Miscellany Monday

Hello Out There!!!

Sorry I was MIA last week! I took a much needed break.  The month of August was a roller coaster -- The Husband and I are really really looking forward to September. Not necessarily because we have anything going on as of now but because August is over lol. 

I took last week off to kind of re-group. So here is what has been going on :

Link up here

2 weeks ago our A/C quit working!! We are working on buying a new house so a lot of our funds are off limits.  There are also other circumstances that keep us from spending the $1200 it would take to fix it. So right now we basically live in our bedroom with a window unit. Our room stays very comfortable -- the rest of the house....not so much! =/

I have started eating better since this post. I feel better already and this weekend I started a new work out routine that I am excited about.  It is something I put together on my own that has some variety in it and allows me to interchange days/work outs.

 I was in a car accident last Wednesday morning on my way to work =(

 

my poor car! They came and hauled it off and I should hear back regarding the damage sometime in the next couple days. I walked away unharmed and the guy I hit was in a Dodge 2500 with a life gate -- AKA NO DAMAGE to his vehicle.

I started color blocking the house, trying to find the perfect color(s) for when we move into the new house.

J originally picked this color:

He said it was too dark so we tried the same color card but the lighter shade.

  

He is much happier with this color -- so this will be the color for the 'man-room' and also, the laundry room and the accent color in the craft room.

We also set out to find the perfect color for MOST of the house.

  

We determined these two colors were too drab and too gray based. so we went for a warmer tone.

I think we have a winner. We are really happy with this color!!

Now I just need to figure out the gray shades for the master bed and bath.

Something else I worked on last week and this weekend was this little beauty:

  

Why, yes, it IS a hot mess. It was free and will provide wonderful storage in the craft room. The piece itself is good quality and very solid...it has seen some abuse though. Thankfully none of the wood is splintered, it is just a mess on the surface of the piece.   I have been refinishing it for the past week. I can't wait to show you the after pictures!

Still no closing date =( It has been about 5 weeks and I am tired of waiting. Every Sunday night, J and I say to one another, maybe we'll get a closing date this week. I'm really hoping we hear something soon. I know our realtor is starting to get annoyed - she copies me on the emails to the selling agent haha! She is even wondering why this is taking as long as it is.

Well, I think that about covers everything and catches me up! 

What has been going on in your life??

{Tutorial} Hand-made Comforter

I have been planning to make a quilt or comforter of some sort since The Husband and I decided to buy a new home. We haven't moved in yet so I have lots of time to work on my home DIYs. I posted the finished project over a week ago but I wanted to share a tutorial for those of you wanting to make your own!

First -- you will need to figure out your design. I had elaborate designs and very simple/basic designs. I decided to go with an in between - a hybrid design, if you will.

After you have designed your comforter, you will need to take measurements. You CAN go by the generic measurements listed online but I knew the generic weren't going to work for us. I went home and measured and decided I would make it 108" wide by 80" high. If this sounds very large, it is, I promise lol. We have a king bed and wanted the comforter to touch the foot board and side rails at the bottom of the mattress.

Now that I had the measurements and design, I made my way to Joann's. I knew what colors I was looking for based on both the design and the color scheme that The Husband and I had already come up with for our new master bedroom.  

MAKE SURE YOU BUY ENOUGH FABRIC! When I was going to start making cuts and putting it all together, I realized I was about 3 yards short on material. Thankfully I found the same exact material and was able to get more.

For my measurements, I needed 12 yards of the main fabric (the gold) 1.5 yards of the gray and 1.5 yards of the teal. You will also need whatever you decide to use for trim if you want trim.
You can decide to make your comforter as a duvet cover or an actual comforter. 

Now I have to admit, I am a bit of a cheater with my comforter. You can buy the batting and do all that good stuff (ie: more time and more money) OR you can make your way to you local Ikea and buy a duvet of your preferred weight and size for so much less.  I picked up the cool temp alternative down king size for $15!!! Seriously - so much easier to deal with later AND much cheaper -- and we all know this girl loves a good deal =)

The very first thing I did when I started was make the ruffles. I wanted two different types of ruffles to add a little extra dimension and to create multiple textures. The gray ruffle I knew would take the longest, as I followed the tutorial found here for honeycomb smocking. I love the look but I thought the smocking would have been a little more structure than what I wanted.

I started out following the instructions to a T and realized it was going to take FOREVER. So I quit ironing the pleats and started doing everything by hand.  This gave the fluffier more ruffled look that I wanted. To hand stitch 318 inches of fabric into pleats/ruffles takes about 5-6 hours.When I finally finished the gray ruffle, I cut the fabric for the teal ruffle.

I decided for this one I would use the sewing machine and make the ruffle using the gathering method. This is SO much faster! Seriously -- it took about 20 minutes total! *NOTE:When making this ruffle I also used 3 times the amount of material necessary for the width of the comforter

 

After those two ruffles were complete, I cut the material for the rest of the comforter.  I referred back to my drawing and calculation a lot to make sure I had enough. I made the cuts for the flat front pieces, the back pieces and the gold/yellow ruffle (again using 3 times the width for the ruffle).

I was tired of doing ruffles for the moment and I wanted to start seeing progress, so my next step was to start pinning the yellow fabric to the ruffles. 

I pinned a thinner yellow piece to one side of the teal ruffle - right sides together. Sew and remove the pins.

I then pinned the yellow to the gray ruffle, right sides facing, and sewed together.

SOME NOTES:  I get rolling and forget to take pictures, therefore, some are missing.  you may notice that my sewing isn't start at the end and move forward, I started kind of in the middle...where the ruffles were and would be the most 'difficult' to sew together because of the additional material from the ruffle, nevermind all the material that would later be in the way from the rest of the comforter.

I pinned and sewed the piece of fabric that would be at the bottom of the comforter --  to the teal ruffle. Pin and sew the piece of fabric for the middle of the comforter to the teal ruffle.

Then I pinned the gray ruffle to the yellow fabric that would serve as the 'middle' of the comforter, right sides together. Sew and remove the pins.

 

As I neared the end of the front of the comforter, I created the final ruffle -- I used the gold fabric. This was to add just a little more texture to the comforter without throwing in more color. I used the machine/gathering method for the three strips of fabric for this ruffle. Once the ruffle had been created, I sewed the ends to one another using the machine.

I laid out the comforter on the bed and pinned the gold ruffle to the end of the gold middle piece, right sides facing each other. Gather up all the comforter and sew together and remove pins.

 

I pinned the final piece of material (for the front) to the top of the comforter, right sides facing each other. Sew and remove the pins.

 

At this point, I had 6 yards of fabric leftover so I cut it down to 3 yards each and sewed them together on the long edge, right sides facing each other.

Next I pinned and sewed the duvet insert to the front side of the comforter on the long ends. Once sewed together, I flipped it right side out so that the sewn edges were 'inside' facing the duvet insert.

  

The FINAL step was to pin and sew the back of the comforter to the rest of the made comforter, right sides facing each other.

 

Make sure to leave an opening for you to flip your comforter right side out...otherwise your seam ripper will come in handy =)

Once it is right side out, finish with an invisible stitch or use your sewing machine. Like anything else, it is a matter of preference.

TA-DA!!

 

You are FINALLY finished!

 

 

I didn't add a trim even though I bought ribbon to use. I pinned it and didn't really like the look of it. The black was too stark in contrast. I am really leaning towards just sewing all the way around the comforter to give it a finished 'rolled' look. I haven't decided yet BUT I have now made a comforter =)

I hope this inspires you to make your own!! =)

Linking up to the following:
Polly Want a Crafter
Craft-O-Maniac
DIY Show Off

DIY Friday!!

Hello Everyone!!

♥ Happy Friday!!! ♥

I am guest posting today over at DIY Kinda Gal!  Check it out because I just made a HAND MADE COMFORTER!!!! What do you know about that?!  Here's what it looks like:

Go check her out -- she is awesome-sauce and she has had a lot of guest bloggers lately, so go find some new reads and inspiration =) and enjoy your weekend!

PS: this was the secret from Wednesday that I wanted to share =)

Not Myself

OK so I realized that my post this morning was pretty silly and seemed full of happiness and giggles. Yeah that isn't what is going on with me. I'm trying REALLY hard but I am unhappy with myself.

The truth is I have pretty much quit working out -- I have been running twice in the past month and I haven't done any kind of weight/cross-training at all. I notice a change in my mood and the way I feel about most things. I am mad at myself for not making more time to take care of me.

I called J on the way to work and told him he needs to help motivate me because I can't seem to find it on my own. Even the idea of running a half marathon in December is not motivation enough for me to get back at it.

I had a pep talk with myself this morning, I said "Self! get it together!" I am going to take pictures of myself when I get home and use them as motivation to get off my butt.  I thought having a scale would help me stay motivated, instead I just don't get on it. Pathetic much?!

I haven't really struggled like this in the past, so while you may be reading this for the eleven-ty millionth time, it is a first for me.

I think part of it - and yes I am making excuses here - is that it is so hot after work. I don't like to go in the morning because it is dark and because I like my sleep. So I'm kind of stuck. I just need to stop making excuses and just do it, like Nike says.

I DO have a project that I will be sharing and that brings me happiness and a sense of accomplishment, but that is short lived. I still feel bad about myself.

I need to focus more on being healthy. This is going to be a struggle as I don't enjoy most vegetables. I am going to continue to eat the stuff I enjoy, only I will do it in moderation instead of all the time like it has been lately.  I have also devised a workout schedule/routine with some diversity so I don't get bored and fall off again. I know after the first couple days I will start to feel better about myself and I will be able to continue -- the first couple days are the hardest for me.

How do you stay motivated?

If you don't like vegetables, what do you supplement?

It's a Peek-ret!

SSSSHHHHHH -- it's a peek-ret!!

Yep!! I have a secret project going on and I am super excited to share with you all!! BUT I can't share just yet so I will give you a sneak-y peek!

See -- it is a peak of my secret....it's a peek-ret! And if you still aren't following along, that's OK. I think I am clever and funny when no one else does =)

And I am so sorry for the graininess of the picture - I used my camera phone and took a wide angled shot but I didn't want to give it all away so I had to zoom in for ya! =) So - yep, that's all ya get =)

OK, OK I'll give ya a picture of me too 'cause I know you miss my face! ...

Happy Halfway through the week!!

Secrets, Surprises and Smiles...Oh My!

Last night, I walked into a house smelling delicious. There was something cooking.  The Husband cooked for me and it was ready to eat when I walked in the door!! He made potatoes Au-gratin and baked cream cheese stuffed chicken. Can we say 'YUM'?! I was so impressed and overwhelmed. He really is incredible. The man made me dinner and cleaned up before I had gotten home from work! I'm seriously a lucky lady =)

We have been living on our own (together) for four years now. I am honestly shocked at that revelation. I always worried that when I lived alone with someone, conversation would eventually be forced. I mean what in the world could we talk about every single day?! It wasn't just J that I worried about this -- I always worried that conversation would run out with whomever I was with. We don't have that problem - we always have something to talk about =)

We still manage to surprise one another and plan little happiness-es whenever possible - whether it is as simple as picking up the other person's favorite treat on the way home or cooking a new recipe and having it ready when the other person gets home.

We share secrets and laughter. We spend time in bed when we get home from work and we talk about our day. We eliminate the world for a few moments, just so we have no other distractions. We constantly discuss the upcoming move and our plans for the house. We continue to discuss the design and layouts of the rooms. We talk about the floor -- where one type should stop and the next stop. We talk about the upcoming holidays and whether we want to begin a new tradition at the new house. We discuss the future both tomorrow and years from now.

I am sure it is nauseating to some how often J and I talk or that we would rather spend time together than anything else. We are very affectionate and we cuddle - a lot. as in, all. the. time.  Even when we sleep! We just can't get enough of each other. Even though we have taken some heat from friends who have harassed us for our constant displays of affection, I hope the feelings we have never goes away.

Have you ever come home to a cooked meal and a clean house?
What does your significant other like to do to surprise you?

Friday Confessionals

I confess I do not own a timer - I never use a timer to cook or bake. When I bake, I base whether or not something is done by smell THEN I go check the oven

I confess that every time I see a banana peel in the road I always ALWAYS think of Billy Madison and "O'Doyle Rules!"

I confess I really don't like the song "Who Says You Can't Go Home" when ONLY Bon Jovi sings it.

I confess that I am probably the only female who still does not own, nor have I ever tried on, skinny jeans

I confess it is really weird to watch Johnny Depp is a role that isnt Pirates...I just love him as Jack Sparrow, though I DID enjoy him as The Tourist when we watched it last night (FYI pretty predictable but highly enjoyable)

I confess that I love the IDEA of sleeping in but rarely am I able to sleep past 7:30...I have to stay up really late or have been drinking the night before =)

I confess I think it is highly rude for someone to hack anything that isn't their own...bank accounts, emails, facebook, etc. Get your own money, your own email and your own FB.

I confess that I am unbelievably happy and feel beyond lucky to have such an amazing man in my life who I can laugh with and be silly with while having a real conversation.

I confess I think it is hilarious to write happy Fried-A (Friday) and I think I am clever for it!

So spill!! What are YOUR confessions?!
Happy Friday!

Using a Torch to Make S'mores is Best

Hi! So I wanted to talk about some of the things J and I did this weekend that did NOT involve having the truck hit haha =)

Saturday night we went to House of Blues to a concert for my dad's birthday. 

The opening band was amazing!  They are Anchored

They were super friendly and loads of fun.  They have been together for a year and a half and are already opening at HOB!! I love their music and they have THE most enthusiastic bassist EVER. I can't wait to see what they do in the future.

The second band was Cold...i didn't really like their music. Or their performance for that matter.  They were very good live -- well they sounded good. BUT they were very depressing and dark and I just wasn't feeling it.

The headlining band that we bought the tickets to see was Volbeat

   

They are incredible live. The lead singer sounds amazing live -- as good as the cd. That is always such a relief for me. I can't listen to bands if I find out they are horrible live. You HAVE to be really good live, otherwise I know that you aren't a great performer - that a lot of technology goes into the way your cds sound.

At the end of the night -- the birthday boy looks so happy =)

We had some drinks before we left the house -- I had two then at HOB I had two more...for those who don't know me, understand that 4 drinks for me in a 5 hour time frame is, sad to say, a LOT for little ol' me haha! Needless to say I was definitely buzzed...which was confirmed the next morning when I woke to look through my pictures and found I took 140 the night before -- most of which were taken between 9:30-12:30!! haha Hilarious!

My parents took J and I to Perkins at 12:30am after the concert and it was AMAZING! haha I always want breakfast food when I have been drinking -- especially french toast/pancakes!

Walking into Perkins

I told J that I probably won't ever go to another large venue to see a concert -- HOB was just WAY too much fun!!

Sunday night, while watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (which was UNBELIEVABLY cute!!), J and I both got a craving for some s'mores.  We have a glass top stove and we have a gas grill. J didn't feel like firing up the grill so I suggested the microwave. That was deemed lame so J went to his work truck and pulled out a torch.

Yeah -- this happened =)

Do you like going to big crazy concerts?

or do you prefer small, intimate venues?

Have you ever made s'mores using something unconventional -- like a torch?

Dear Rude Person....

The Husband and I had a wonderful weekend together.  He still worked a bit on Saturday but for the most part we spent the weekend together.

I'll talk all about all the things we did the weekend tomorrow but I wanted to share how rude people can be...

We went with some friends to the matinee showing of The Change-Up

It is very funny -- there is an excessive use of the 'F' word, FYI - but it is really funny. Boy humor funny for sure but the group we went with all enjoyed it =) We all laughed a lot at most of the movie!

After we saw the movie, we all grabbed a bite to eat.  We were in the mall for about three and a half hours. When J and I walked to our truck, this is what we found:

Ok so clearly whoever hit his truck FELT it. I mean there were marks on his TIRE for goodness sakes! This isn't like a ding with a car door -- this was full on not paying attention, hit the truck as they were pulling in or out. THEN they just drive off -- no nothing. Not information, or apology or ANYTHING. How cowardly!!! I just don't understand -- FL is no fault so it wouldn't come out of the other person's pocket, the insurance would all deal with it. Be a decent human and if you didn't give your information or try to locate the owner because you don't have insurance, you shouldn't be driving because by law, you have to carry some sort of insurance. So, please people, if you EVER do something like this, please have the courtesy to leave your information, no matter how embarrassed you are about it. OK I think that is enough ranting.

J said it looked like Ford red haha. It is funny to think that different companies use different shades of red, which I know is true, it was just funny that he could 'classify' it =) Luckily, this is J's first claim in over 5 years and he hasn't had a ticket in a long time, so they gave him a credit for being a good driver to go towards his deductible...so it won't be AS much as it would have been. The whole thing still sucks and wasn't really our favorite way to close a weekend lol.  

Lesson today, Kids: See The Change-up and be a responsible, decent grown-up. That really isn't asking a whole lot.

What did you do this weekend?

Crazy Stupid Love

Last night I went to the movies with a few friends.

This has to be one of the most awkward movies I have ever seen! It was funny and Ryan Gosling is so fun to look at - don't get me wrong - but AWKWARD! It was a train wreck the entire movie and you knew things were going to just get out of control. They did and it was the epitome of some sort of twisted series of unfortunate events. Now I know what you are thinking, this isn't exactly the most flattering of mini-reviews. I enjoyed it a lot, I truly did. I want Emma Stone's best friend in my life because SHE was hilarious. She didn't have a major role but she was that character that when she spoke, you couldn't help but laugh. I definitely recommend seeing this movie but encourage you to go understanding that this isn't your typical Steve Carell movie -- which made me enjoy it that much more.

Did you see it?  Are you going to?

I saw previews for the new Footloose movie. I really need to see the original.  The preview made me want to see the new one that is coming out. Have you seen the original?

What's on your must-see movie list this month?

On another note -- I am currently hoping we feel the effects of Tropical Storm Emily this weekend. Crazy? maybe. BUT if it is raining all day on Saturday and Sunday, J will HAVE to stay home and won't be able to work. He has the day off on Friday so he should be able to get a lot of his work done then and will have the weekend of with me! HOORAY!

Happy Halfway Through The Week! I hope y'all are enjoying the first week in August...
and to REALLY freak you out:

33 Days until Labor Day

89 Days until Halloween

113 Days until Thanksgiving

144 Days until Christmas

150 Days left in 2011

Sissy's Wedding!!

Hello!! Whew!! This weekend was quite the blur. The wedding went off without a hitch and now Jess and Doug are HITCHED!!! YAY! Here are some pictures of everyone getting ready, the ceremony and the reception. Photos were taken by J, myself, and a very sweet friend of ours. I can't WAIT to see the professional photos! We DIY'd all the flowers -- bouts, bouquets, centerpieces. My mom made the gorgeous wedding cake.

          

The groom was crying before the bridesmaids even stepped out. It was so so sweet!!

The gorgeous bride -- baby sis -- and Daddy!

   

Neither made it through their vows without getting choked up.

     

Of course -- had to get a couple with J

 

All the groomsmen wore funny foam animal visors and the bridesmaids wore funky glasses from the dollar store for our entrance into the reception

     

 We all had such an amazing time! I hope it was everything Jess and Doug wanted. I can't wait to see them when they come home all tan and newlywed =)