Bench Pinterest Project

I, like most red-blooded American women, love me some Pinterest. I could spend hours scrolling through pages of parenting hacks, healthy recipes, and holiday decor. There are just so many options! One of those said options never did leave my head. I had seen it a few times and thought it was such a neat idea. I finally got around to sending it to David who said he thought it was manageable and that he would help me get started. Te he he. Poor kid didn't know what he was getting himself in to. . .

The project was to take an IKEA bookshelf and turn it into a window bench. Easy peasy, right? As is the case with most Pinterest projects, they never quite turn out like they're supposed to. First we headed to IKEA to grab the bench. That part was surprisingly easy aside from the fact that we stupidly went on a Saturday afternoon. I mean, we live 20 minutes from the place and we could have done any time, but we decided to go at the busiest time of the week. Geniuses, we are. 

David has become an IKEA pro so he was able to quickly put it together. The next step was to procure foam padding and fabric to make the seat part of the bench. I snagged that from a local fabric store. What I wasn't expecting was quite how expensive the 1 inch thick foam would be. Oof. I did score with two pillows that were 75% off that I plan on recovering later. You win some, you lose some.

David was kind enough to pick up the plywood from Lowe's for the next part despite saying after putting the shelf together that the rest was up to me. Like I said, poor kid didn't know what he was getting himself in to. . .

With my handy daddy coming in to town to watch Amelia Grace we asked if he could bring his powerful staple gun to help attach the fabric and foam to the board. After we cut down the foam and folded the fabric over the foam and wrapped it around the board he and David made sure I did my part and stapled some of the fabric to the board. I was terrified of that powerful gun, but I did it! 

The next step was to drill the plywood to the bookshelf so that the seat part wouldn't slide off and crush little fingers or toes. This was around the time Amelia Grace was losing it and needed to go to bed, so David and Daddy did this part without me. Though, I have no doubt they would have made me do all the drilling had I been available!

It wasn't a hard project, so much as it was full of lots of little steps. It also added up! We chose to do this to save money on buying our own window bench, but with it all totaled up I think it would have come out even. Oh, well. At least we can say we did it!

5 on Friday [02.14]

 Happy Friday, folks!

*one*
Day two and a half of Snowmageddon 2014 and I am pleased to report the sun is out! It's not melting very quickly, but it's still happening. I'm on board with Kelly and Michael's #endwinternow movement!

*two*
 Have y'all heard of The Food Babe? If not, go investigate! She is absolutely amazing in her crusade to rid this world of icky food. Her recent efforts have included: ridding Subway bread of harmful chemicals, getting Chick-fil-A chicken to serve antibiotic-free chicken, and eliminating wood pulp from Kraft mac-and-cheese.

*three*
Gillian Flynn is a rockstar writer! I downloaded Dark Places last night after loving Gone Girl so much. Note to self, don't read so close to bedtime! 

*four*
 Happy Valentine's Day! We're not big celebrators of the holiday and buy more into the concept of "everyday should be like Valentine's Day", but it's still fun to have a holiday to celebrate! Our celebration will probably include much the same as a regular Friday night, but that is perfectly fine with me!


*five*
Thank heavens for Pinterest! I have spent quite a few hours trolling these past few days and have found all sorts of suppers, snacks, and crafts to occupy my time. Well, that is if I ever manage to get up off this couch. . .;-)

Monogrammed Wreath-Take 2

A few months ago I made a precious monogrammed wreath from styrofoam and twine. Now, whether it was the crazy wind storms we had this Spring or some neighborhood hoods, my poor wreath broke. David would like to point out that the likelihood of it being "hoods" is super low and it was probably the wind, but you can never be too sure in a super safe neighborhood with a neighborhood watch.

 This left us in need of new door decor, enter Pinterest and all the cutesy stuff it has to offer! 

All this precious gem took was three fake flowers, a wreath, and a monogrammed M! Less than $10 and David says he likes this one better. Score! 

I guess maybe I owe the wind/hoods a thank you.

Mason Jar Madness

When we first moved into our apartment we didn't have glasses to drink out of. We were getting married in 3 weeks and didn't want to buy anything fancy; enter Wally World and their collection of mason jars! We bought a dozen and used them until we received real glasses as a wedding gift. 

Three years later we still have a dozen mason jars. What to do, what to do. . . to Pinterest of course! 

You need mason jars (or vases, or really anything you want to craft-the dog? Eh, probably not a wise choice), double-sided tape, and twine.

Next, you take a piece of tape and place it on the side of the glass. 

Then, wait for it, you wrap the twine to your heart's content!

That's it. 

Hooray for cute, easy, and inexpensive crafts!

Gallery Wall Fun

Anyone who has ever been on Pinterest knows the popularity of the gallery wall. My original obsession with it began last summer. I found some frames I liked, cut out paper to plan the organization on the wall, and waited for my handy hubby to help me. A year later we had nothin'. Enter summer vacay and a plethora of time to troll around Pinterest and reignite my excitement, much to my hubby's chagrin. 

I set out for IKEA with a new plan in mind and stocked up on frames. I decided that the organization freak in me wouldn't do well with the "organized clutter" look. I wanted a pattern and plan. I bought enough frames to keep the IKEA frame section in business and got to planning. David wasn't super comfortable with making a gajillion holes in the wall so he researched some and found these awesome sticky things from 3M.  We highly suggest these for all your wall hanging needs!

If you follow me on Instagram you know this was a work in progress. We had to hang a picture, wait an hour for the stickers to adhere. Put the picture up, then space the next set of frames out and continue.

It may have taken all week, but the frames are all up! Next step is getting some pictures in those frames. . .

Framed Maps

When I first got Pinterest many moons ago I saw a cute craft in which you framed maps of places you had been together. While that was adorable, that's a lot of stinkin' maps. I decided to borrow the idea and tailor it a bit!

 First, you will need a floating frame, double-sided tape, and a map.

I just sketched little hearts on the map around the city we met (Raleigh), the city we married (Charlotte), and the city we live in now (Concord).

Then, line up the hearts how you want them arranged and tape them down.

Finally, you pop that sucker back into it's frame and you are done!

I love how easy (and inexpensive!) this was and I can't wait to hang it up in our bonus room!

Struggles

A few months ago I stumbled upon a pin on Pinterest:


I liked it so much I made it the background on my phone. It serves as a constant reminder not to let my struggle define who I am.

When we lost Emerson I felt lost myself. I fought to figure out who I was and where I was going now that my life plan had been thrown completely off. The good news is that I have an amazing husband who kept me stable when I felt anything but. The amazing news is that I serve a God who did not desert me at any point in my struggle.

I very easily could have become "that girl whose baby died" or "that teacher who was never the same after she lost her baby". We could have become "that couple that ruined parties with their depression" or "that family that fixates on death". But we didn't. Trust me, the temptation was there, in a big way. It would have been so much easier just to allow myself to stay holed up in my house instead of forcing myself out again. It would have been simple to make a point to constantly bring it up, or to direct every conversation back to me. Or to constantly remind people that six months after the fact it still sucks.

Instead we have decided not to let our loss become all that we are. We are still Lauren and David, a teacher and an engineer. Members of Hope Church, a daughter and a son. We are so much more than just parents who lost our baby. That is most definitely a big part of who we are, but it's not all that we are.

Our struggle is not our identity.

Braided Scarf

I'm a day late, but this is totally worth it. . . a braided scarf! Say, what? I found this pin last weekend when I was perusing Pinterest:

I thought it was too cute and gave it a go. Here is my attempt:

Does it look the same? Nope, but it will do! 

What's your favorite pin attempt?

Monogrammed Wreath

Our door was little pretty bare after our fabulous Christmas wreath came down. What to do? To Pinterest I go! I was inspired by this pin

to create this

But first, the supplies. . .

Jute twine, red & green felt, piece of styrofoam, scissors, hot glue gun, x-acto knife

First, cut letter out of styrofoam using an x-acto knife.

I traced a template before I started cutting.

Next, glue piece of twine to the letter to give yourself a starting point. Then, start wrapping!

Keep wrapping until you've covered the portion you are working on. Next, I cut smaller strips to give the twine something to hold onto.

then I kept wrapping other parts until the entire letter was covered.

and

Then, I patiently watched this tutorial to make the rosettes and cut ovals for leaves

All together it created this

Let me know if you give it a try!

Friday's Letters [12.21]

Happy Friday, folks!

Dear Mayans, What's up with all this crazy talk? If I had to hear one more student mention the world ending this past week, I probably would have lost my mind. You couldn't have kept it going for another few hundred years or so? I mean, how hard can it really be. . .

Dear students, We made it! I hope y'all are enjoying every minute of your first day of break. Be sure to thank your parents for all that you do for you on a regular basis, but especially this time of year!

Dear Davido, You'd think that after you do the Alabama thing for 6 months I'd be used to you leaving. Not so much. Your girls are very happy to have you home. I hope you don't have another trip planned for any time soon because we're not letting go;-)

Dear Pinterest, Thank you for all the FABULOUS ideas of things to make for Emerson and to do with her once she arrives. I'm not sure my hubby appreciates all the extras projects or tutus on my wishlist, but I'm excited:-)

Dear Apple, I am super impressed with your stellar customer service. From the moment I walked into the store I felt like royalty. You were able to fix my problem in a timely manner and not even charge me for it. Now, that is awesome. Want to pass on some of that knowledge to other stores (*cough*Pandora*cough*). 

The Spirit of the Season

To be perfectly honest, I've had a hard time getting into the spirit of things this season. Maybe it's the fact that it was seventy degrees here last week, maybe it's the fact that I was practically done shopping in October, perhaps it's the fact that I haven't had the energy (or time) to do any baking this year, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that we'll be at school until December 21. Oof. Whatever the reason, I've been feeling a bit Scrooge-ish this season.

I've tried to fight it by blasting Christmas music whenever we're home (and even when we're not. The princess listens to it while we're at work. Pathetic, I know). We light up the Christmas tree as soon as it gets dark. We've even started watching Christmas movies, though that's more for my benefit than my sweet hubby's. Needless to say, I'm still struggling.

I think all I really need is some downtime. A little R&R with David and Daisy by the fire and I'll be back into the groove. Until I can get that I'll be blasting Christmas music in my classroom, eating candy canes, and giggling at these ecards to get into the mood!

This is my husband. . .

An Unconventional Welcome

I had some time the other day and I was on the hunt for a new craft. Give me a few hours at home and a short to-do list and I'm bound to find some new way to occupy my time. With school quickly approaching and major sales on school supplies, I knew what I was in the market for, so when this little gem popped up on my radar I knew I wanted to give it a try!

Step One: Procur 60 or so pencils and a cork piece.

I found the pencils for .74 a 10-pack and the cork piece was .30 at IKEA!

 Step Two: Select four pencils and glue in a cross formation from the center of the cork circle.

I was able to do this easily with a hot glue gun though I'm sure a craft glue would work.

Step Three: Continue gluing the pencils any way your heart desires.

I attempted a pattern at the beginning, but as I added more pencils the pattern got more out of whack.

 Step Four: Attach hanger.

I used some old burlap from another craft, but you can use whatever you have around the house that would be sturdy enough to hold it.

 Step Five: Add note and hang!

This will be welcoming my new little babies in a few weeks!

It was super easy and a great way to get me back in the mood for school:-)

Tile Coasters

Many moons ago I saw a fabulous idea on Pinterest that I wanted to replicate. So I hurried out to A.C. Moore and bought all the supplies only to have them sit in my "craft" room for six months. I guess I just kind of forgot about them there for a bit. With all this extra time on my hands thanks to summer vacay I knew it was time to crack these puppies out and give it a go! Here are step-by-step instructions on how to create tile coasters with some of your favorite pictures:

Step 1: Purchase tiles

These cost me about 40 cents each at the local Lowes.

Step 2: Select pictures and cut them to the size of the tile

I used pictures from our wedding, but you could use anything you wanted. This process also works with scrapbooking paper. Just about any paper works other than something printed by an inkjet printer (it gets smudgy). 

Step 3: Apply a light coat of Modge Podge to the back of the picture and adhere it to the tile. Let the tile dry for about 20 minutes. Then, apply a light layer of Modge Podge on top of the picture. Let dry for about 20 minutes. Repeat 5-6 times.

While these were drying, I cut out the felt for the next step. 

Step 4: When your tiles are dry, turn them over and adhere felt to back.

I used a hot glue gun, but rubber cement or super glue would probably do the job too!

Step 5: Display and tell everyone how hard you worked;-)

You can use your coasters the next day but don’t put anything HOT on them for a month – that’s how long it takes the mod podge to fully set in and do its job.

Chocolate Cherry Cobbler

David's not as big into birthdays as I am, so when I asked what kind of sweet treat he wanted to celebrate his day he let me choose. Big mistake. This girl logged right onto Pinterest and searched for something chocolatey. This recipe was SUPER easy and SUPER delicious! Let me know what y'all think:-)

Ingredients

1 can (21 oz) any type of pie filling

I chose cherry but strawberry or raspberry would work too!

1 pouch Betty Crocker double chocolate chunk cookie mix

3/4 cup butter, melted 

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. 

Spray bottom and sides of 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

Spread pie filling in bottom of baking dish. 

Sprinkle cookie mix evenly over pie filling. 

Pour melted butter evenly over cookie mix. 

Gently spread melted butter over cookie mix just to cover the dry mix.

Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until topping is set. 

To serve warm, cool about 15 minutes or serve immediately with vanilla ice cream

Enjoy!

 

Spring Means. . .

It is officially Spring-HOORAY!! Words cannot express how truly over the moon I am by this little change. Y'all have heard me whine before about how much I do not like to be cold and how low winter ranks on my scale of likes and dislikes. We've been fortunate this winter that it hasn't gotten too too cold. The added bonus of David being here and not in Alabama always helped make it bearable. But that doesn't mean I'm not totally stoked for Spring! Here are a few things that Spring means for me:

Spring means. . .

 flip flops!

 Spring means. . .

bright colors!

Spring means. . .

warmer temps and more time outside!

Spring means. . .

a break!

Spring means. . . 

Summer is almost here!

Spring means. . .

 Easter!

Spring means. . .

sundresses!

What do you like most about Spring?