Can you feel it?

Today I woke up at 7:15, yes it is Saturday, but the sun is SHINING. I feel spring coming, no it hasn't arrived yet, but it is close. Can you feel it?

Spring Break is in two weeks and all I can say is it better be nice weather. That is the funny thing about March in St. Louis, it can be 70 degrees one day and snow the next (this happened during our wedding).

Will and I have big plans for Spring Break - do as little as possible and spend the whole week together. Will has been traveling A LOT lately and I miss him (so does his four legged friend). We have little things we want to accomplish too, but our main goal is just to relax. We have a few movies we want to see and we would like to buy our patio furniture. We will probably pick out the stone for our mini retaining wall in front of our front porch so we can work on that as soon as the ground unfreezes a little. We will probably buy the paint for our foundation so we can paint it to match our siding (also when it warms up a little more). I'm sure we will pick up a few more things for the house to hang or put together. I'd like to clean out the garage and buy some shelving. I'll probably purchase my new sewing machine. Oh, and we have to buy shoes, yes shoes. Will needs new work out shoes, I need new tennis shoes, and we both need new sandals. Thank goodness Will gets his bonus in March, Spring Break is starting to sound expensive...and busy.

I want to cook too - good food for my guy - I love having yummy snacks for him lying around. Food makes him happy. I've got to find some new recipes to try, got any ideas?

I've been working on some projects this week, but none of them are done yet to photograph and post. I'll share when I'm done.

I'm going to go get ready for the day...I want to get out in this sun, even if it is still cold...I can't wait for spring, but without the bees and wasps.

Another Hair Accessory

I made another headband today. I was hoping to get a few done, but I've had a headache almost all weekend, it's raining outside and I'm just feeling a little lazy. I decided to try a green headband for spring. This time, instead of doing the accordion flowers, I tried the yoyo style fabric flowers. Directions for making yoyo's can be found here. Again, I wrapped my headband in gross grain and then attached three yoyo flowers. I put buttons in the middle of the yoyo's to add some more character. I just love cute hair accessory.

Shout Out to ALLIE and Old Memories

This post is a shout out to my dear old Auburn friend, Allie Shelton! I just realized yesterday that people had been commenting on my blog...not a lot and not often, but a few. And my friend Allie had told me WAY back, in like July, that she had a blog and I didn't even realize it because it was in a comment I didn't realize that I had - OOPS! So this is a shout out to you Allie...get back to blogging! Inspire us with design...and check out her blog!

http://alliesdoseofdesign.blogspot.com/

And while I am talking about Auburn and old friends - I just decided to look through old photos...Will and I are a month and a half away from our one year wedding anniversary and we just celebrated our five years of being a couple. Our best friends, Kerns and Chris, will be married TWO years this June. Time flies, but it is fun to look back, laugh, and occasionally remember things that make you want to cry.

PANDA...need I say more?

Fall Formal Junior Year...remember the blonde?

Will turns 21.

Winter 2005/2006

Fall Senior Year at Auburn

I think this week I am going to dig out old LHS photos and scan them on the computer. How fun would it be to look back to from 1999-2003 to bring back REALLY old memories. Life goes fast...

Headband Fun!

Yesterday I posted about how I have seen cute headbands everywhere - so today I made my own. I'm trying to grow my hair out, just a little, and so I've been throwing it up more and more - I thought I needed something cute to put in my hair for the next month before I get it done again. So, I decided to make some cute hair accessories. Tonight I made my first one, but I plan on doing one in green soon. I just went to Walmart and bought a pack of 3 cheap headbands (therefore I still have two more to make- at least). They were like $3.50 for 3. You cut a strip of fabric about 20 inches long and fold it in half. I ironed my to make it easier to work with. Then you sew down the side with the fold - big spaces between each thread point. Then you pull the two ends of the extra thread together and tie them in a knot.

You have to sew the part where the "flower" ends meet together so it looks like one flowing shape.
I wrapped my headband in gross grain ribbon, but you wouldn't have to do that. Then I hot glued my flower to it and added a circle to the back.

Here is the finished headband with the last touch I added to the middle of the flower - a fabric circle and button.

Another shot! I glued my flower on so that it would be close to the ear when I wear the headband, but you could glue it anywhere you like depending on what look you are going for. I think the next one I make will have three smaller flowers (instead of the one big one) in the white and black polka dot with black buttons.

1010 Framed Art

I know second post in one day...I'm nuts...but not really, remember Will is in Cleveland ALL week. So really I am just bored and in between play sessions with Samson - I worked on and finished another project tonight.

I love our address, let's face it, it is one of the reasons we picked our lot. So I saw this cool idea on Bower Power. I decided I needed to do it, but I wanted to modify it a little to fit the colors in our living room. So I went to work on Microsoft Word and printed the 1010 out in a green color and a font that looked traditional. I then cut the numbers out with an Exacto knife and Modge Podged them on some pretty cream card stock.

Then I mixed some Modge Podge and two colors of craft paint with some water and smeared it all over my numbers and card stock.
Once it was dry I decided I wanted to add a burlap edge (kind of like a mat).
I used an old frame we had lying around, so eventually I may buy a new frame and spruce it up a little. I'd like to get a frame with a little more, um, personality.
I'm trying to decide where to put it on our new shelves...until we get more things for the shelves, I may not be able to get it to look just how I want.

Totally Cute Headbands

I am full of projects recently...I just finished my SPRING blocks and my red "H". I still have to finish my jewelry frame organizer...

...but I am on to thinking of my next few projects...HEADBANDS for spring! Check out the link to this cute feathered headband tutorial. She gives you step by step directions to making a cute feathered headband and even a material list to take with you to your favorite craft store. You can also find a bunch of cute feathered headbands on Etsy, like these, these, and these.

Image JCREW

So...what is your hair aspiration?

Monday Should be the New Sunday

Today is Monday, but it was like Sunday for me. That is a nice perk of being a teacher...you get random days off of work due to holidays that people don't even really celebrate (no disrespect former Presidents). Will left for Cleveland today and he won't be back until late Friday night, UGH. So, it's just me and the Samsonator this week - hooray for him (he is already counting down the days until his daddy gets back to give him a belly rub). Friday I got home and found these beautiful roses and some chocolate covered strawberries, which didn't last long enough for me to photograph. These goodies were from my sweetie, but I also got PLENTY of sugary goodies from my students. Did you know that teachers get the most Valentines??



For lunch today, while the snow was falling (it was so pretty), I made a time old classic for lunch - grilled cheese. Why did I ever stop eating these. They are so good!
Yesterday I started working on some "SPRING" blocks. I purchased some culled lumber - lumber that is 85% off at Home Depot because it is "damaged" - and had the Home Depot worker cut it for me. It was just a 2 x 4 and he cut it into 6 blocks for me. Three blocks at 5 inches and 3 at 6 inches. I picked Avocado Green craft paint to paint the blocks as my base.
Then I used different scrapbook papers to put a background on the front of each block. I used an Exacto knife to cut the letters out. Lastly, I Modge Podged it all on to make them stick. I just realized that my "S" block is upside down in these photos! WHOOPS! I am thinking of adding some ribbon and buttons to give it an even cuter finished look. I can't wait to make other blocks for different seasons. I am going to do one for Auburn Football - can't wait for football season again. I think I will also do one for the 4th of July and the possibilities for Christmas are endless..

I bought this mirror about a week ago from Home Goods. I'd had my eye on it for over a month and finally I just bought it. I think the design is so cool and the color is almost identical to the paint color in our kitchen. The mirror hangs at the top of our stairs - so you can see it right when you walk in the door. I couldn't really get a great shot of it...

Yesterday I finally found some decent priced lemons and limes. These will go in my glass jars this spring/summer.

Our arched grid made a perfect way to display Valentine's cards.

I think for Christmas I will tie some fun ribbons and burlap together and string it across the grid and then use clothespins to hang Christmas cards.

Will and I had our eye on these ledge shelves from Pottery Barn for a long time, however, they were pretty pricey. We found these 50% off at Hobby Lobby this weekend and spent Saturday night putting them up. (Thank you husband). Now the task is to find things to put on them. I love the empty frame idea, but I bought this empty frame to make my jewelry organizer - so I'll be on the lookout for other empty frames that would maybe work up here. We got that big metal jack at Home Goods and I think it will look cute once other stuff is up there.
I decided to make a red H to put on one of the shelves. I just bought a paper mache H from JoAnn's Fabric for $3.99. I painted it a chocolate brown color and then went over it with a true red. Once it was dry I sanded the edges to give it a little bit of a distressed look and then rubbed this Distress Ink all over the edges.

I sealed it with Modge Podge and let it dry.

Here it is on the shelf...I don't know which shelf it will eventually go on, but it looks good for now.
Here is a shot of one of my favorite new accessories in our living room - our metal jack!

We also got this cute PANTRY sign to hang, can you guess, above our pantry. We found this at Home Goods for $3.99!!

A Fun Wreath for Spring!

Sam had a bath on Saturday. He loves to have a bath. He will stand in front of the tub and bark until I put him in and then I have to run the water a little so he can stand underneath it like a waterfall. He just loves it. Whether it is the guest bathroom tub or the big soaker tub in our bathroom - he does not care! Sam loves sitting on the back of the chair in our family room, that way he can look out over his yard and make sure that it is just how he left it last.
Sam also loves to play on the chair...sometimes he scares us if he chomps at our faces! He is just playing though!

Saturday, even though I had a cold, I made a Triple Chocolate Brownie Cake. It was tasty! Will LOVED it. He told me I had to get it out of the house.

Tonight I finished my spring wreath project. I started it last night and finished it up as I was watching the snow fall just now. I got the idea from tatertots and jello. I decided to use mostly greens for my wreath so it has a spring feel to it. It is hanging on our coat closet now (right next to our front door). Will wasn't sure he would like it at first, but now he calls me Martha Stewart. Another thing he says I should sell...

Right now I am watching the snow continue to fall and hoping, just hoping, for a snow day tomorrow. They say 2-4" by tomorrow mornings commute. I am hoping that it is more like 4+ inches and that they can't clear the roads well enough by bus stop time...maybe I'll be blogging tomorrow from home on my day off?!?!

Another Week Down

Samson got two new balls this week. We had another short play session with Brinkley and Sam was such a good boy that he got to go to the pet store. Sam loves squeaky balls, so he picked two out. One was red and one was a blue baseball. He has just about broken the squeakers in both of them. The video below shows him playing with it. He squeaked those balls for over an hour straight. It was annoying, but oh so very cute!

Will and I have a lot to do today. Sam has to get a bath. We need to go to the grocery store. And! I get to go pick out new sunglasses and a new cell phone for my Valentine's present! I'm excited. I lost my nice sunglasses two Fourth of July's ago, when Will proposed. I guess with the excitement from the day - I left them somewhere. So, I have had cheap sunglasses since and they were horrible (they were not polarized). So needless to say I'm very excited to be getting new ones. Also, I need a new cell phone. It does not hold a charge hardly at all and my parents dog tried to eat it like 2 years ago, so it's been beat up for a long time.

I need to order a recipe box online. I want to get all my recipes printed and organized so they are convenient to use. I hate how I have them in like 3 places - most of which are on the computer, so I have to have my laptop out on the island while I cook. It just is not very convenient.