possible. I didn't want to cover them up too much or I wouldn't know where to put my stencils once I was ready to paint the letters on.

Then I mixed up a second chalk paint in a blue color to do my main letters. I put the stencils back in place and pretty much just colored in the lines with my blue chalk paint. I repeated with black craft paint for the smaller letters (I just used what I had. You can do whatever you want. That's the beauty of this! It's your project!)

Once everything was painted on, I used the tip from my Pinterest PIN that I posted above. I used a darker paint color that I mixed up using some left over paint to get a " shadow" color. I went through and added some dimension to my letters by outlining them with the "shadow". Next I used a lighter paint color to "highlight" a few of the inside lines of my letters. Now I'm not artist, so I really didn't know the right or wrong way of doing this. I just went with trial and error. If I didn't like it, I just wiped it off and touched up with the blue paint. (Hint: if you mix up your own chalk paint, cover it with plastic wrap. It seals it up enough that it won't dry out. I never had to mix more paint!)

Once dry, I tried doing a tinted wax (a DIY wax) over the top. It didn't do the exact effect that I had hoped but I'm thinking it was because the tint wasn't dark enough. But I was afraid to of making the sign too "dingy" so I left it alone and rolled with it.

The next day (I wanted to give the wax time to settle) I tried distressing with a very fine sand paper. Once again...I failed. All it did was smudge my letters. I had read that distressing after waxing would limit the distressing (as I didn't want to erase all my words). I would chalk that tip up to meaning for furniture. (No pun intended! Haha!)  I wouldn't recommend on rough wood with different color paints on it. But after distressing I just wiped the board off with a rag and took my original base color and touched up around the smudged letters. Ta da! It worked. It had a crisper look again but the words still appeared faded and worn. And that's what I was going for.

I cut the board to a shorter length after I painted so that I could have enough room to do what I wanted. I had wanted to do a jagged cut but after all my hard work, I was a tad bit worried that the wood would split. My husband helped me do a clean cut and then I just painted the end. I was also a little worried that once I put the sign up, it would look too big for the space. But thank the Lord it fits perfectly!

And here, ladies and gentlemen, is the finished product.

Sorry for the iPhone image!

Want one last tip? Walk away from your project for 2 months if you're doubting yourself. After not staring at it and criticizing it and seeing it with "new eyes" after some time away, I found that I loved it. If you have been debating about trying something new but you doubt your talents: DO IT! You just never know what you're capable of!

LIVE! From My "New" Room...

Fall is here. It's September 18 and it's already been so cool the past couple of mornings that I have been able to see my breath. Today was a tad bit warmer but since it was my day off, I decided to take full advantage of the fall weather. As usual I didn't get a tenth of the things finished that I had wanted to get done today. But I did make it a great day.

I started my day with my first pumpkin recipe of the season. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip pancakes. I'd share the recipe that I used from Pinterest but since there are 10,000 different recipes you can choose any one of them. Plus...I can't find the one that I used. They were absolutely delish. And since I have some left over, it will make waking up tomorrow morning much easier...

Then I turned to a paintbrush and finished my whitewashing project I've been tackling on the bead board and baseboard in my small little bedroom makeover. (Needing a little motivation I turned the T.V on for some background noise. Normally my show of choice is anything HGTV. However....there was a Friday the 13th marathon on. Heck. Yes. It is undoubtedly more difficult to get things accomplished while trying to tune in to a cheesy yet classic horror film. ) Of course once that was done, I decided it would be pretty awesome if I could get some furniture in the room and see how much I could make it look like a real room in one day. And I'm proud to say that as I write this I'M SITTING AT MY NEW DESK IN MY "NEW" LITTLE BEDROOM TURNED OFFICE! It's far from finished but it actually resembles a room! My husband even walked into it and said what a difference some paint and decor make. I am so excited about this little room that I just had to write a quick post and share my "so far" photo. It's just a sneak peak and there will be more to come. But for now....

A reminder of the before:

 And here is the "so far"! This is only the far end. The rest of the room is coming together but I wasn't quite ready to show that off yet. I'll keep you all posted. Let me know what you think! (Except for the carpet. You can ignore that. That's another project for another day)  :)

Thanks for reading and good night!

Snapshots and a Room Makeover (in progress)...

Good morning friends! Thank you all so much for the love on my Anniversary post. It took me almost a week to write it because I did so much "rewriting". When I talk about our wedding I tend to start sounding like a teenager and get a little long winded because I never thought the day would happen.

So thank you for reading.

We had a very nice and relaxing Anniversary weekend. We decided to just get in the car and drive. We headed to Port Washington (WI), Cedarburg and ended up in Milwaukee.

We had never been to Port Washington before but I suggested it since my husband is rather fond of fishing and the water. Sitting on a patio, overlooking Lake Michigan, enjoying Bloody Mary's, we just enjoyed having a Saturday together and watched all the boats coming in. The harbor was absolutely breathtaking.

And while I love taking photo's of EVERYTHING...I learned it's quite challenging to take a photo that express's just how amazing a view is. It's actually a little frustrating. (Because I like to be instantly good at things...I can't help it.)

After many deleted images this is what I got:

The Goose that I wanted to take home. Poor Goose.

We went in just to smell it. Amazing.
And I loved the sign. Definitely photo worthy.

Someone doesn't know how to take pictures of people. But it's ok.
Look at that background! It's prettier than we are.

 Then we headed towards Cedarburg. To be more specific, Cedarburg Covered Bridge Park. It's one of the last remaining original covered bridges in the State. I wanted to try my hand at some photo's there. However, I wasn't able to get the ones I wanted because, darn it, there were other people there (insert sarcasm) and also because my husband decided to be un-photogenic. 

Can you not just envision those old black cars rolling through here???

See what I mean?
I'm getting the "Put the camera down" lecture.

Still got you, my handsome husband. ;)

 Then we hit up Cedarburg. I'm not sure how many of you have been there but if I didn't have 5 horses (and I house that I am totally in love with....well and obviously a husband too) I would move there. It's such a quaint little town. Everything has so much character and you feel like you've entered a real life Hallmark town. If you haven't been there, GO! And make sure to check out the Bloody Mary's at Easy Street, the wraps at Settler's Inn and the biggest, most delectable caramel apples at Amy's Gourmet Apples. We weren't able to get a caramel apple this time around because it would've melted. But we'll be back. I want to go back to see how they decorate for Halloween. I'll bet it's straight out of a movie.

My husband said he could be a pro photographer.
I'll let you be the judge of that.

I'm obsessed with this view.

I needed a model (or husband) standing on that walkway. Am I right?!

We ended up in Milwaukee where we checked out the Indian Summer Festival at the Henry Maier Festival Park. It was fun to people watch and eat lots of totally unhealthy, sinful, soul filling food. We did some ear candling (look it up) and walked around checking out all things Native American. I saw a man dressed as a Medicine man and he looked so authentic that I wanted to get my picture taken with him. In the end, I decided I was much more afraid of him. I was so busy people watching I forgot to take pictures of some of the costumes! 

View outside the Park.

Milwaukee skyline.

It was a great day spent together!

It was definitely an enjoyable day of celebrating our first year as a married couple. The good news is that even though we may drive each other crazy, we still enjoy spending time together just the two us. (Hey...it's been 5 1/2 years. We argue over directions while driving. Every. Single. Time) ;)

Ok so this blog post actually started with the intent of showing you a BEFORE of our small extra room, turned bedroom/office space. I figure if I show you before photo's that it will give me more motivation to keep going with it and get it finished. I'm tired of saying "I'll get to it". 

So now I'm saying "Let's do this". (Cue Home Depot music)

This was a second doorway off the living room.
We're turning this into a small bedroom/office space
so we closed it in.

The open doorway from the living room.
And yes, that's a sneak peak at the color going up.

Full of STUFF!

It's been a catch all room. It's had my crafting stuff, wedding gifts, extra furniture, Mary Kay stuff and piles of paper. After a year and almost 2 months of living here, enough is enough. 

Now I should get off blogging and go start painting! I'll keep you all posted!!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Say What? A Year?!

Amazing.

One year ago today was one of the best days of my life (thus far).

Our amazing, perfect, beautiful wedding.

The days leading up to the BIG ONE YEAR anniversary have made me reflect and look back on that spectacular day. I decided to hit up the wedding photo's and try to relive that day again. I can't believe the things that I had already forgotten. Going through these again made me smile and in some cases, laugh out loud. It was such a great day!

I'm pretty partial to some of our wedding photo's (I think they are pretty fantastic) so I thought I would take a moment to share a few of the ones that I'm certain many of you haven't seen before. Also, to share a few of the moments the way that I saw them.

It started with excitement and anxiousness and anticipation. We are best friends and have been since the day we met just about 5 and 1/2 years ago. Ironically, when you are planning your wedding you would think that the number one thing on your mind is that you are marrying your other half. Many would say "duh". But unless you've gotten married you have no idea what you're in for. Most of the time it's the last thing you think about...you're too busy thinking about how to save costs, how to make sure everyone has a good time, making sure you have enough food and drink.....blah, blah, blah. Some other things to consider are as follows.

Things you should keep in mind while planning your wedding:

You have to keep family happy.

You find out who your true friends are.

You always have one bridesmaid that makes you want to drink a little more wine.

Someone insists they should wear red (hahaha! just had to throw that in there in case Tater is reading this!)

People think they know how things should be planned even when it's not what you were thinking.

You add people to the guest list that you haven't seen in years.

You hear people complain that they don't have cool whip to go with their pie. No joke.

You have to keep family happy. Did I mention that?

And throughout all those moments, you keep smiling and wished that you would have eloped.

But somehow, amongst all the chaos with thoughts swirling through your head, when you see your future husband standing at the alter and looking at you with such love, you forget everything. Suddenly you realize that those people who told you it was about YOU and HIM were right! (Who the heck is going to remember what they ate a year later? So what if people didn't get whip cream! )With 200 people staring at you as you walk down the aisle, reciting your vows to your spouse to be and thinking about how it's the beginning of the rest of your life, you don't notice anyone else. So it's the candid photo's that I love the most. The ones that caught the little things that I didn't see while living in the moment. I'm so thankful to Keith Weich Photography for capturing our day so perfectly.

My favorite part of the whole wedding was our ceremony. It was religious. It was meaningful. And it was totally us. It was funny and it was unforgettable. I'm sure there aren't too many weddings where the subject of a 2:00 AM coon shooting are somehow tied into the meaning of marriage. Let me say that I don't believe the Pastor will forget us any time soon.

I wanted to do something truly unique for our unity message. I came up with balloons. I did the research. We used decomposable strings (I didn't want a birds blood on my hands). I came up with a pretty great analogy and had the Pastor help me tweak it. It. Was. Perfect.

In my head.

I had no idea that the strings would be too long and therefore...too heavy!

Our balloons, that were symbolizing us joining together and starting a new life, came tumbling down. To the ground. If I remember correctly, the Pastor even said "I hope that's not a sign!" After some frantic "who's got a pocket knife?" (yes, because who wouldn't have one at a wedding) we finally got the strings shortened. We held our breath. You can see my husband hitting them into the air. Unforgettable all right.

And yes. They floated. Phew.

As I looked through my photo's I was struck by how many moments I don't recall clearly. But one thing I do remember and I know I will for the rest of my life, was the way that my best friend looked at me that day. I know we'll always have ups and downs and life will get sticky at times but I hope that every now and then, we'll stop to look at each other like that again. Like he...er...we won the freaking lottery. Just kidding husband....I'm a lucky lady! ;)

 You know what else I never saw? My absolutely ADORABLE FLOWER GIRL AND RING BEARER. Not once did I get to see this cuteness go up or down the aisle. Look at them! I can't take it.

 I just cannot believe that I spent a year and 4 months planning a wedding, consuming every single breath I took and feeling the day would never get here...and it's been over for a year! And working in a bridal store, you would probably think I'd change some things. But guess what? I'd choose the same things again! We'll see how I feel 10 years from now! :)

I remember thinking that people would be surprised that I played it so safe with color. For those that know me in the horse show world, I'm always combining COLOR, COLOR & COLOR with different textures and patterns. (Oh wait...I guess not just the horse show world. I just realized that describes my wardrobe. )

But once I got planning I knew A) without a doubt I was doing something green since it's my favorite color and B) I wanted to keep things classic. 5,10 or 20 years from now I MAY wonder about the cowgirl boots but honestly, it's who I am. It's wasn't a Pinterest fad. I didn't do it to be trendy. I wanted a wedding that reflected us. So if I question myself years down the road, I'll know it's because that's what was me.

I wanted a country romantic wedding. I love soft pastels. And I LOVE a man in a charcoal suit. I'm positive that I'll never question what the ladies or guys wore on our wedding. (No offense to the man who wore a baby blue suit to their wedding. You know who you are ;)  )

How about a few random facts that you didn't know about our wedding planning & the day of?
(Sure...twist my arm)

1. There were supposed to be 2 bridesmaids in the pastel coral. It just didn't work out that way.
2. I (and a group of amazing people) hand made our invites.
3. My cousin and I made all the programs by hand, just the 2 of us.
4. My husband pretty much only helped choose the food and dessert. 
5. I may or may not have asked my husband if he still wanted to marry me (numerous times)
6. I purchased my wedding gown from the bridal store I now work at. 
7. It poured the entire morning of our wedding and I insisted that God would not make me get married inside. I was right.
8. It took 2 hours to do my hair.
9. I made all of our hairpieces myself. 
10. I had an emergency use for alligator tape 5 minutes before the ceremony. (All I'll admit is it's a pageant trick. And I don't recommend alligator tape.)
11. We were provided one bag of ice on the day of the wedding. A gas station run was made.
12. My husband whispered something to me during the ceremony that only I know.
13. My (step) dad and I took dance lessons for a month. 
14. After dinner, I saw my husband once.
15. My husband calls his dance moves (typically known as "the worm") "the snail"....
16. Lastly, I let my husband choose our first dance song from a selection of 5 (3 being country songs) and he chose A Thousand Years by Christina Perry (I DID NOT choose it because of a popular vampire flick)

And after everything, I know this to be true: I couldn't have planned a better day. There wasn't one thing I would redo. It was perfect for us.

HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY HUSBAND! WISHING US A LIFETIME OF LOVE, LAUGHS AND WONDERFUL MEMORIES! XOXO!

A Day of Thankfulness...

Lately, I've been super sappy and sentimental. I've been trying to be thankful for all the little things in life and have been trying and seemingly failing working on being a better person.

I can't believe how hard it is.

I'll use a critical tone or be short with a loved one and as soon as I've done it, I know that I should have handled it differently.

Why is that?

(Please note that I am extremely sorry if I have done that to you)

I am thankful for many things in my life and most especially the people in it. But what's a struggle is being satisfied with the things you have, instead of focusing on the things that you want or think you'd rather have.

I'm trying a new strategy. Instead of thinking about the big picture, I want to appreciate each little moment. When I want to go out and find my next fun purchase (usually for the house) I'm going to look for bargains and remember to keep it simple and that I can do a little at a time. Somehow that seems to give me more satisfaction. (Which is a little ironic since I've always been about that whole instant gratification thing). Or if I'm having a conversation and I wish someone would've responded another way, I'm going to take a deep breath and be grateful that I have that person in my life.

When a day off doesn't go my way, I'm trying to not think about what I didn't get done. I'm trying to focus on the things I was able to do.

Life is short. Keep breathing. Learn to appreciate.

It's tough...but I'm working on it.

I had an enjoyable lunch date today, with a girlfriend that I rarely see. Bonus. I HAD planned on going home afterwards to spend a day at home, relaxing and working on some fun projects. Er...wrong! My husband came home from his fishing vaca a little early and decided to spend the day with me. I got nothing accomplished. BUT we did enjoy a day together. We hit up the antique mall, which is something we haven't done together in ages. And then (gulp) my husband got me to switch to an iPhone. (I have been an android user for the past 5 years...I'm a bit terrified that I've hopped on the iPhone bandwagon). And while I was frustrated that we spent 2 hours sitting at a cell phone store "wasting time", I realized once again...we were doing it together. And what better way to finish up the day than grabbing a pizza, sitting outside on our patio and reflecting on our day. All worth it. Enjoy the little things. Keep thinking positive. Appreciate.

So it takes a little work and a little bit of a mind set but it's totally possible.  Maybe the more I do it, the less work it will take to keep thinking about the glass being half full, rather than half empty.

That being said I have to say thanks to my cousin for spending the day with me on Sunday. I'm sure there are things that she would rather have been doing also, but instead, I convinced her to spend the whole day hitting up a flea market. Two hours driving each way and hours perusing booth after booth of antiques and jumbles of old stuff. I'm appreciative of her willingness to spend time with me. It made me feel good. That and our assortment of "loot". Nothing beats the feel of antique pieces gotten at a bargain. :)

"Loot: goods, especially private property,
taken from an enemy in war." Basically.
Have you ever been to a flea market???

Cousins. Also, flea market pickers.

Thank you to my friends and family for making me strive to be a better person. (And please continue to be patient with me). I hope that you all appreciate the little things in life. Enjoy the unexpected moments and remember: happiness is a choice.

Lastly, because my projects make me happy and sharing them makes me happy...and also because I promised...here are a couple sneak peaks at our bathroom and kitchen updates. The ones that I will do a little at at time. And not stress because they aren't done yet. :)

BATHROOM:

BEFORE

SO FAR...

 KITCHEN:

BEFORE: (after shelves went up)

SO FAR...one of my favorite spots.

I am so thankful for the blessings in my life.

See what I mean??? Sappy and sentimental.

 I praise God every day for the things I have in this life.  And I'm going to do my darndest to continue to do so.

Good night friends!