Kitchen Progress...

I've been waiting much too long to share my kitchen ideas which are slowly coming to life.

Life just has a way of butting into my plans sometimes, so something that should have taken a few days has taken me a few weeks. BUT, it's progress, so that makes me excited!

I LOVE our farmhouse. So much so, that I say it out loud, every day. And then proceed to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. I have fantasized of living in a farmhouse on a cute little piece of country heaven since I was a young girl and it seems surreal that it actually happened. But with the old also comes projects. Which. I. Love. (Mostly because I'm creative and my husband is super handy).

For anyone that has seen our home, we have a great (half of) kitchen. The other half is empty. Designed by the previous owner, it isn't the most functional for us. Yet.

The updated half of our kitchen although still
not entirely done. Dreaming of a back splash...

Here is what the empty side of the kitchen looked like (with my very small and tiny attempt at "storage".  (It was intended to be temporary, I promise my vision is much more impressive, functional and time consuming than that!)

Once again, Pinterest has been handy but I am going to take FULL CREDIT for my ideas. I have envisioned my dream kitchen since the first day we walked through this house. However, when it comes to big decisions, I'm a little indecisive. It's a little harder to say, sorry honey, I think I changed my mind. Take it down. Sorry I wasted your time. Better luck next time, buddy. *Shoulder punch*...

But one day my husband told me he took off a day to help me with stuff I wanted to do around the house. First on the list...kitchen functionality!

To Menards we went to "save big money" on my open shelving must haves.

We were able to get the shelves measured, cut, brackets up and boards positioned. But it took me a bit to find the correct color as I wanted the shelving to match our cupboards and look as if they belonged. 

Turns out they only needed 3 coats of Polyurethane with no stain and they are a perfect match.

Sand, slap the Polyurethane on, steel wool, slapping on another coat, steel wool, final coat and voila. Board done.  Actually pretty easy...(once you realize that you may or may not be able to get the black stamp marks off 100% and you stop trying to sand harder after you notice you have now created a dip in the wood...)

So here are my shelves now that they are "done". And by done I mean finally up, even though they are still empty. I'm just so anxious to show you that I can't wait! But, I'll be working on organizing my cupboards in the next day or two, so I do promise to share a FINAL after picture.

Please do not judge our flooring. That is
also on the kitchen update list!

And P.S the little white shelf WILL be going...eventually. My next vision still needs to be built by my handy husband and I've been told he needs to buy himself a fancy schmancy saw in order to build said project. He certainly knows how to get what he wants....

Pray for some more Spring weather fellow Wisconsinites! Let's hope it's not a winter wonderland in the morning (it's April for Pete's Sake!)....Goodnight!

Peek of Spring

It's Tuesday and while my husband is sitting through 2 days of meetings, I tagged along so that I can get a little R&R. I'm sitting in our hotel room painting my toes, watching HGTV and waiting to hit up the spa for some whirlpool pampering and later, my Aromatherapy massage. Ahhh, the good life. A girl could get used to this...

But while I'm waiting I thought I would share my first attempt at a burlap wreath. I started by using this tutorial. And it was useful for 5 minutes. Then, if you're anything like me...you just say to hell with instructions and start doing whatever looks good. It doesn't help the photo's on the tutorial were not the best but I'm actually pretty happy with how mine turned out. I just won't be showing you any step by steps because, honestly, I'm not sure I could do exactly what I did, over again. Also, I read that you should have 12-15 yards of 5-9" burlap. This is where not listening got me. I ran out 3/4 of the way through and had to scrounge through my craft supplies to find a piece of burlap that I could cut up (and matched color!) and use to finish the rest of the wreath. But I did it! Then you can decorate as you wish.

Tip: I used wrapped wire to secure my additional pieces,
so that it blended with the burlap

Voila! My first DIY burlap wreath!

I still may tweak my Spring add-ons around but right now, this is where it's at and it's MUCH better than the snow covered swag that was on the door from winter. I'm so DONE with winter!

We have so many projects going on right now. Hopefully I'll be able to share my kitchen project with you very soon...

And then the desk I'm refinishing...

And maybe by then we'll have landscaping projects! Spring really is coming folks....we just have to be patient...only hopefully not until June.

And with that, I'm going to go hit the pool. Or at least chillax next to it with a good book. Nothing better than the smell of chlorine and a thrilling novel to get the cold winter thoughts cleared out of my head...

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

Secrets of a Wedding Consultant...

This is totally random and nothing like my usual posts but it struck me that people might be curious.

When people find out I'm a Bridal consultant they always say "I'll bet you make great money" "that must be a fun job".

And it really is. Most days. But there is so much more to this career than just playing dress up with people. Just remember when you read the following, I still love my job and better yet, I'm darn good at it. (Sorry to toot my own horn but I'm proud to say it because it even shocks me.) But just for your reading pleasure...here are the Top 5 reasons that Bridal Consultants deserve a raise. Every. Single. Day.

5) We are psychologists....I don't just have to assist a nervous/excited/indecisive bride. I also have to help bring mom, sister, future mom, and bride all together. Every. Single. Person. Has to like what the bride picks out. (Word to the wise...don't bring the ENTIRE family.) But often times they do and sometimes it's a hoot and other times it's down right frightening. Recently I had a bride in tears because mom and future mom-in-law were not on the same page. One mom is offering to help put more money towards the perfect dress and the other mom is crying to me because she's feeling left out. Awkward. Ummm....I wasn't sure what to say? You should really talk to your daughter. Really. No...really?
I have never had a Bridezilla. I get "momzilla's". I've had mother's absolutely hate the bride's favorite dress and dress after dress after dress I FINALLY get mom to see that her daughter is smiling in that dress. About 98% of mothers imagine their daughter getting married in a "Princess dress". And don't forget the sparkle. (More sparkle please...we still need more sparkle...it could almost be a Saturday Night Live skit)  Can we just get the word out right now that the bride is supposed to be the one in love with her dress?

4) We are artists....ALERT...all those gowns you post on Pinterest? Those gowns are a few thousand bucks. Don't get me wrong. I did it. I'm still a Pinterest junkie myself. But it isn't the bargain website. Dress shopping is kind of like car shopping. You don't get the fully loaded options for the basic economy cost. But everyone comes to us wanting that unique dress for under $1000. And I get it. I totally do. I didn't want to spend a lot on a dress that I got to wear for only one day. But I was also open minded. So another helpful hint...if you want to find the dress of your dreams and not get stressed out, be open to ideas. If you let us think outside the box, we're pretty amazing. We've added sleeves, straps, sashes, brooches, appliques, beads, color, slits, camo, "poof", lace overlay, less "poof", removed straps, created new necklines, removed flowers, added flowers...you name it. And we've done all under $1000. Bet Pinterest can't do that. What can I say? We're talented folks. 

3) We are secret keepers....I'll not be naming any names or breaking any promises but we hear it all. We have women come in all the time that don't want their family to know they were already in and found a dress. So we play dumb and let the "search for the perfect dress" start from scratch again and again. I've learned of secret pregnancies that even moms know nothing about. I've been told about breakups and learned about personal insecurities. (If I had a dime for every person that complained about their boobs or "armpit fat" [is there such a term???] I'd be a millionaire.) Standing in a bra and underwear while in a 5 x 5 fitting room tends to lead to honesty and spilling of personal information. This is actually the part that makes the job worth while to me, however. These are girls and women that feel comfortable enough around me to trust me with their story. And when they trust you with that kind of information, it makes helping them find the perfect dress that much easier. It's what makes me feel like I make new friends in this world, almost every single day. And if I help make a difference in someone's day or wedding planning or once in a lifetime experience, then that makes the job totally worth it.

2) We are strong...We eat and drink very little. Haha! It's true! We work around our appointments and if that means we have a bride (or bridesmaids or tuxedo appointment) every hour then that's what we do. And we do it with a smile on our face. Because we love what we do. Even when the sister is doing our job and pulling 10 extra dresses "just to see them on" or when mom thinks the bride should try on every dress in the store so she has "an idea" of what she likes, we do it happily. We do not cry, whine, whimper or show weakness. We put the customer before ourselves. When our stomachs growl we suck it up, gulp a soda and have a quick tantrum behind closed doors and then we go back out with a smile on our face. We also happily (we would whistle while we work if we could) lug 20 + pound dresses umpteen times a day so that we can say we we worked out. Yes. Strong, indeed.

1) We are miracle workers....I could just leave it at that. When people call in March wondering when they should order their wedding gown for a June wedding I am not allowed to say "six months ago", which is what all of us would sometimes like to say. Pretty sure that would get me F-I-R-E-D. What women want, women usually get. And we are the ones that make it happen. We make sure their dresses come in, in perfect condition. If they don't, it's our job to send them back and make sure that they get here on time. When a woman comes in and her wedding is in a month, she is looking at us to help her find the perfect dress. And by perfect dress it means: right color, slimming, flaw covering, confidence building, make-every-one-at-the-weddings-mouth-drop gorgeous dress. It doesn't matter the shape or size of the bride, the goal is always the same. And we have to know what they mean when they say ruffles and really mean rouching, dipped front which means sweetheart, mermaid which is a misidentified fit and flair, no poof a.k.a no ball gown but A-line is ok. We learn to read what all these women mean when they say one thing but sometimes (often times) mean another. And last but not least....once the miracle of finding THE dress is over and the dress is ordered and 6 months later comes in, the rest of the magic happens. The alterations. No, a dress does not come in with a bustle, hem and perfect fit. Those amazing seamstresses make it happen. They might be the real miracle workers. You could not pay me enough to do what they do. They. Are. Amazing. Here is my last little tip: treat your seamstresses with respect. They are the ones that make you look like a million bucks and one wrong stitch can make or break your dress. Waiters can spit in food....seamstresses can_______(you can fill in the blank). They won't. But they could.

Now don't you want to run out a become a wedding/bridal consultant??? It sounds horrifying and yet I'm strangely crazy about it. I love it. I enjoy the hustle and bustle. I am thrilled to meet new and interesting people. And best of all, I love the thought that someday when they are telling their kids about their quest for their dress...they might actually remember how fun their experience was.

I hope that all of you get the privilege of loving what you do every single day. Life is short...be happy! Happy Friday everyone!

Our wedding day. The search for my dress is what made
me realize I would be good at this job. And I got my dress
at the company that I now work for!

My "Not to Shabby" Chandelier....

I HAVE to take a quick moment to share my latest DIY.

I have waited a VERY long time to finally get my chandelier. At our last house we had a hideous light that (in 3 years) I never took the time to replace. After a very short 8 months at our new house I took it upon myself to make things happen and to do it for a steal. I suddenly have this new found passion for refinishing outdated pieces.

I do believe my husband was skeptical but with each piece I successfully accomplish I feel he's finally starting to have a little faith...

Which is good because I have a desk project, dining room chairs awaiting and a dresser search in the works....

It's a shame I have to get ready to go to work and help the world have more beautiful brides or I would happily write a wittier, funnier, slightly longer blog post. But with that...everyone have a Wonderful Wednesday! (And let me hear your thoughts on my $6 chandelier!!)

 

 I'll show a BEFORE and AFTER full dining room view once I start working on my chairs!

 

There's a First Time for Everything...

Did you know that for 30 of my 31 years I've been a hopeless romantic to the point of let down? And that I have always had a love/hate relationship with Valentines day? Because every year I always hoped that someone would express their crush on me....or do something sweet....or send me mysterious flowers. Then I met my husband and I would tell him how much I hated Valentine's and then secretly hope there would be a surprise when I woke up or got home from work. It happened one year (the very first year Mr T and I were together)...I was given a very sweet poem. Then skip a few years and my surprise was heart shaped steak.

Yup...I did not stutter....

But I believe there was candlelight with that heart shaped steak. Although, truthfully, it's hard to remember because one doesn't forget heart shaped steak....(Sorry husband...but it's funny. Now...)

But FINALLY I was smart and came to the realization "I should NEVER expect anything because of 2 things....1) My husband is NOT romantic....and 2) he's good to me every day, so what does one Hallmark Holiday mean?"

BINGO.

It was finally the best Valentine's day I've ever had. No disappointment. No expectations. In fact, Mr T was kind enough to pick me up a pair of gloves because he said my hands are always cold. I'll take it. It was a random act of kindness and for me, that's what V-day is all about.

Actually scratch that. That is what marriage is all about.

AND... I decorated. What? I like hearts...and pink...and red...and all of it together. Plus Pinterest just puts way too many cute ideas out there! So I got creative. (Did you know that candy hearts are much cuter than they actually taste?) But I thought everything turned out cute...plus it allowed me to keep up some Christmas-y things by just adding hearts. Because I hate that feeling of an empty house when all the Christmas stuff comes down. :)

You know what else happened for the first time in my life? (It's been an exciting February) I refinished a piece of furniture.

You know that empty house feeling I mentioned? Yes...it created a monster. I got hit with the decorating bug big time. But rather than shop and go nuts (since I still don't have that money tree I've heard of) I decided to try my hand at refinishing a piece that my mother-in-law picked us up at a rummage sale. I had actually started it before Thanksgiving but the Holidays are busy, people! So I let it sit and sit some more. I finally made myself start up again and then I realized that it wasn't that hard....and that I actually enjoyed it!

I'm working on my $6 chandelier as we speak! Can't wait to see how that turns out!

AND here's my furniture redo!

BEFORE

AFTER
(I used DIY chalk paint tutorial from here.
3 coats later, waxed, buffed and new handles)

It has the perfect spot in our front entrance way.

Our farmhouse entrance. (The husband
even got to keep his deer up.)

I'm making the best of this long, miserable winter!

 Thanks for visiting!

I Love a Happy Dog...

For all of you that have furry children...(and I hope you all realize I mean the four legged kind) you will agree with me when I say that nothing makes you feel better than when you get something new for your "fur baby" and he is as excited about it as you are. Like when he got his new toy for Christmas and it's the one he continues to bring out to play with. They are like children...they like presents too and then leave them all over the house so it looks like you really do have kids.

Well, we're both super excited about this.

Even though we're a little beyond Christmas I FINALLY finished Rudy's present. I was so busy being crafty for everyone else this year I had to put his on hold. But thankfully it was worth the wait. He loves it! He got his very own suitcase bed. (It required me learning how to use a sewing machine...which I did and without breaking it! Now I just have to figure out how to use mine, instead of my mother's). I started by putting foam in the bottom of the suitcase so that the pillow wouldn't sink so much when the Rudster hops into it. I then made a pillowcase out of flannel and have intentions of making another out of a lighter fabric for the warmer months. Finally I made some cute little pillows out of some craft felt and then strung his name along the top. While he's not crazy about me making him sit still while I get camera happy, he does love his bed, I swear. Every time I walk into the room and see him in it, I get so excited that he likes it. I was a little worried that I would spend all this time thinking this through and when it was all said and done, he'd prefer his little old bed. (Also, I should mention I left the old bed sitting next to the suitcase so he could choose which one he liked. Yes. Really. I did.)

Now, those of you that don't have pets may once again think I'm crazy but honestly, I love making my little guy happy. His reactions are the best and he always, always makes me smile. Dogs are a wo(mans) best friend and that's with good reason. They don't get mad, they don't talk back and they ALWAY, ALWAYS are happy to see you when you get home. I love my husband dearly, but even he doesn't get as excited to see me....(but husband, if you're reading this...you're still my #1!!)

On that note....let's see this fancy, schmancy bed.....

He's totally looking thrilled now, does he not?

Ta da! Fits perfectly under my nightstand that I refinished
(which was my Grandma's vanity when she was a girl)
(and no, I haven't felt like taking down my Christmas stuff quite yet)

I love it and the wiener dog loves it. It's a happy ending...

Thanks for visiting!! :)

Tiz the Season!

Tiz the season to be jolly....fa la la la la...la la la la.....

Do I have you humming this already?

I'm not sure about you but I'm really into the spirit of Christmas this year. And it's not about the gifts. In fact, I just realized that Christmas is two weeks and I have exactly one gift bought. I have been hoping to be a little more creative this year and I have clearly been waiting for these bright ideas to come to me...instead of planning ahead. Woops.

But I've been eager about Christmas because it's our first one in our new home as husband and wife. And for the first time in my entire life I feel so completely happy that there is nothing that I want. I know, this sounds totally sickening. But it's the truth.

I just want to make our house feel like the perfect winter home. You know, the house that you envision having the perfect chair for curling up with a cup of hot cocoa, the Christmas lights twinkling and the dog laying at your feet (or in our case, on your lap) or the cozy Holiday movie nights while sharing a bottle of wine. Basically....a real life Hallmark episode. That's what my goal is this year. Making some great memories in our new home.

So that being said, I've taken decorating seriously this year. It felt like it was time to keep it true to who we are (although I felt really, really bad for the poor decorations that I kept in the bins this year. Did you ever have to sleep with all of your stuffed animals because you didn't want to hurt their feelings? I feel like that. Only I still put them back in the box and I try not to think about it or I feel extremely guilty. No? You didn't. Oh....well then I'm just a little nuts).
Anywayyyyyys......I've been taking my time and I'm still not done with a couple of ideas that I want to do yet but the feeling around here is much more farmhouse Christmas. I'm so addicted to pine tree boughs, sprigs and pine cones this year. Who knew that keeping things so simple could make such a pretty statement. And I'm crazy about book pages this year. It only took me over a month but I finally finished my book page wreath. And because it took HOURS of my life....it's staying around awhile. I've got ideas.... ;)

I have a book page snowflake project I'm trying to finish and, darn it, if I didn't see a book page Christmas tree on Pinterest that I want to make. Christmas will be over and I'll still be working on these things at the rate I'm going! But then I can just say I'm planning ahead for next year, right??

And with that...I'll show some of my Christmas spirit with all of you. I've discovered that I LOVE looking at other people's pictures of their trees and decorations, and I can't possibly be the only one, am I right?

By the way...it's also a little bit of a home tour (have I mentioned how much I LOVE our home?). We have painted a few rooms and it's been a while since I shared what the house is looking like these days.

Enjoy!

 

You can even see I was working on the infamous paper wreath....

The dining room is still coming together one
piece at a time.

 

We have a second tree in our front entrance.
Love it!

 

Newly painted kitchen!

Pinterest idea! Thank you "A.Z"for the inspiration!

THE wreath

I think it turned out pretty darn good!

First Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Yesterday was a day full of food and family but one thing was different. This year, I decided that we should host Thanksgiving.

I learned something.

The day goes by TEN TIMES faster when you're the one in charge. I'm so thankful that my family was willing to help me get things finished and on the table. I may have lost it and cried if I had had to do it single-handedly. Note to self: It was way harder than I thought it would be! Yet...I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I loved having my family over. It was the first time I was able to have both sets of parents and two different sides of my family together for a Holiday. It was a day I'll never forget.

I'm still kind of shocked that Thanksgiving is here and gone already. Where has this year gone??? I'm just glad I remembered to snap a couple of pictures of our table to have proof that the day actually happened. I was so caught up in the hustle and bustle that I didn't take any more throughout the day. Boo. ( Why did the day have to go so fast? )

For a first time host of Thanksgiving, I think I even made it look a little pretty. I got to use our new dishes, which happened to make me feel a little like a real grown up. I did still have some old pieces and some borrowed mismatched linens, but I'm proud. Baby steps!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's off to work for me but I'm counting down the days until we get to go cut down our Christmas tree next weekend!

The turkey day table with all the fixings. (Excuse the red solo cup...Pa!)
I'm wishing I had taken a better picture of my centerpiece.
I used some branches, pine cones, an antler and my white pumpkins
along with a couple of candles. Not bad for whipping it together last minute
(You think I had time to plan that out along with everything else? Ha!)

Let's take a closer look at that pie. Oh pumpkin, I love you.
And I love my cake plate (thanks mom!)...it works for pies too!

Hello...Goodbye...

No I'm not quoting The Beatles.

It's time to say hello to winter and goodbye to fall. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. I hate when Thanksgiving is this late. I normally hold tight to my beliefs that Christmas decorations should wait to be seen until one holiday is finished and another begins. But this year I'm itching to get things up. So far I'm technically staying true to my own rule....there are no Santa's or stockings or Christmas tree's up yet. I only have a few appropriate things up that are more deemed "Winter" than "Christmas".

So I think that's totally acceptable. Yep...

Today (and my excuse is that it was a gorgeous day and why not take advantage, rather than putting things up in freezing cold temperatures...) I sadly took my outside fall decor down. The pumpkins were already shriveling, my straw-man was becoming frozen to his bench and all of my mums were brown (how do people keep those things alive anyways???)

Then up went the winter decor. Or the start of it. I have a few things to search for yet. It's actually kind of fun when you start a little early. I have time to get things the way I'd really like. You know....like the things one finds on Pinterest. How did we decorate before Pinterest? If you don't Pin, don't start. It's an addiction. It's worse than watching trashy reality T.V. If you are in the mood for fashion...pin. In the mood for food...pin. Decorating...pin. You get the idea.

Anyways....since winter is coming and I never got to show off some of my fall stuff, I'm going to share some of the pictures I took a couple of weeks ago when it was sunny and sweatshirt weather...oh, those were the days.

 I had the husband wait to put this up until
after my last name was officially changed.

I attempted to take a picture...

Handsome little dog

My straw-man. Best idea ever. Have a friend assist, have some wine,
create a straw-man. And laugh our butts off.

Fall colors.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I'll share my decor soon! What great ideas are you putting up this year for the holidays?

Sneak peek: A new pair of flannel sheets.
The bedroom is even getting a "winter"look
thanks to a whoppin' $25 at Wal-Mart.
(I hate admitting that I was there)

31 and One Day!

Happy birthday it was. I told my husband that I didn't want or need any presents this year and that I just wanted to pay my credit card off (from the "baby" dogs emergency surgery in the midst of wedding planning). However, I was given the sweetest card with a pretty thoughtful gift. Inside he put money and a note that said "for clothes only". Now if that isn't the way to a girls heart, I don't know what is!

I also made myself an incredible dessert. (Yes...I know, I made it myself. My husband is great....but a baker he will never be.) But these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bars are worth getting up off the couch and baking for. I Googled until I found something that I had all the ingredients. I was feeling very, very, very unambitious on Sunday and now that we live in the boonies....I didn't want to go to the store. That's how lazy I was. And yet, I found the energy to whip these babies up and they were delish! Martha Stewart knows what she's talking about!

I had a short day at the bridal salon but took this incredible dessert to work to share with my coworkers. And while I mentioned to a fellow coworker that it was my birthday on Monday, I had no idea that she would bring me flowers! What an incredibly generous thing for someone to do!

My afternoon was spent working on a DIY wreath made out of book pages. This might be the most time consuming project I've taken on. I've put hours into this thing already and I'm NOT even CLOSE to half done. It better look amazing when I'm finished!

My birthday was topped off with dinner, drinks and great conversation with my husband and parents at one of our favorite local restaurants. It was a wonderful, relaxing night and with the help of my friend Dirty Shirley I accepted being another year older.

But MOST of all....

THANK YOU to all of my friends and family for their birthday wishes on Facebook. We ALL know that I am a FB junkie. And sometimes (and by sometimes I mean not very often, but once in a great while) I try my hardest to stay off it because I know all that social media cannot be good for the mind. But yesterday it made me feel like a million bucks. I had SO many people wishing me a great birthday, it was absolutely mind blowing. So THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

And for the friends that text me yesterday, you're awesome. You know how to make a girl feel loved.

I cannot believe how unbelievably happy I am. I truly hope that I can make someone smile the way you all made me smile yesterday (and still smiling today).

I am BLESSED!