Thursday, September 27, 2012

It goes on and on my friend...

Some people started singing it not knowing what it was.... Ahhh no can't get this stuck in my head.

It's almost October and I have not made any serious dents in my to-do list. Where did this whole month go?

This is the list as it stands today:


1. Headboard for master bedroom Check!
2. Frame our boring/plain builder grade mirrors
3. Nightstands for master bedroom
4. Art for master bedroom
5. Hang shelves in craft room
6. New curtains and blinds/roman shade for master bedroom
7. Refinish dining room table
8. Possibly recover dining room chairs
9. New bed set for guest bedroom
10. Add more shelves in laundry room
11. Find way to store towels
12. Purge closet
13. Get Patio Furniture
14. Clean grill
15. Pressure wash house
16. Clean and reseal all grout
17. Find better way to store yard tools
18. Upholster box spring of both beds


For #17 I bought a small tool shed just to wrangle all the yard tools and keep the bugs/rain out. It's still sitting at Wal Mart though waiting for me to pick it up. I need to find someone with a truck to get it home. Then put it together and it will officially be done! Hopefully our push mower fits in it! 

Via: Wal Mart

I did buy some baskets to help with #12 but have not yet started the purging that needs to happen!

This weekend I'm really going to get cracking and try and cross off a couple more things.

Why is that I want to add more things to the list faster than I can cross them off? There's about 3 more things I've thought of that need to be on this list! Like I said, the list that never ends.


In other happenings, my alma mater is playing the school I transferred from this weekend. Is it bad that I'm rooting for the other one? I was WAY more involved there and feel that it really is my school. 




Tuesday, September 25, 2012

10 Day You Challenge: 4 Books

Today is a pretty depressing day. Why you might ask? Well I finally dipped into my fabric stash and listed a yard online. NOOOOOOOO! I love my fabric too much even if all I do with it is look at it. But I haven't been using it so it was time. So I listed it and it sold the same day! I thought no one would buy it but apparently the one I decided to sell is out of print and pretty high in demand.


Moving on from my depression! Today is another 10 Day You Challenge with 4 books.

One of my favorite books is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This was assigned as extra credit in one of my high school English classes and I bought it but never read it. Or I'd start it and never finish it. When I finally got into it I couldn't help but love it.



Another favorite book of mine is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I could read this book over and over and never tire of it. 

Now I'm kind of cheating but these books go along the same lines. I love to read rock biographies or autobiographies. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Neil Strauss about Motley Crue is a pretty awesome book. They don't hold back about what really happened on the tours. Also, I'm With The Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres is also one of those books that made me want to run away and follow a rock band across country. I know these are not normal thoughts but I still wanted to do it! 




Lastly, the Harry Potter Series. I grew up loving these books and they will always be some of my favorites. I remember my 5th grade teacher reading us The Sorcerer's Stone at the end of the day and I was still reading these in high school. This is one of those things I can't wait to introduce to my future children. 





Monday, September 24, 2012

My love of Etsy...

Like most bloggers I have a love of all things crafty. I love Pinterest, reading other blogs, and of course Etsy! I have mentioned before that I do have an Etsy shop that is slowly but steadily selling more and more. But I also love to buy from Etsy. Since I am a crafter who puts myself out there I think it's important to support others too! 

Here are some of my favorite things I've bought.

Via: IdenticalSAM 
Via: IdenticalSAM

 I got these cuties from one of my favorite shops: IdenticalSAM. I've given them as birthday presents to my younger cousins and they loved them. Bernice is so awesome and really goes above and beyond. My cousins live in Texas so she not only shipped it directly to them she also included Birthday Cards for me! 



Via: Anastasia Mak
I got this 8X10 Art Print of Wrigley Field for my Dad on Father's Day. He's a die hard Cubs fan so this was a great gift to add to his wall. Anastasia Mak has some really beautiful art in her store and her prints are very reasonably priced.


I love Etsy because it's unique. It's not the same thing you'd find in Target or Amazon. It's something that a person took time out of their day to create. I highly encourage looking at Etsy for any upcoming occasions where you might need a gift. Or if you just want to buy something cute for yourself! Like the ear warmer I just bought below from a cute shop in England!

Via: Purl Rose






p.s. I was not compensated by any of these stores. I just really love the products I have gotten from them and wanted to pass them on.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Jambalaya! Or something close to it...

So this week I'm trying to cook better meals. More vegetables less processed food. I always try to meal plan and usually stick some comfort food in there a couple times. But this week it was all about fresh ingredients!

Yesterday was Jambalaya day! I got a paleo recipe off of pinterest and was going to use that but instead ended up doing my own thing.

Good thing it was pretty good. Next time I would add chicken or maybe shrimp (unfortunately the bf doesn't like seafood).

I made it in the crockpot so I kind of just threw mostly everything together and let it cook all day.

Crockpot Jambalaya

4 cups of chicken broth/stock
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
4 peppers of any color, diced
1 onion, diced
2 Tbsp Louisana hot sauce
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning
14 oz smoked sausage

Put everything except the sausage in the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. About 30 minutes to an hour before it's done add the sausage. I then cooked my rice separately and just mixed it in with everything when I was ready to serve.

I loved how pretty all my peppers looked

I had barely started adding the rice at this point...it smelled amazing

All done...it was a little soupy but the rice absorbed the excess.

The boyfriend really liked it and he is a SUPER picky eater so it's a winner for now! But like I said next time I'll either double the sausage or add chicken.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

5 Foods

Last bit of Debbie Downer-ness I promise. So I got sick at the end of last week and am still battling it. So let's just put last week in the "fail" column.

Anyways, today is another 10 Day You Challenge! Here are my five favorite foods.

1. Obasan Food 

I'm quarter Japanese. My grandma was born and raised in Japan, met and married my Grandpa when he was stationed over there. She's always been very committed to her heritage/culture. Needless to say she makes the best food. Fried rice, tempura, teriyaki, sushi, heck even her white rice tastes amazing.

2. Mexican Food/Green Chile

Being raised in the Southwest I love me some Mexican food especially when it's smothered with green chile. More specifically, Hatch green chile. Chimichangas, tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchildas, sopaipila...ugh I'm getting hungry.

3. Apple Cake

Dessert counts right? My other grandmother had the best recipe for Apple Cake that I think I duplicate pretty well. I even won a baking contest using it. But since it's a family recipe my parents wouldn't let me give the contest the real recipe (hope no one tried to make it..whoops).

4. Mom's Spaghetti

My mom makes the best spaghetti hands down. My parents actually used to compete against each other. Being the only child I was the only judge. Yep I stayed neutral as long as possible.

5. Dad's Chili

I love a hearty bowl of chili with crackers when it's cold outside. My dad may have lost the spaghetti war but he definitely makes really good chili. 

I'll be back tomorrow with something new! 



Thursday, September 13, 2012

Oh this week.

This week has not been to kind to me. 

Pity party table of one? Yes, that's me! 

Work and school and work...ugh! So much stuff to do. 

I had to share this though.

So my dog Ripley is kind of tall for a german shepherd. My mom always calls him a giraffe (rude!). But I'm almost 5'7 and he is taller than me on his hind legs. Literally his favorite way to give me kisses is to put his two front paws on my shoulders. But as tall as he is it could always be worse. 


This is Zeus and he is the world's tallest dog. He is 7'4 on his hind legs and goes through a 30 lb bag of dog food every two weeks. 

This definitely makes me feel better about Ripley's habit of a 30 lb bag every three to four weeks.

Also makes me feel better about how skinny Ripley is. See I'm not starving my dog he's just incredibly lanky! Ha! People who stare at him at petsmart.

I would love to have a great dane. But their short life spans turn me off. I couldn't stand the heartbreak. 

YAY for Friday tomorrow! I'm gonna do a happy dance after I submit my assignment that's due tomorrow.




Tuesday, September 11, 2012

10 Day You Challenge: 6 Places

Hello! So Monday is finally over but Tuesday didn't start much better. Ripley and Roxy are both sick so I've been cleaning up after them the past two days. Not fun... Hopefully they feel better soon.

But today I'm linking up once again for the 10 Day You Challenge. Today is 6 places.





1. Las Cruces, NM


 I was raised here most of my life and as much as I'd like to live somewhere else I think I'll always come back here.



2. San Antonio, TX

My grandparents retired here when I was born so it's like my second home. I also lived here for two years while I went to school. The humidity is disgusting but I really like the pace of the city and enjoy visiting. I do miss the greenery/blue bonnets!



3. Seattle, WA

I have never been here but really want to go. I kind of love Nirvana/Kurt Cobain so I've always wanted to visit Seattle. Plus I love rain and overcast days. Above is a picture of makeshift memorial to Kurt Cobain in Viretta Park.




4. Nashville, TN

I have always wanted to visit Nashville. Don't know why but I want to go.




5. England

I was born in England so I really would like to see it. This picture is actually from the town I was born in.




6. Ireland

The boyfriend and I are both part Irish (him more than me) so we both would like to see the country. Plus it's gorgeous. 




On another note! Sons of Anarchy comes back today! I've been waiting for this for too long. If you're not offended easily definitely check this show out. 

Plus Charlie Hunnam doesn't hurt either. 








Monday, September 10, 2012

Monday we meet again...

So let's just be honest I not only hate Mondays, I despise them. The weekend always feels to short and the week ahead to long.

This past weekend was a relaxing one for me. Saturday the boyfriend and I hung out on the couch all day watching Scrubs (we don't have cable, thank you Netflix!). Then we had our make-up anniversary dinner since he was working on the actual day. It was nice to get to spend time with him since he has training all week, I'm talking 12 hour days yuck!

Sunday I went to the mall with my parents and planned my attack to get a new faux leather jacket for the fall. I'll have a gift card, a coupon, and a reward certificate. So it will take one of these lovelies from it's ridiculous price of $118 to only $45!



I just can't decide which one I like better. I'm leaning towards the one on the bottom.


I love shopping at Express. Mainly because they always have some kind of coupon and you earn points with every purchase that add up to rewards. I'm a sucker for a good deal. I tried extreme couponing for awhile but lately have gotten out of it. Don't worry I didn't have a stockpile or anything. But I did get 4 boxes of Dreyer's Coconut Fruit Bars for only .50 a box. Here they're usually priced at $4 a box, so I saved $14! Sorry, super proud of that one especially since those fruit bars are the bomb.... yes the bomb.

I'll be back tomorrow linking up for the 10 Day You Challenge!



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Headboard for Master Bedroom...Check!

I really like the look of upholstered headboards. But the price that comes with them? Not so much. So being the crafty cupcake that I am I decided I could make my own. I bought everything I needed over the weekend/yesterday and got to work at about 6:45 p.m. last night.

First I went to Lowe's and bought a $15 piece of OSB plywood. It was originally 4X8 but I had them cut it down to 78 inches wide but left the height (mistake). I have a king bed and really love the look of a tall headboard. But it's way too tall I should have had it cut down probably to 36 inches. I then bought 3 yards of burlap from Joann's and a package of queen sized batting which ran me $29 with no coupons. Both of which were not tall enough to cover my gargantuan headboard.

When I finally started my project I just laid the burlap down then laid the batting on top of it. Then I laid the HUGE piece of plywood on top of that.


See how it's too short! Talk about a buzz kill. But I lined it up best I could and contemplated ways to fix my too short fabric.


Would I add a piece of stained wood and make that the top? Definitely thought about it. But that wasn't really the look I was going for. So I just went along stapling and tugging...stapling and tugging. I may have over done it a little.



I didn't really care how pretty it was since it's the back and no one would see it. I really just tried to make sure that I was pulling it tight. 


My hand was definitely getting tired by the end of this. It might help to have at least one more set of hands. So my temporary solution to the not enough fabric problem was to take the excess from the sides and add it to the bottom. Since you won't see the bottom anyways just the sides. It looks kind of messed up in the picture but trust me you can't even see it when it's behind the bed.


Not to shabby for $44. It looks kind of wrinkled in the picture but it's really just the texture of the burlap. I haven't hung it behind the bed yet (I plan on using heavy duty D-rings). By the time I was done and got it into the house (all by my lonesome, that sucker is heavy) I really didn't want to hang it so I just stuck it behind the bed and pushed the frame against it to keep it there.

I don't have any pictures of it in the bedroom because I have horrible light in there and it was so dark you couldn't even see it very well. But the boyfriend really likes it so I'm happy with it for now. What makes this a good piece is that if and when I get tired of the current fabric I can change it out pretty easily.



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

10 Day You Challege: 7 Wants

Bought all the stuff to check something off my list! I'm hoping to get it done tonight and have a post about it for tomorrow! I was being a tad lazy yesterday, my allergies have been killing me so I took a Benadryl and it pretty much knocked me out for 12 hours...so no crafting got done but it's okay I think I needed to catch up on my sleep.

So it's Tuesday and that means I'm back again linking up for the 10 Day You Challenge. Today it's 7 wants.



1. A new car

I really want a small SUV. I have a 2 door Honda and it doesn't really cut it when toting the dogs around. Ripley barely fits in it. Also, I like to think about the future and kids. I will definitely need a 4 door something. I'm especially partial to a Volkswagen Tiguan...love them! Maybe when I have a big girl job...

2. My big girl job

I have my business degree but never really found anything that interested me. I live in a small town so it is incredibly hard to find something that 1. wanted me and 2. I wanted. I had to work full-time while going to school so I never got to do the cool internships, so pretty much no one wants me without that experience. I have recently started taking classes to get my teaching license and I am really enjoying it. So hopefully this time next year I'll be in my own classroom!

3. To get married
With the invention of pinterest my future wedding just got that more complicated awesome.


4. To win the lottery!

I know it's really superficial but oh well! It would help pay off all my student loans, buy me the #1 want up there, and hopefully get a new house. The catch? I don't even play unless it's a huge jackpot but the last two times I won my money back plus some so I guess I better become a semi-regular.



5. To own a bakery

I'll be eligible to retire at 42 and by that time all of my student loans will be paid off and I'll hopefully have saved a little money. So I'd really like to own a bakery as my second career. Not something huge and fancy just a cute little shop with cute/tasty stuff and funny signs like this.


6. A new wardrobe

Preferably inspired by my pinterest board. 

7. A new macbook

My current white one circa 2008 is getting kind of slow on me and they're starting to release stuff that's not compatible. I would love a macbook pro with retina but $2000? Are you freaking kidding me. No thanks. I'll take the cheapest one since it will definitely last me at least another 4 years. 

Yay! Went and bought the remaining supplies for my project tonight. Hopefully everything goes according to plan and I'll have something awesome to show you guys tomorrow!