a confession & hard labor {part one}

i have a confession. it is kind of a big one. im a little ashamed to admit it. but i have to get it out.

i've been cheating. i've been cheating on my diy blog and my diy-ing friends.

i have a friend named scott and the hotly pursued "diy bff" title has been bestowed upon him.

i know. if you could see me through your screen you would see my head hanging in shame. that is why i had to confess. however, there is a bright side.

i am here to share scott's diy prowess with you guys because i think you all rock! so if you could find it in your heart to forgive me i want to share a really cool tutorial with you. can you forgive me? please?

only for the tutorial?

it's ok. i get that. but i bet, after the tutorial, you will be willing to accept me back.

well, ok. along with the promise of more diy brilliance from scott in the future.

deal.

if you are into things like mixing concrete in the heat of the day, carrying a hundred pounds of wet concrete in a mold, and spraying highly acidic, melt-the-skin-off-your-face stain, all with the patience of a saint... then this project is definitely for you.



i was basically just along for the ride on this little manual-labor journey so i was only able to get pictures of some things.

what you will need:

scrap mdf, screws, tape measure, level and square to build your mold
tiles (if you desire) and hot glue (or some other silicone waterproof sealant)
quickrete and water to make the cement
rebar or chicken wire
smoothing and rounding tools for finishing
metal putty knive, goo gone and metal file
plastic sheeting, plastic gloves, stain and a sprayer
sealer



the first and definitely most important step is to measure the area you are making the countertop for. in his case, scott measured the area on each side of his grill in his custom built (by him) outdoor kitchen. then following those measurements exactly you build a mold to pour your concrete in.

make sure you measure length, width and depth and make the cuts for your mold accordingly. some tutorials say to use coated melamine particle board. in our case we just used what he had on hand, which was scrap mdf. it worked just fine. the only tip i definitley want to share is to predrill all your holes to keep the mdf, particle board, whatever you are using from splitting. such a headache!

scott has another countertop already made with a design from ceramic and marble tiles. so we created another version of that design, making sure that the design lay directly in the middle of the form. hot glue the tiles down with the smallest amount of hot glue necessary (you'll see why later)



once you get the tiles secured down, you need to seal all the edges or a couple of things might happen. for one, concrete will seep under the edges around your tiles and dry to the front of them. secondly, it will seep under the edges around the border and you will have a small ridge around the perimeter of your finished product. you can use hot glue, like we did, or you can use a waterproof silicone sealant

these are both easy fixes. you can use a metal putty knife to scrape any residue off the front of the tiles and you can use a metal file to smooth down the edges around the perimeter.

then, because we used the longest only screws we could find, we had to file down the screws flush to the surface so that later we could skim the extra concrete off the mold. and i was pretty excited because it made for a sweet picture!

ps - always wear protective gear. you can't see it but i promise scott is wearing safety glasses. i on the other hand was dodging sparks to get a picture. don't be me.



now comes the fun part! everyone get your back braces and work gloves and lets mix some concrete! the goal here is to not make it too wet or too dry.

i know. could i be more vague?

but seriously it depends on the weather, the humidity, the time of day and what size shoe you wear.

ok the shoe thing was a joke.

you want it to be beyond the "just-saturated-concrete-mix" but you don't want it sloshing around in your mixing pan. remember the golden rule of concrete solutions: you can always add more water, but you can't always add more concrete. so add a little water at a time until you get the consistency of somewhere between oatmeal and pancake batter... but don't be tempted to test this texture orally. just use your eyeballs.

then pour it into your mold, taking care to get it down in the corners. don't be shy.. fill 'er right up. we will be skimming the excess of the top in a minute.

at this point you insert the rebar or chicken wire into the wet concrete. this will reinforce it since it is quite a large piece and keep it from cracking or shattering when it is moved.

this step is mucho importante. do not skip it.

using those bright little noggins of yours, insert in your mind a picture of scott using a 2 x 4 to shimmy across the top of the mold and pushing the excess concrete off the top to level it. this is one of the parts where i actually helped and didn't have two hands to take pictures with and operate the 2 x 4.

once you have the mold filled and leveled, do this very important step that we skipped: take your orbital or pad sander and run it along the outside edges of your mold. this will shake the concrete and bring all the air pockets and bubbles to the surface so that you don't have tiny little divots on the top of your countertop.

or, do like we did and forget. and then call it character. whatever floats yer boat!



now comes the part where you have to have a light hand and some of the "patience of a saint" i mentioned before. using what i like to refer to as a smoothing tool (some sort of trowel? i bet the home depot people know exactly what it is called) make light passes over the surface of the concrete smoothing it out and removing small amounts of the mixture at a time until you have a surface you are happy with.

then take the rounding tool and run it around the edges, being sure to angle it up away from you and in about thirty degrees to pull the concrete away from the mold and give it a finished edge.

now you will see you have messed up your perfectly smooth surface, so go smooth it over again, using the same light hand as before.

this will need to be repeated a couple more times as the concrete hardens and each time it will hold the shape you give it a little better.

and now we wait. and wait. and wait. and then move it into the sun. and wait. and wait. and curse the louisianan humidity. and wait. (some more patience of a saint needed here)

eventually it will dry.and when it does, call upon your local muscles and ask them to help you lift it and turn it over very carefully. then take mold apart around the newly formed slab o'concrete and do a little giddy dance when it looks like what i thought it would.

or not. i mean, scott is cool. he doesn't mind if you do a giddy dance.



if you have tiles, now is the time to get your putty knife and scrape the hot glue dots off of them (hopefully it is just a couple of dots - remember i said to use the least amount absolutely necessary) and any concrete that has (and it will) seeped underneath and dried on them. don't worry if it looks scratched or gets cloudy. that is where the goo gone comes in. you need to make sure they are nice, clean and shiny before you tape them off for the concrete to be stained.

we used edgelock tape but whatever painter's tape you have will work fine. tape off the tiles and make sure you run a box knife or some sort of blade around the edges to push the tape down on to the sides and cover and possibly exposed tiles.

then fish out your hazmat suit. or your rubber gloves. put the concrete countertop on top of plastic sheeting. pour about a cup of the stain into your sprayer and spray a test pattern first in your newly released mold. once you find a happy medium between dripping the stain and full-force blast mode, spray the stain on the concrete. make sure to cover it with a light coat all over. you will be able to see "dead spots" (places where the stain didn't "take") quickly and you can spray over those again. you want it to be good and saturated but not pooling on the surface. once you have a nice even coat, bust out a glass of ice water and a movie and wait some more.

at this point in the process i had to leave and go to church with the hubs... but scott was kind enough to finish it and take pictures along the way. the slight problem is that i don't have the pictures yet... that is where the {part two} comes in... so stay tuned my friends!

bathroom makeover {before & after}

dont forget to check out these two posts:favorite five friday&sponsor swapi promise you don't want to miss them! so i guess since you saw my home list i should go ahead and show you all the work that we got done in the bathroom!  
for starters this bathroom is tiiiiiiiny. like maybe six feed wide by five feet deep tiiiiiiny. on one wall it had a huge mirror which really made you think it made the room feel bigger. but in reality i don't think it did. so out it went.
 
{it is currently being stored, waiting patiently to be sliced and diced to go into the back of my china hutch}

after two coats of stone white* matched to valspar ultra premium satin, the room was instantly so much brighter and definitely felt bigger - even without that mirror!

*so it would appear that someone has broken in to my house and swiped that paint chip. don't worry - the authorities have been notified and i will be finding a replacement for it pronto.  
then came the scary part... the switches and outlets became extra extra dingy after i brightened up the walls so i asked my dad to help me change those out.  
very quickly it turned into dad changing them out and me in the kitchen working on gumbo... it turned out that the entire bathroom was wired to the bedroom electricity and once we unhooked the switches in the bathroom the bedroom lights went out.

disclaimer: my dad is a very experience handy man. he does his electrical work "hot" so that he can see when it is working and when it isn't. please for the love of all holy things, do not try this at home without turning the electricity off. 
i love this light fixture! it is from lowes and it is made to hang the other direction (upside down) but i liked the light reflecting off the ceiling and we couldn't cover that ugly hole in the wall if it was hanging the right way. so we pulled out our tim gunns and made it work.  project runway pun? anyone?

once he had finished waving his magical electrical wand, i replaced the hardware (toilet paper holder and towel rod) to match the new light fixture and wa-la!

finally i replaced the accessories and added some greenery for a pop of color and it was all done! 
well done for the day anyways. like my home list indicated there are still a couple of things to do, like paint the trim, the cabinet and the countertop, putting laminate wood floors over the yucky linoleum, scraping the popcorn off the ceiling and replacing the doorknob! but for now i am happy as a lamb with my new, brighter, bigger bathroom!



anyone interested in a budget breakdown?

paint: $9.10 (after a $5 valspar coupon and using a balance on a gift card) & $26.97 (for trim paint)
light fixture: $59.98
new switches: $17.79
new handle for cabinet: $2.97
paintbrushes: $21.34
hardware: $20.94
total: $159.09

not too shabby for adding about a hundred visual square feet to a room and having plenty of paint leftover to do the other bathroom with and definitely enough trim paint for the rest of the house!

more than anything i am just proud to say that i have finished it! after hemming and hawing and talking about it and doubting myself, actually getting it done and proving to myself that it isn't nearly as scary as i imagined it would be is so worth it! so whatever is holding you back from your project - just step in there and do it!

or you know... you could always call on cassie. she will definitely berate you until you do it cheer you on!

the home list

don't forget to check out these two posts:

favorite five friday&
sponsor swapi promise you don't want to miss them! back in january a lot of bloggers were posting "home lists" that entailed all the projects they hoped to tackle in the coming year. i am a list type person but at the mclain house, the years are on a bit of a different schedule.

as a wife of a provisional deacon in the united methodist church, our years start on june 14th which is "move day". we don't move every year, and thank the good Lord above we aren't appointed to move either*, but until we have annual conference** every year it just doesn't seem like the year has started.

{* in the united methodist church, clergy that are ordained or provisional elders are itinerant (fancy word for traveling) and appointed to churches and then move to that church. my husband is a provisional deacon (soon to be ordained) so he is able to find his work and ask to be appointed there, meaning that we are not "assigned" to a church}

{** annual conference is the yearly convening of the united methodist pastors in a conference where petitions are heard and voted on, new pastors are ordained, retiring pastors pass the mantle and where appointments are finalized}

so when/if we ever do move, it will be in the middle of the year. so it seems silly to start on any home projects in january if we would potentiall be moving in june. so my home list will start now. (or i guess, since i have started on the bathroom it has already started!)  here it is broken down by room and hopefully the order in which it will get done :) {and for the record... we are not moving. but if we were it would be in june}

half bathroom in the master


paint walls
paint trim/cabinet
replace hardware
remove big wall mirror
replace light fixture over mirrored cabinet
put in laminate wood floors
scrape the popcorn off the ceiling
replace doorknob
paint the countertop
one day cutting out a hole in the exterior wall and putting in a bigger window

living room

scrape the popcorn off the ceiling
paint walls
paint trim
replace door to the hallway with a screen door
(to promote air circulation to the return vent and demote dogs peeing in the living room in the middle of the day.)
new rug
(after the screen door)
new curtains
paint cabinets to match tv stand
(with the possibility of one day getting rid of the cabinets and talking my hubs into a built in entertainment system around the new flat screen tv... le sigh)
new smaller couch
chair and ottoman to replace recliner
new windows
(another "one day" wish)
new window treatments
(curtains and either white wooden blinds or those roll down wooden ones)
stencil or crazy wall paper on wall next to front door
(which you can't see but that is why i want to do something fun there!)
laminate wood floors
install storm door so my pups can see outside :)
update/rearrange accessories

guest room

paint walls and trim
replace doorknobs and paint doors
rearrange furniture
get rid of tv and tv stand
(or find a different way/place to have it and leave it in the room)
paint chest of drawers
put organizing system in closet
(which is my closet)
new window treatments
(curtains and blinds)
paint/update/makeover or replace ceiling fan
accessories and wall hanging stuff
one day dream - new window and open up the back exterior wall with two windows

hallway


scrape the popcorn off the ceiling
install board and batten or wainscoting on the left side
paint above board and batten or wainscoting
rehang pictures
(possibly moving my gallery wall to the hallway on the right side)
install electrical outlet so i can put a night light in the hallway
replace and move the boob light and add another one for additional light
turn hall closet into a linen closet and install light fixture
laminate wood floors

kitchen

scrape the popcorn off the ceiling
paint the walls and trim
paint the cabinets
(upper white, lower gray - haven't decided on a color yet)
enclose the refrigerator and paint that with chalkboard paint
raise upper cabinets up to the ceiling and put in a floating shelf below them
replace or update/makeover light fixtures
new window treatment
one day - new window
laminate wood floors

dining room


scrape popcorn off the ceiling
paint the walls and trim
replace the table top with dark stained rustic style farm table top
(that i can hopefully talk the hubs into making for me)
paint lower part of table white and distress
paint chairs and find two chairs for ends
paint china hutch
line back of china hutch with mirrors
(cut from mirror taken out of half bathroom)
find a way to hide/cover/conceal the dog crate
install an "entry way storage system" by the back door
laminate wood floors
replace back door
(something with glass to let some extra light in)
replace/makeover light fixture
maybe a rug to define the space?
(i say maybe because it is right by the backdoor and we have a lot of dirt in the back yard) laundry room

scrape popcorn off the ceiling
paint walls and trim
remove cabinets and replace with open shelving all across back wall
sledgehammer in the stupid water pan under water heater and put washer/dryer next to each other
install hanging rod to hang clothes
enclose water heater/stupid water pan
paint shelf and cover with curtain
install organizing system for brooms/mops etc
laminate wood floors
paint other set of cabinets and countertop and reorganize them

hall bathroom


there is no popcorn on the ceiling in here
(weird yes but yay!)
paint walls and trim and doors
replace shower curtain with floor to ceiling one
replace/make over light rixture
install wainscoting on wall across from toilet with hooks for towels
replace hardware
laminate wood floors
one day - remove builder grade plastice insert tub and tile out the shower and add new tub

and lastly the master bedroom


scrape the popcorn off the ceiling
paint the walls
paint trim/doors
install closet organizing system
upgrade/makeover the ceiling fan
cover wall behind bed with curtains (a la katie at bower power)
maybe paint the furniture?
(or find some other way to brighten up the room)
new throw pillows for the bed
replace doorknobs

wowza that is a big long list. i don't even know if we will live here long enough to ever finish this but it is a great place to get my thoughts in order and an even finer place to start! :) what about you? have you made your home list?

{sponsor swap}

don't forget to check out favorite five friday! i promise you don't want to miss it!

i have been seeing this a couple of places around the blog and have been really kicking myself for not coming up with it myself... but it is definitely something i think i should do. i saw it over at all things remembered, where my local (i know, another blogger in west monroe? i die!) bloggy friend blogs about her adorable son.

and i do mean uh-doooor-able. make sure you click on over to her wordless wednesday posts. ca-uuute.

anyways, back to the matter at hand. jessica and i are doing a sponsor swap for the month of july and i think it is just brilliant! my blog is still relatively small and my etsy shop just opened so i really don't have the extra moolah laying around to pay for ads and i don't feel like i deserve to ask for payment either. so this barter system is rocking if you ask me! here are the deets:

• i'll host your button as a sponsor for neathering our fest for one month.
• in return you will host my button on your site as a sponsor for one month.
• at the beginning of the month you will be featured in a sponsor introduction post where you can highlight yourself, blog and/or shop. Or whatever you feel like highlighting. 
• you will also have the option to do a guest post and/or giveaway.
• your button/ad will be placed in the right hand column and will be rotated so that every ad gets maximum exposure during the month.
• your ad will go up on the first day of the month and will come day on the last day of the month.

i will start posting my ads july 1 (and holy crap that is this friday! where does the time go?) and will continue, changing out ads each month as necessary, until further notice. if you are interested in swapping sponsorship just leave a sweet comment on this post and let me know!

oh and if you need help creating a button to use for an ad i can hook you up with that too!

p.s. make sure your email address is tied to your blogger account so i can reach you!

{thumbprint designs} shop update!

i'm pretty thrilled to share with you guys that after i "opened up shop" i got a couple of orders from close friends!

one was for my friend jordan, whose cousin is having a baby shower tomorrow.



the allie thumbprint would be absolutely perfect for the special little girl in your life that has a sparkly outlook! shimmery pink stripes on a white background serve as the perfect backdrop for the custom, cute-as-a-button distressed letters. this would be a great shower gift or a fun surprise for someone getting a "grown up girl" bedroom makeover! it can be personalized with the name of that special someone you love. click here for more pictures and details about the allie thumbprint in my shop!

this is the one i made for my sister-in-law... or "the one that started it all" so to speak ;)



the baby thumbprint can be completely personalized. the paint colors and letter design can be customized to match any nursery color palate. this particular sign was made for a baby boy nursery that is decorated with carter's tree tops bedding. i wanted to make the background neutral (what better color for neutral than gray?!) and then used the four main colors in the bedding (red, blue, green and brown) to coordinate it with the bedding. wouldn't this be the perfect gift for that momma you know who is keeping the gender a secret?  click here for more pictures and details about the baby thumbprint in my shop!

the other order was for a good friend who shall, for now, remain anonymous but here is what she said...

"so.. i would like to submit an order for one of your beautiful creations. it will go in a room of a little person we will love very very much when they enter the world in january"

a new baby! i am so excited for her and i can't wait to meet the little one! and i am also very humbled that she would think of me and completely get the shop purpose :)

oh and one other neat little note... the allie thumbprint was salvaged from a destroyed book case from a day care center and the baby thumbprint was salvaged from an old shelf that i took out of a closet in my house. i love that i got some trash off the street and made something beautiful out of it!

favorite five friday! {top five friday}

hallelujah thank you Jesus for websites like pinterest to keep me entertained at my boring, feckless job.

for today's top five i want to invite you to a party.

yep a party on a friday while you are at work. let's do it shall we??


found via on pinterest

 here is how this will work. everyone who wishes to participate will leave a comment on this post listing one favorite thing that is under $5. it can be anything. lip gloss. sonic drink. type of tea. the list can go on forever. a fun napkin. anything. also, be prepared to purchase five of this one favorite thing.

{suggestion uno - hit up your local dollar tree. no one said this had to be fancy schmancy!} {suggestion dos - if it is a sonic drink.. um don't try to mail me a sonic drink. that's awkward. how about a sonic gift card instead?}

next friday i will compile a list of these favorite things and put them in a numbered list here on the blog along with the person who listed it. then, using random.org, each person that commented will receive a list of five people (chosen from those who also commented) to send this favorite thing to.  {which is why i suggest you keep the item under $5, or even well under if you'd like}

kind of like pulling your name out of a virtual hat. make sense?

here is the catch though. we have to have at least seven people participate, me included. {so six in addition to me... sorry had to do the math!} that way everyone has at least five people to send their gift to. and to keep it fun everyone needs to list something different so that we don't all get five of the same gift. the more people and the more variety the more fun it will be!

plus we all get to meet someone new and make a new friend.

why five? because it is top five friday! duh!

so who is in? please spread the word and let's see how many people we can get to participate! i will close commenting next wednesday (june 29) night so that i have time on thursday to get the list together and who shall send what to whom. note: please please please make sure you have your email address in your blogger profile so i can contact you when the time comes!! not sure if you do? click here for a great tutorial from shelley at house of smiths to be sure before you comment! if you don't have your email address in there i can't connect you with the other participants and i will have to leave you out! no one likes to be left out! :) or if you want to leave an anonymous comment that is fine just put your name and email address in the comment like so: skye dot nicole at yahoo dot com... that way it doesn't get recognized by spammy type things.

inspiration workshop {week four - play!}

if you want to see me get totally competitive, ridiculously fired up and inexplicibly mad at my husband... just roll out a deck of skip-bo cards and deal me in.



i had never even heard of skip-bo until i met chris and he showed me how to play at his parent's house the first time i went to meet them. the first few rounds that we played he took it easy on me until i learned the rules and strategy.

then he unleashed on me. we would play until three or four a.m... or until i would finally win at least one hand. because i would not go to sleep until i won at least one hand.

we carried a deck of skip-bo cards around with us on our honeymoon and played all over the beaches of st. lucia. we had a few people actively engaged in our games in the airport while we waited for our flight. we play after a long day to unwind. we play during holiday visits to his see his family in oklahoma.

i know you can't see them, but there is a deck of skip-bo cards on the table in front of us!

 more imporantly, i think the fact that we play is the most important thing. marriage is all serious and compromise and working hard to make the other person happy... it helps for us to take the time every once in a while to just put the marriage aside and play. get mad at each other, laugh at each other, be old friends and just play. p.s. speaking of playing... make sure you check back here tomorrow for a really fun game!!! you won't want to miss out!
linking up with gussy sews & her inspirational workshop!



who i am. really.

have you seen the button on my sidebar?

i am participating in an e-course created bty liv lane of choosing beauty called how to build a blog you truly love. true to its title, i am learning to take my little slice of the internet and turn it into something i love and that i am proud of and that i truly want to share.  don't get me wrong. i love my blog. i love writing on it. i love the people i have connected with.

i am just ready to take it to the next level. for a lot of reasons. for a lot a lot a lot of reasons.

i don't know if you have noticed but there have been some design changes going on around here. there will be more, but more on that later. these have all stemmed from some of the articles i have read in the contents of the e-course.

the first thing i want to do is to introduce myself to you. i know... you have probably read the "about me" page and that is all good and dandy. but that just skims the surface and shows you the "me" i want you to see. i feel like if you read that, or have been reading my blog, and have stuck around this long that it is time for me to peel back these layers and show you who i really am and what i am really about.

before you run off, i'm definitely not some weirdo freak posing as the writer of a blog so i can find out who you people are and where you live.

well... unless you define "weirdo freak" as anything else i am about to say. because then. yes i am a weirdo.



i am skye. my mother chose this name over stephanie because she said it reminded her of the way fresh-cut grass on a football field in september smelled. i say it was because she was a hippie and like the smell of another.. ahem.. grass.

i am a wife. i met my husband by chance at a housewarming party where a friend of a friend brought him. he told corny pick up line jokes, danced with me while i cried and still asked me for my phone number. i was pretty sure he was being polite and that i'd never hear from him again. to the contrary, he did call me. on our first date he took me out for mexican food (my favorite), explained that being in seminary did not mean he was a monk (which i really did not know) and then watched (and sang along with) phantom of the opera with me. i knew then i would spend the rest of my life with him. it took him a little more convincing... but i knew i would never let him go anywhere.



i am a daughter. my parents are two people i am so so proud to call my parents. my mother, who passed away a little over year ago, was a woman with a big heart who knew what she wanted. she passed on many of her endearing (and not so endearing) traits to me... like my yearning to learn as much as possible and do as much as possible and be as many things as possible to as many people as possible. and my unequivocal ability to utter the word "shit" when something i don't like happens and sound just exactly like her.

my father has worked really hard his entire life in the oil field. i vividly remember the ride to daycare in the mornings in my father's work truck and the acrid smell of crude oil that was aptly described by him "as the smell of dinner on the table." i remember many nights where he never came home because of an oil spill in an obscure creek that had to be cleaned up. from my father i carry the traits of a good driver who thinks no one else can drive (yes, that woman honking her horn behind you in the fast lane of the interstate gesturing for you to get in the slow lane? that would be me) and my obsessive-complusive, perfectionist tendencies.



i am a disciple. and i struggle with it. i know that Jesus is the risen son of our Lord without a shadow of a doubt. I know where i will go when i my number is called. but within the confines if my daily life, i have a really hard time finding a spot to fit God into. and even saying it in that manner shows you where my priorities lie. i don't pray enough. i don't spend enough time in scripture. i don't have quiet reflection time with God. i don't know how to do that and be the person that i am. that He made me to be. and the worst part is that i don't yearn for it. giving in to God means letting go of all the control that i hold dear to my heart. and it scares me. i can put on a good show though. but inside i am a quivering little person afraid to reach out into the darkness to step through to the light on the other side.

i am a wandering flower longing for the place that allows me to grow strongly into some beautiful creation. some small part of me denies the cultural standard in america that proclaims that i should put down roots and stay there, seeking nourishment in the environment i chose. i would much rather spread my arms wide and let the wind carry my feet where it will and then... once i find the place that nourishes me the most... then i will plant my feet in the earth. there has been and will be places with dry soil but i am willing to endure the small periods of spiritual and psychological malnutrition in order to find that one place that feeds my soul, my mind, my creativity, my heart and my body.



i have no idea what i want to be when i grow up. or rather... i have no idea which one i'd like to be when i finally make the decision to grow up. i want to be a corporate professional and click-clack across the smooth marble floors of a sky-scraper in bustling manhattan, carrying important papers to some important person on my way out the door to ride on public transportation to my high rise apartment 30 blocks away. i want to be a freelance artist and roam the countryside in europe, searching for inspiration and living like a nomad or a gypsy. i want to have two children and be a stay at home mom, making homemade sidewalk chalk for them to color with while the organic, nutrient-rich lunch is simmering on the stove. i want be a teacher and teach a room full of eighteen year olds the importance of balancing your checkbook and building credit properly. i want to blog for a living.  i want to go to seminary and get a master's in theological study. i want to be a graphic designer and an interior designer. i want to learn how to sew. i want to sell everything i own and move to st. lucia and braid hair on the beach.



as you can see this poses a bit of a problem. i cannot narrow my passions down in life enough to make a decision about what i want to do. what if i decide "YES! THIS IS IT! I WANT TO BLAH BLAH BLAH" and i miss out on something so amazing and enriching that i would have benefited from elsewhere?

i hate my job. not in that "total dread of coming in the work sort of day". i despise that i feel as though i have settled with it. by no stretch of the imagination does it allow me to be creative, give me problems to solve, create a teamwork environment or have any chance of moving up or advancing in any way. these are things that i crave out of life - things i know about myself - and i have taken this position and worked here for a year and haven't grown, learned or changed in any way at all. except that i feel like i have just let myself completely down.



i love to encourage and meet new people. two very good friends i have made so far in this little adventure are katie and cassie. if you had asked me a year ago if i would be handing out my phone number to people i met blogging i would have eyeballed you like you were growing green tusks out of your ears. but today, because of these two phenom women, i have learned a little more about myself and let my vulnerability show a little more.

i love babies as long as i can hand them back to their mother when they poop in their diaper. not a lot of elaboration needed there folks. :)

hello? are you still there? oh good. whew. this "not a lot of pictures" blogging gets boring pretty quick so thanks for hanging in there with me. but every once in a while i need to do a little soul searching. and part of that soul searching will lead to new directions for this here little blog and what i decide to do with it.

so anyways, all of that was to say this. i fully plan to integrate this blog with all the things that are happening in my life and all the decisions that come with it. which means that things are going to change around here. don't worry! i will still be ME most of all but the purpose behind the blog is going to be evolving and once i finally figure out what that is and how i want things to be, things might look a little different around here. but i promise to keep you all informed. you are part of the reason i blog! :)



thanks for all of you who read, comment, don't comment, laugh a little, smirk at my corny jokes, or call a coworker over to read what i wrote. somewhere inside i feel like i know each of you and that there is some reason you have found me or i found you... i pray that connection leads us both somewhere positive!

{longest day of the year}

to my skwishy. to my sunshine. to the man that butters my bread and makes me wanna slap my momma and draw back on my daddy. to the one who lets me be me. to the one who helps me grow. to the man who pushes me over the edge and then backs me up every time. to the man who chose to live the rest of his life with me... crazy or no. (mostly crazy!)

let's go shopping!

so... am i the only one who carries a camera when i go shopping and takes pictures of things i love that i can really never afford? please tell me that you slip your phone out to snap a picture of something you think is just awesome and think to yourself "this is totally making it to a blog post".

and for the love of stinky cheese, please tell me you have gotten that look from other shoppers. the one that says "wow, that girl is weird. does she always take pictures of baskets of pillows and bowls of decorative balls?" {said in my best jim gaffigan voice}

do you love jim gaffigan, or what?

anyways. since it is monday and mondays are usually kind of blah and not very colorful, i thought i would show you a few pictures from a recent shopping trip! :)



i'm pretty sure this is a yellow logan armless chair from world market but i can't find a link to it online. such a fun bright color and a great shape!



floral chair from world market. (sorry can't find the link for it either) loving the color combination of grey, yellow and teal! :) and that perdy pillow is a crysanthemum lumbar toss pillow, available in brown or silver.



cloud blue logan armless chair from world market - and that great fern ebroidered lumbar pillow? i'll take two of each. just tie them to the top of my honda accord!



tivoli reversible sectional sofa. OMG it is on sale for $399.99! i'm not sure of the quality of a sofa from world market (although this one seems to have great reviews!) but this is just exactly what i am looking for. the perfect size with a chaise lounge. the color could be different but i think they offered different fabrics to choose from.



awesome showpiece painting from a little shop called serendipity in west monroe. they unfortunately have gotten out of the home decorating business which is a shame because they had the coolest stuff there!

i don't remember how much this was but i figure i can totally diy this with a little patience! :) wouldn't it look awesome over a couch!?



gorgeous glass vases from paul michael in monroe. if you ever come visit me i will totally take you here. it is expensive but it is a great place to invest in that one brilliant room-making accessory.



my friend nina totally dug this clock! really, it is right up her alley and would look great in her home. i had to pull her away from it and tell her it could totally be done diy style for a fraction of the cost!



and this amazing starburst mirror? it is the starburst mirror to end all starburst mirrors. a total show-stopper! but it was really expensive.. that kind of "if you have to ask you can't afford it" expensive... but if you did the rest of your room on a budget and brought this in to tie everything together it would make it totally splurge-worthy!

have you snapped a secret shot of anything lately? found a great buy? do share! i love to shop - even if i come home empty handed! :)

five things to do before painting a bathroom {top five friday}

one

recruit a cheerleader.

and by cheerleader, i mean someone who says a million time over, just do it already! and for the record i highly recomment cassie. she is really the only reason i have actually started painting my husband's bathroom.

{edit to add: say a prayer for cassie today please! she texted me early this morning and said she was in the hospital for some sort of emergency surgery!}

two

become bff with the toilet.

you will see angles of your toilet you have never seen before and nastiness and stains that you wish you could never see again. unfortunately, they will be burned into your retinas and haunt you in your sleep. and possibly make you do the unthinkable... clean your husband's toilet. {gag}

please do me a favor if you ever come over. do not look behind the toilet tank. you know this princess did not paint back there.

three

decide to replace the hardware in the bathroom.

lest you will be getting a screwdriver at 6:30 in the morning to remove the cheapy white toilet paper holder, towel rod and towel ring {that you just ever so carefully painted around without taping off} and then sanding the edges around the square of unpainted wall to smooth it out. and then deciding between oil rubbed bronze or brushed nickel. {help, please?}

four

wait until three days before you will have company to start it.

yup. that {and cassie} is about the only thing that makes me want to start a project. the impending deadline of family and/or strangers arriving at my house is a sure fire way to light a fire under my rear parts and get me going. come to think of it, it is probably the reason i am up all hours of the night finishing last minute projects too!

five

have neighbors who love you

after i cut in my beloved's bathroom with a paint brush, which i swear has more angles in it than a geometry classroom, i went to my neighbor's house to rest and say hello. she noticed my grotesque, inwardly curled hand and asked me what sort of accident i had been in that caused it. she loves me so much {or felt that sorry for me} that she gave me her rolly straight edge painter-onner thingy. thanks k!

all in all i am super ecstatic with the paint color i chose and how it is coming along! i took that big huge mirror down (which i have a picture of scheduled in the reveal post) and i am planning on adding a few accessories in there as well. i am just ready to finish it and get started on the next thing! :)

any other brilliant, eye-opening tips for painting a bathroom?

{p.s. one year ago today we closed on our house. today is the one year anniversary of being homeowners! yay! go us!}

just for fun... these are my pups!

sadie belle (the one in your face) and rebel (the one passed out on the floor) this is also a good representation of their personalities.

owlies, foxies & birdies! {oh my!}

a couple of weekends ago we hosted a really fun baby shower for my sister-in-law, mccall!

we had a great time and i wanted to share some pictures with you guys.



guests walked in and were greeted by this fun guy, made by one of my sweet friends rhiann!



we asked them to sign in and fill out their envelope to help the guest of honor send out thank you cards. i mean, who has time to hunt down addresses when you are busy marinating a baby and painting a nursery?



we set up a candy bar for people to take candy home as a favor. and i know. is that cake not to DIE for? more on that in a minute.



hostesses - me, kay, nina and rhiann.



nugget. this is my mimi's dog and he is a pomeranian with a teddy bear cut. he is the cutest dog!



the guest of honor and her momma! she is such a cute little prego! :)



always important - food. we had buffalo chicken dip, chicken salad sandwiches, hot hamburger dip, cheese and crackers and fruit salad.
{yummy yummy... anyone watch the wiggles? just me? alrighty then.}



the baby's future favorite onesie!



and now on to the cake! rhiann asked her friend to make it for us who does it as a hobby. she is insanely talented! we told her his initials and sent her a picture of the bedding so she would have a color scheme and this is what she delivered. unbelievable!



owlie!



foxie!



birdie!

is that cake not gorgeous?! i am so in love with it and am considering having another party just to get another cake. :)