I know I have been a little M.I.A. around here lately. I have a good reason though! We have news. We wanted to tell family first and now that we’ve done that.
I am pleased to announce…
Ah! We are so excited!
Mailbox Flower Bed – DONE
Dear Diary,
We finished the mailbox flower bed and I love it! I think it looks really great. It’s crazy how just a little bit of work can make such a huge difference!
Of course I don’t have a before picture. The before picture wasn’t very pretty anyway. Picture a bunch of dead grass and rocks.
Overall it took us a few days to complete because we broke up the work load. Realistically this could have been done in two days at the most, but we worked on it little by little over a course of a few days. We decided to go with landscaping posts and I really like it. I was kind of skeptical at first, but I really do think it looks great. We caught a really good deal on the posts too! They were about $1.57 each compared to $3.97 each or something like that. For the mailbox area we only needed about six posts, but when we do our front porch area we will probably need at least 40. We are hoping to catch another deal on them when we are ready to do the porch. That couple of extra dollars saved will really add up!
I didn’t take pictures of the process but it was pretty simple. The Hubs dug a “trench” around the area, then he cut the posts to size (he cut them about one foot long [the posts are eight feet long]), laid them out in the trench to see how we liked them and then pretty much just buried the bottoms in. We also added in some sand around the gaps to make sure they held in place. We have about six inches sticking out and six inches in the ground.
Laying them out to make sure we had enough.
For a side note – the weekend that we went to buy the posts we also bought some flowers to fill in the bed. Well, once the Hubs had things laid out I thought I would need more flowers. I wanted to get some different flowers so that it would be pretty and colorful with all different kinds of flowers. (I wanted random and colorful, not rows of the same flowers or colors.) So I went to the store and was so happy with my purchases… and then I got home and realized that I had bought the EXACT same flowers. Ha! I must have really liked them. Both times. 
Literally. THE EXACT SAME FLOWERS. We bought the top set when we got the posts last weekend and I got the bottom set just a couple days ago.
I think it’s time for another manicure, don’t you think? =]
(If you’re wondering about all the straw behind the mailbox, we laid down some grass seed in the hopes that grass would grow. The straw is just so the birds don’t get to it and to help keep it damp so the grass can grow. The Hubs used to do landscaping so he knows all about this stuff. I just go with the flow.) =]
Another home project done! =]
Brain Dump – What’s On My Mind 1
Dear Diary,
Hello there blog followers (cough*just my dad*cough). =]
There has been so much going on in my head lately, AH! Maybe if I finally jot it down then I can sleep at night. Whew. Here we go:
1. I really really really want to go out to the West Coast this year to visit with my family, but it’s so darn expensive. How do you decide what to do with your money when you’re on a budget!? To go for a week would be about $1,000 for both the Hubs and I. (And if we’re going to go to ALL THE WAY to the other side of the US (ha – I make it sound sooo far) then it’s going to be for at least a week!) I know $1,000 doesn’t sound like a lot to some people, but that’s a sizable chunk for me. I haven’t been there since I left in 2007. Luckily I was able to see almost all of my family when they came to the East Coast for my wedding in 2011, but still. It’s almost been two years now. I have so much family there. Why can’t all you West Coasters just move on over to the East??! =]
MOST of my West Coast family.
You can tell that this was at the end of the day and everyone was tired of smiling – ha! =]
2. The Hubs and I have been talking more and more about starting our own family! I’m super excited about it, but also very nervous. I know that everything will be okay and I pray about it constantly, but there’s still a small part of my brain that doesn’t let me forget about what could go wrong. It’s such an exciting thing and I am anxious for it, but it’s quite nerve wracking too! (And the idea of trying to start a family makes the idea of spend $1,000 to travel a lot less appealing. =[ But I really want to go, but should I be spending that much when I could use that for baby stuff? But I want to go. But I can't justify it. But I want to.)
3. The weather here is getting pretty awesome and warm. We're in the mid 80's with lows in the mid 60's. It's beautiful. But guess what? Our house is right around 12-13 years old and we need a new AC unit. =[ The one we currently have is old, was not serviced bi-yearly like it should have been by the previous homeowners AND is too small for the house that we have. It's 80s degrees IN our house because the AC can't keep up. I know some people say 80 is the "go to" for energy saving purposes and I agree that 80 is okay if you're doing ABSOLUTELY nothing, but the second you get up to get a drink of water you're hot. 80 is not comfortable. We finally ended up turning the AC off and opening the windows... not that it helped too much. Sort of, but not much. So add that to the expense list. Travel, baby, AC unit. Help me.
4. On a good note, we started an outdoor project! We Hubs started building a border around our mailbox so that I Hubs could fill it with pretty flowers! We scored a great deal on the landscaping post at Home Depot so that helped! I'm all about a good deal. Here is a picture of it "in progress". I'll be sure to take a picture of the finished project too! UPDATE // The mailbox flower bed is complete! Check it out here.
5. My mom came to visit last weekend! We had a really good time. When we used to live together we had the same working schedule - off every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So we spent a lot of time together doing girl things and what not. Ever since I moved away with the Hubs we obviously haven't had that time and it was nice getting back to it this past weekend. My mom is only about 4 hours from me but we still don't get to see each other a whole lot. She came down this past weekend and the Hubs and I went up in February but before that I hadn't seen my mom since Thanksgiving and before that it had been over a year. Anyway, we did our girlie things like getting our manicures and pedicures and we went shopping too. I'm hoping she moves down here soon. =]
6. I started getting back on the elliptical! In case you haven’t been around here very long the Hubs got an elliptical about a year ago for $20! The owners just didn’t want it anymore and at the time the elliptical was around $1400 retail and currently going for about $850 on ebay. So $20 was a STEAL. I got on the elliptical religiously when we first got it and then one day I didn’t do it and it got easier from that point on to not get on it again. Well, with the talk of starting a family I wanted to make sure I was “in good shape” so I started getting on it again. I’m not running and straining myself though. Now I go at a fast walk/jogging pace for a longer amount of time. I’m by no means “out of shape”, but I read somewhere that if you are working out before you get pregnant then it’s safer to continue your routine rather than trying to start working out once you find out your pregnant. So anyway, I get on for about 25 minutes (my goal is at least four days out of the week) and go at a steady 4.1-4.5 miles per hour. I found out that I could set my Kindle on the ledge of the screen and read while I jog. =] It makes the time go by faster!
7. There is pollen EVERYWHERE. My silver vehicle is a nice shade of lime green/yellow. Since I have my windows down when I drive I have pollen inside my car too. It adds a nice pop of color to my gray interior? There’s also a nice coat of pollen dust on my phone from driving with the windows down. I’m so glad I don’t have allergies. I feel bad for all of you that do! The Hubs has it pretty bad in the beginning of Spring. That’s pretty much the reason the mailbox border was left “as is” last night. Hubs had to escape the pollen for the rest of the day and go inside. To a warm 80 degree house… ajklfjkajlfoiajhkahga.
Updated Sidelight Window “Coverings”
Dear Diary,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We sure did! The Hubs and I went to church Sunday morning and attended the church brunch. Then we headed over to the Hubs parent’s house and got together with the family for dinner. The Hubs’ Grandmommy came down to visit so it was really nice to see her again. It’s always nice to have family visit. <3
While we were at my in-laws *new* home I noticed that they had used the Frosted Spray Paint for their sidelight curtains and I LOVED it!
Remember the sidelight curtains I made?
I really really liked them at first, maybe because I made them and that made me feel special? It’s not that I stopped liking them later on, but they did kind of irk me. Here’s the thing – I like them from the inside because I like the fabric and it goes well with our new wall color and our rustic theme. Plus it looks good with the white door. BUT, from the outside (which I don’t have a picture of) I felt like it all kind of clashed. The front of our door is black. So in the Winter when I had a blue snowflake wreath what you saw from the outside was a blue wreath, a black door and these brown/biege/red plaid curtains. Not a very pretty sight right? I just loved that from the inside these blocked my dogs from being able to see out and bark at EVERYTHING that went by.
I thought about doing the window film but my dogs like to bark and jump, so I was afraid they would jump on the film windows and eventually scratch it away.
Then I saw my in-laws frosted windows and ta da! That’s what I wanted! (I remember thinking about doing the frosted spray paint but I didn’t want to do it and not like it so I scratched the idea. Luckily I got to actually see it at my in-laws house and then I was convinced.) Loving in-laws as they are gave us their can of spray paint since they didn’t need it anymore and Hubs got to work when we got home that day. Here is the almost end result…
It makes a HUGE difference! I can not believe how much awesome sunlight I was blocking out by having the curtains up. I wanted curtains to block the dogs but I didn’t really want people to see inside either so I steered away from sheer… I love the way this came out though! We are probably going to do a few more coats just to “frost” it a little more. I don’t want to say “darken” because I think you could do 50 coats and it still wouldn’t be “dark” or block out the light. It would just be really frosted.
I love that I still get the light AND the dogs can’t see out. You have to pretty much be right on the glass/touching the glass to see outside. And you can’t see inside at all, which for me is a plus. It’s really simple to do too! All you have to do is clean your windows and wait for them to dry, then spray in a back and forth motion (making sure you overlap your strokes) and let dry for a few minutes between coats. The frosting effect will take 5-10 minutes, but you can do the coats in less time than that. You can reapply anytime you need to (if you need to later on down the road) and you can still wash the windows with a wet rag or mild soap and water. OH I ALMOST FORGOT! This is applied from the OUTSIDE so I don’t have to worry about the dogs scratching it up!
Like I said, we are still going to do a couple more coats (we ran out before we could finish) but I love the way it’s turning out. No more blocking out the sunlight!
FYI, if you wanted to still see outside you could totally just do a couple coats and have the frosted effect without blocking your view.
FYI, we used Rustoleum Frosted Glass.
What do you think? Do you like how this came out?
I’ll leave you with these adorable pictures from Easter Sunday…
Let’s see what we can find in these eggs…
I think I found the one with the goods!
Heaven’s Grocery Store
Dear Diary,
I received this email from a friend of mine and really liked it. I thought it would be something nice to share with Easter coming up and all. =]
” As I was walking down life’s highway many years ago,
I came upon a sign that read “Heaven’s Grocery Store”.
When I got a little closer, the doors swung open wide.
And when I came to myself, I was standing inside.
I saw a host of Angels, they were standing everywhere.
One handed me a basket and said, “My child shop with care”.
Everything a human needed was inside that grocery store
and what you could not carry, you could back for more.
First I got some Patience; Love was in that same row.
Further down was Understanding, you need that everywhere you go.
I got a box or two of Wisdom and Faith a bag or two
and Charity, of course, I would need some of that too.
I couldn’t miss The Holy Ghost, it was all over the place.
And then some Strength and Courage to help me run this race.
My basket was getting full, but I remembered I needed Grace.
And then I chose Salvation for salvation was free.
(I tried to get enough of that to do for you and me.)
Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill,
For I thought I had everything to do the master’s will.
As I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer and put that in,
For I know when I stepped outside, I would run into sin.
Peace and Joy were plentiful, the last things on the shelf.
Song and Praise were hanging near, so I just helped myself.
Then I said to the Angel, “now how much do I owe?”
He smiled and said, “just take them everywhere you go”.
Again I asked, “really now, how much do I owe?”
“My child” he said, “Jesus paid your bill a long, long time ago. “
I hope you all have a great Easter weekend!
God bless!
Sharing My Weekend
Dear Diary,
Another one of those weekends that flies by!
Saturday morning the Hubs had to go into work (for what he thought would be two hours but ended up being all day). =[
I got up and got ready and headed out to one of our local shopping centers. I was on a mission to find work boots and work pants for the Hubs and a pretty straw handbag and flats or sandals for me. (I knew I was babysitting my niece later in the day so I had to be quick!) Unfortunately I didn't find anything for the Hubs but I did find myself a handbag! I don't know why but I've been wanting a pretty Summer/straw handbag for awhile now and I finally found one!
Isn't it so pretty?! I had seen it online awhile ago and finally decided to go into the store so I could see it in person. I liked it even more in person and decided to snatch it up. It was the last one too! I think someone was trying to hide it because it was not with the rest of the other straw handbags and was pushed to the back on a shelf... Sorry to whoever was hiding it!
Then I hurried to Walmart to grab a few things, ran drove through the McDonald's drive thru for lunch and then headed home.
When my sister in law got to my house around 2:20 to drop off my niece, I admit I was a little nervous about not being able to keep her entertained when I noticed she didn't really bring any toys with her. Little did I know, we didn't need any toys at all! I didn't catch any pictures but my niece loves the puppies so we played around with them a bit and then I had to start cooking. My mother in law, (other) sister in law and I were taking dinner to an elderly couple from our church, Mr. and Mrs. M. Mrs. M. had fallen and broke her wrist and had surgery earlier in the week, so we thought we would save them the trouble of having to make dinner. I made Shepherd's Pie and my mother in law made Strawberry Cheesecake.
I will change the channel if I want to!
Except Auntie took a battery out of the remote… =]
This is my nose.
Of all the magazines, the Pottery Barn one. (Upside down, but that’s okay.) =]
When we got to their house Mrs. M. was resting so Mr. M. showed us around a bit. Their house was pretty awesome! They back up to a beautiful view of the lake and some woods. It’s an all brick house with wood framed doors and windows and solid wood interior doors too. They had lots of antique/vintage furniture. To quote my mother in law, “This is not a house, THIS is a home.”
Then back to my house we went, I got my niece a bottle and we settled on the couch and watched Sponge Bob.
My sister in law picked my niece up around 5:30 and the Hubs came home around 7 or 8. He brought Arby’s for dinner and got me a Chocolate Molten Lava Cake for dessert. Yum!
(Has anyone been to Arby’s lately? Can someone tell me why the Hubs got two meals and this dessert and it was like $21?! That sounds like a lot for fast food for two people right?!)
Sunday was a gloomy, rainy, cold day. One of those days where you want to start the fire and stay inside ALL day. Well, the Hubs and I went to church, ran a couple errands (he really needed work boots and work pants), went to Cook Out for lunch and came home and settled in.
Mint chocolate chip milkshake!
As you can see I got very little housework done, but hey, that’s just how it is sometimes!
Oh and then Monday my manager and I made a day of “being bad”. Starbucks in the morning and Papa John’s and Gigi’s Cupcakes for lunch.
White Hot Chocolate.
I better go eat a salad now.
Finally, A Clean-ish Room
Dear Diary,
I tackled the big one this weekend! The smaller guest bedroom in our house was a disaster area. There was so much JUNK in it and I could never build up the courage to tackle it. I always had something else to do… But finally it’s done! There is still A LOT of stuff in it, but at least now I know what all of the stuff is AND it’s organized. Whew!
Well now it’s this…
I had to light a little candle in there because they devil dog you see in the corner had a little accident and it REEKED! (She threw up, not potty accident. And it was in her cage and thankfully not on the carpet!) Doesn’t it look SO much better?! I know there is still stuff in there and it’s not technically CLEAR, but at least it’s organized! That bag of stuffed animals needs to go into the attic. I’m really not sure how long it’s even been in this room… I got all of the pillows put away in a place where it won’t be in the way anymore too!
And this…
Turned into this…
*Sigh* SO MUCH BETTER! You can actually see the floor!! Who knew I had pretty okay carpet in here?! =] The corner on the top right is all stuff that needs to find a home but we don’t currently have the room for it all. There are some craft things, some books, some desk supplies, etc. I eventually want to get a small/medium craft hutch. I have A LOT of craft supplies that are currently in bins in the closet. It’s okay in there for now but I eventually want to have them somewhere where I don’t literally have to dig them out. I eventually want some nice, solid wood bookshelves and a desk too. But for now, those neat boxes will do! I was going to give that huge blue corner pillow thing to the Goodwill but technically it’s not mine so I wanted to ask the Hubs about it first. It’s not like he ever uses it…
Last but not least, this…
Turned into this…
WOW! I am so glad I finally got this done. It looks so much better in this room don’t you think?!
There was so much stuff in this room that I just needed to donate or toss out completely. I didn’t photograph the trash pile but trust me, it was big! The only reason I ended up photographing the donate bag was because this happened…
Womp womp! This was one of those BIG paper bags that you get from Z Gallerie and it was STUFFED. I managed to actually take it to the Goodwill too! One less thing to do later!
What did you accomplish this weekend?!
