My weekend project

My entertainment this weekend consisted of turning this fun box... holder... wood... thing:

Into this:

Isn't she way cute?!

Technically, I didn't create it from scratch. Actually, not even technically- I just flat out didn't create it from scratch. I saw her at a garage sale and just knew the possibilities hidden within that rough exterior.

I took her from her wooden plank boringness and led her into this beauty.

She was painted with leftover paint from my living room walls but she still needed some oomph. So I was totally inspired by this project and put my own mark on it. It brought my sweet little box to life.

She is currently sitting by our back door but I still have absolutely no idea what her purpose is... maybe a shoe holder? Blankets when it gets colder? Magazines? We'll see. But for now, she is just making me happy by just being herself.

10 in 10

I mentioned last week that Gina over at The Shabby Chic Cottage threw out a gauntlet of a challenge to complete 10 tasks in 10 days. I have a secret obsession with lists, so this is right up my alley!

Mission accepted. Operation 10 Tasks is officially in session. Want to join me? Go check it out!

1) Re-do our guest bedroom

2) Put desk (and hopefully sell!) on Craig's List

3) Repaint trunk

4) Clean out garage

5) Weed garden

6) Paint molding in kitchen

7) Reorganize closets

8) Create necklaces

9) Post office packages

10) Work out 10 times

Yay! Is it weird how excited I get about this?!

Snapshots of my weekend

L is off playing Army right now. It's a lot easier saying goodbye to him when we've had some quality time than when we're disconnected. Yes, I miss him, but I just got tons of time with him, and anyway, him being gone opens up my free time to do fun things like go to garage sales, afternoon tea with my neighbor, and make crafts!

My tulips are so pretty! Such a fun burst of color in the front yard, too bad they have such a short life.

These ones are just weird. Can you see the weird razor things on them? I've never seen things like this before.

I skipped out on going to church this morning. I just don't love going by myself. Although I've had TONS of practice going by myself, I just wasn't up for it this morning. And I timed my schedule poorly anyway since I got done working out 1/2 an hour before the service started. Which I could have made if I really tried, but it just helped my excuse-loving ways.

So, I listened to a speaker online and made this project while I listened. I love it! I'm going to send them to some of my girlfriends to keep in their purse, by their bed, etc.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

It's par-tay time!

I've never been one to turn down a party invitation, so when I learned that the nester was having a mantle link-up party, I had to come along!

To preface this, my mantle is weird. It's not a mantle so much as a collection of rocks. This is a rental house though, and perfect for us for the time being, so I'm workin' with what I got.

Notice: the glimpse of the beautiful armoire to the right that my sister-in-law gave me. In exchange for a night o' babysitting, but seriously. It's beautiful.

My ragamuffin garland, O how I love thee.

I'm semi-addicted to old windows. This is just one of many to be found throughout my house... all found for cheap or for free at garage sales, junk yards, piles of trash... there is no limit to my dedication to finding treasure.

See the stones that stick out that comprise my 'mantle'?

I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but the walls in the room are aqua. As in, circa 1981 neon blue. Also, this house very much has a 1970's retro feel with the window treatments, giant floral wallpaper as well as the choice of paint colors. I recognize the gift of us being able to live here practically for free, but I also have been dying to redo the place. I was hanging out with the lady who owns our house yesterday and finally got up the guts to ask her if it was okay if I did a little painting and re-doing for her... and she gave me the go-ahead!

Prepare yourself to be amazed, my friends. The before and after pics will be Epic. Tobacco Road paint, here I come.

Favorite Things Friday

Hello friends!

I am sure that you were waiting with baited breath for my second edition of Favorite Things Friday! I LOVE Fridays with all of their goodness and especially because they're Friday Follow days!

Favorite Thing One: This week the winner goes to....

THIS project:

The idea came from my friend Brooke who got it from this awesome lady...I think. That was all awhile ago and I'm just now getting around to it, but it's super fun and super cute wherever it came from. They did it with picture frames (brilliant) but I got crazy and used a set of drawers. I have loathed that piece of furniture for years now.... BUT after this project it has all changed. It now has a prime spot in my home and receives much love. This project changes things, people.

Honestly, when I first painted this thing I had hopes of it being a beautiful accent piece in my home... little did I know that it would be NEON blue and blind eyes if stared at too long. It needed to go.

Basically, this is to make things look Shabby Chic. AKA beautiful, in my book. Because

seriously, look at that color. NOT beautiful. This is to make it look old, worn,

distressed, and loved over many years. So you take some candle wax and

rub it over the areas that would have got most banged up over the years. The wax

prevents the paint from really sticking and makes it easy to

get off with sandpaper.

I'm nearly 100% certain that I did not do this step right. But hey, it works. It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful, huh Nester lovers?

Step Two: Paint your piece whatever color your little heart desires. Let it dry, then take some sandpaper and rub on the areas where you had put the wax and it will come right off leaving the color you had underneath.

Step Three: After re-applying wax to your sanded areas again, paint your final coat (you can do 2 or 3, whichever works best for you) and let it dry. Then, take some sandpaper and re-sand around your choice areas; it can be as much or as little as you want to get the look you want.

Step Four: Admire and adore your new work of art.

Step Five: Fall in love with the fun knobs you found at Hobby Lobby to take the place of the previous ugly one.

On to Favorite Thing Two:

This was inspired by this post by a New York Times columnist. I think it might be something in the water of the blogosphere, but there are a lot of people talking on the discussion of what were the most influential books in there life. And it got me thinking: What books have shaped me? All the other blogs excluded major religious texts, so I followed along the same lines and thought of books outside of the bible for me.

I love this topic. I am a voracious reader. Any others out there? At any given moment in time I am reading at least 2, if not 3, books. Currently, it's The Power of One, Hinds' Feet on High Places, and The Far Pavillions. Normally there is at least one super interesting non-fiction in the mix, but these are my three for now.

Books have always shaped my life. Early on it started with being tucked into bed by my dad throughout elementary school and reading Nancy Drew mysteries together. I was even on the Battle of the Books team in 5th grade and we won for our county! I wear that badge of honor with pride.

Next it was seeing the worlds created through the eyes of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series and Roald Dahl in the BFG and having those help shape my imagination and creativity. Here is my well-worn and loved copy of the BFG... favorite book of my younger years... that I still own... and is next of my list of books to read. Again.

Then books became a way to open my eyes and new ways of thinking and I found them as a means of education. Biggies were God's Politics by Jim Collins; incredible, incredible book. Then, I am such a history nerd that any work by David McCullough that helps teach me about history steals my heart. And lastly, Not on Our Watch by Don Cheadle opened my eyes to the world. I love books.

Favorite thing number Three:

When L walked into the kitchen last night (after a week of leftovers and me not cooking) and exclaimed with such glee and joy: We're having REAL food tonight?!? It smells SO good!

You gotta love him.

DIY of the Day

I crafted today. Days that I don't sub are pretty much up to me as to how I fill them: I try to get some writing done every day, do my bible study, work out, run errands, play with Sophie, clean the house and cook up some yumminess for any/all of the meals, spend time with L, talk to every member of my family at some point... but what I do and when I do it varies from day to day.

One thing that I LOVE doing that has dropped off of my radar really since Christmas is crafting. Anything and everything crafty is what I adore.

I make necklaces. Have I told you that yet? I'm thinking about putting them up on Etsy soon (they really are pretty stinkin cute), but then there's the whole not loving rejection thing and I fear no one would buy them! It's nerdy. But anyway, I love popping in a movie and crafting away creating my necklaces. We'll see what happens with them, but it's a fun side hobby.

I've repurposed furniture and discovered trash into treasure with the best of them. Hobby Lobby, garage sales, and thrift stores speak to my heart more than Banana Republic or Anthropologie.

That's a lie. Besides my husband and Jesus, I'm not sure anything speaks to my heart as much as Anthropologie. That is a fact.

All of this to say, I got back to crafting today. Genevieve Turner was on HGTV in the background inspiring me to make beautiful things so I made a Burlap Wreath. One thing to know about me is that there is not an original bone in my body. I could never be a real interior designer- I just can't look at an empty room and imagine the possibilities.

However, I am pretty darn good at copying (re-creating, borrowing, etc. etc.). And that is what I did with this new wreath. I was sick of the wreath that was on my front door so I exchanged it out with that, but my new friend just put it on top of a mirror in her room and it looks super cute there.

:::Burlap Wreath:::

The participants:

I used 1 yard of burlap (1/2 off at Hobby Lobby)

Some cute ribbon I had around the house

A wire hanger

Take the wire hanger and shape it into a circle. Mine definitely put up a bit of a fight, so good luck with this.

See my perfect circle? I paid attention in Kindergarten.

I cut the burlap into about 4-5" wide strips that were the full yard (3 feet for folks who struggle like me). I started with only these 5, but ended up cutting another 5 and used the entire yard.

Once you get them cut, just begin poking the hanger through the burlap and

scrunch your little heart away.

Quick tip: I initially made the loops too big, so had to take it all apart and made smaller loops which looked/worked much better.

Once you have your burlap strips the whole way around the circle, tie it up with your pretty ribbon and hang it somewhere in your house that will

make you smile~!