The Adventures of Josh and Haley in DIY-Land

Beard Monsters and Chin Faces

2011-09-01T20:00:00.001-05:00

The last weekend adventure for August '11 went like this:

Friday I went out with some girls from work. I laughed so hard my face hurt. Josh even met up with us and was such a trooper with a bunch of girls.

But really, my first night "out on the town" was a lot of fun. And it has made work more fun now that I know some of my co-workers better.

Saturday morning Josh and I went to a big Flea Market that a friend from work told me about. It is held at the fairgrounds once a month. I was surprised how much of it was clothes, jewelry, some food stands (with samples!), prints and posters, perfumes, coin collections, ear candles etc... and not a whole lot of booths with home decor, knick-knacks or old raggedy DIY inspirations. It was HUGE though. We went into 2 buildings and there were numerous booths outdoors.

{Side Note: Let me just point out how amazing and awesome my husband is because I don't have to "drag him around" to these sorts of things... he really likes going with me. Mostly because he likes to see me happy, but he also has some really cool ideas when he sees something unique or interesting.}

Our only purchase was this:

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits on vinyl.

My dad has this album and I love it, so I had to get my own.

But yeah, that's all we bought.

After our feet were thoroughly achey we decided to get some frozen yogurt from Yogi's, load it up with fruit and granola, and hang out at Centennial Park.

I thought it was cool that the trunk was twisted.

I wish I had my camera out to capture an ambitious squirrel carrying an entire rib bone in his mouth. Someone didn't dispose of their BBQ properly. It was hysterical to witness.

We didn't have a plan when we left the house, but next time we will bring a quilt. It felt like the beginning of autumn. The sky was clear and blue.

Then I decided to make a Beard Monster, but I didn't tell Josh what I was up to. I just put some grass and helicopters in his beard, gave him some directions (Smile! Growl! Frown! Lick your nose!), and snapped my pictures. Giggling all the while. No really... I was cracking up the whole time.

Josh's reaction to my antics, "What is this nest you have put in my beard?"

Now please enjoy my portfolio of silly Beard Monsters and Chin Faces

At this point, Josh destroyed the "nest" and I yelled "NOOOO! I'm not done." {frowny face}

So I gave up on Beard Monster's hair and just gave him eyeballs.

FAVE!

When I decided I was done, I let Josh see all the pics. I was literally laughing out loud.

Josh was semi-amused.

"My turn!"

So then I said excitedly, "No! I want flowers as eyeballs!"

And Josh begrudgingly obliged.

I was getting much more joy out of this whole experience than he was.

I still giggle to myself when I see this one.

All in all, I highly recommend Chin Faces and Beard Monsters.

Especially if you have lots of little trinkets handy to utilize.

If you are like me, they could provide hours of entertainment.

If you are like Josh, you can enjoy the fact that your wife gets so much joy out of your contribution of silliness.

Loves

Post Script: I'm feeling very aware of my teeth right about now. Please don't scrutinize too closely

The highlight of our Sunday was a nice hike through the blue trail at Percy Warner Park, literally right down the street from us. It was a nice challenge. We were sweating and our hearts were pumping, but it really wasn't difficult. We have since gone one more time, after work no less. I have a feeling that we will be frequent visitors, especially as it starts to cool off.

Then we came home and did the projects from our previous post.

I'm hoping to get another post done soon about all the neat things we found while we were back home in Jackson.

Stay tuned!

Haley

DIY Mantle: Warming up the Naked Fireplace

2011-08-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lag, guys. I got a little caught up between a weekend at home and a weekend of pure fun and relaxation (and a week in between).

Quite a few changes have occurred between our playground adventure and now.

The biggest change is our new mantle. It has added such a sense of homey-ness to our little old apartment!

For some reason, the fireplace in our apartment (big selling point for us, btw) is just on a blank wall. It has a nice white frame and painted black insides, but it just exists. Which is a crying shame considering it is such a nice feature, and it is on one of the huge vaulted-ceiling walls. It just felt.... naked

(This is the only picture I have of the wall pre-mantle. I guess it was shy because it was so naked)

And here is how we did it.

-We bought a length of 1x6 from Lowe's (And they cut it to size for us, of course)

-and 2 decorative L-brackets.

-We already had stain from the coffee table project

Here are my raw materials

(On our new balcony furniture, but we will get to that in another post)

We intentionally got a board that had lots of knots and "character" to it.

But as straight as we could find. Lots of jokes were made.

This time I used an old towel instead of a paintbrush. It was equally as messy. But I work at a preschool so I am totally over caring about messes. Wood stain on my hands is much less of a concern after snot and poop.

I love the color that it turned out to be! More than the coffee table, really. I didn't use the ebony undertone.

And I stained the L-brackets. (No pictures. Just use your imagination)

Here it is again "Before" with all sorts of project materials in the way of what could be a beautiful fireplace.

I made Josh hold this at a dozen different heights.

In the end, about 3 inches above the fireplace frame was the location that won our hearts.

The brackets have a receiver built in, so all we did was ~~unsuccessfully look for the studs and~~ drive in a screw. We then decided to include an anchor and felt much better about the life expectancy of whatever ends up living on the mantle. (So it wouldn't fall)

So it looked like this for a few days.

You know how patient I am?... well the stain wasn't even dry at this point. But I was so anxious to get it on the wall that I just covered the edge that touched the wall in painters tape. Worked like a charm, by the way.

Remember that big ole frame? Yeah... We had plans for that. More on that later.

Now for a detail pic:

See the swirly L-bracket?! So purty.

Budget Breakdown:

Lumber: 1x6.........$7.00

2 L-Brackets.......$12.74

Stain.......................Free

Total..................~$20.00

And what became of that frame? Well, I'll show you!

We spray painted it (The pictures above were already sporting a cream colored spray paint. But I wasn't diggin' it.)

We moved on to a light blue (A nice accent for our very tan-brown-cream living room)

It was looking awfully "Baby Boy"ish, so I made sure to distress it lots with our handy dandy orbital sander. Better.

Then we wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire.

I'm really lacking on pictures of this process, but basically we

rolled out some chicken wire,
used all-purposed snips to snip a line we thought was approximately the correct length,
put the frame face down
(carefully) wrapped the wire around the edge (pulled it tight)
and staple-gunned it on the back

Except we under-estimated a tad on the length, so on one side it didn't reach the back. We just decided that would be the top and no one would see it anyway. Except you. No big.

And here is the front: (bad lighting for all these... I apologize)

Before

After! Nice and level... YAY!

So now to decorate that behemoth sucker.

I have a feeling it will have many different faces throughout its life above my mantle.

Here is the birth of the first one.

Anyone remember these?! I made these moss letters for our wedding.

Here is proof:

So I removed the orange ribbon and added lace in its place.

Naked mantle

All situated.

Left details

Right details (I love my felt birdie)

Josh picture of details

A very fulfilled couple.

(oh, and this was all after we took a hike through Percy Warner Park...)

So we are allll ready for autumn to roll back around so we can utilize our now-beautiful fireplace. And Christmas so we can finally hang stockings!

A couple other changes that deserve a nod are our new lamp shades from Target

Once we (I) saw these, we (I) was hooked. We (Josh) promptly returned the plain jane ivory shades to Lowe's and we fell in love with these burlap drum shades.

And the ladder found a home!

I'm still open to ideas on how to spruce it up. Please comment below if you can think of something!

There are a couple more projects to fill you in on, but that will have to wait for another day.

Stay tuned!

Haley

Unrelated Events: DCFC & A Whale of a Time

2011-08-18T23:37:00.001-05:00

So first off, we just got back from Lowe's with supplies for a new project! It's really going to pull the living room together. And per usual, I wanted to go ahead and start on it, but 1.) it rained today so the porch is wet and 2.) it's ten o'clock at night. I guess it will have to wait until next week.... I hate waiting.

Story time:

We have to wait because are going home this weekend to visit family, YAY! Want to know what's NOT "yay"? We planned on going home this weekend for my nephew's 2nd birthday party...

(Pic form my sister's fb)

It was last weekend. I still don't know how this oversight occurred. I had it in my mind that his party was the 20th because his birthday is the 22nd. Well, somewhere along the way it got moved up a week because my brother-in-law has a game that weekend (as a band director). Even though the invitation (which was adorably hand-painted by my middle sister) had the correct date, I didn't even process that it was a week earlier! Geez! So imagine my surprise last week when my mom asked if we were staying at their house or the Myers'. I was devastated when it all hit me that I was too far away to just pop on down for the afternoon. I cried. No, literally. I went into the bathroom at work and cried. This was the first time that we had to miss something because of distance. That was a difficult blow to bear.

But we are still going home, party or not, because we had planned on it and we were looking forward to it.

And onto the purpose of the blog:

Death Cab for Cutie concert and a Playground.

Last Wednesday this married couple went wild and crazy. We stayed out late on a school night! (in all actuality we were still home by midnight. That is late for me.)

We got tickets to see our all time favorite band, Death Cab for Cutie, because hey... that's part of why we moved to Smashville. Music. Live Music.

Quick note on Death Cab. Is it cheesy to say that this band is a significant portion of why Josh and I fell in love? Well, truth be told, it is. When we first started dating, the album Narrow Stairs had recently been released. That was probably one of the first big "things we have in common" conversations. DCFC was a huge influence on Josh's musical taste and style, and I just loved them.

Sappy Anecdote:

One time (after a couple months of "courting") Josh and I were going somewhere and took my car. I had been blaring the aforementioned album, specifically the song "Cath...", and I heard Josh say "God, this is why I love you!" It took about 2 seconds too long to realize what he'd (accidentally) said, and I was already in the middle of saying "I know! This album gets better each time I listen to it." Then it sank in what he had said, and I think he realized what he said, and we both got all flustered and silly and changed the subject because the relationship was still new and he really didn't even realize it came out til it did.

So yeah.... The first time Josh told me he loved me was because I was so equally enthused about his favorite band.

Have I bored you all to death yet? Here is a story in pictures:

The band that opened was called Frightened Rabbit. They are from Scotland. And they are amazing. Go support them and buy a CD. Please.

Then came the main event. The crowd went berserk. This is Ben Gibbard. Hey Ben.

These are all from by phone, by the way. We had pretty good spots (general admission, which meant we stood in line for an hour and a half to get in a good spot... after I got of work from standing all day... Totally worth it)

Another You-Just-Had-To-Be-There pic of a concert.

yay

I took a video of my favorite song, but I can't figure out how to upload it (server won't allow it) and I don't feel like creating a youtube account or anything...

So after the show, on the walk back to the car (paying to park downtown is still something we are getting used to), we walked through a courtyard area and the grass was so squishy and soft I just plopped down. Josh realized I was no longer my his side and plopped down next to me.

"Ahhhh my poor tired feet are soooooo happy!"

Instagram effect of the happy couple in the squishy grass

Onward to the playground adventure.

Josh and I do a lot of driving around just looking at houses (for our future home-buying purposes). We stumbled upon this historic area near the Harpeth River:

Which led to some pretty incredible plantation style homes and eventually the Natchez Trace

We saw some deer

And after getting effectively lost in some residential area, we saw this! I went straight for the merry-go-round but it was in some serious need of oil. So I resorted to the whale. It was a good choice.

Josh wasn't cut out for it.

I eventually got his tail to touch the ground too though

Then these guys wandered out and we were like... uh, what?

Ended up that at least 3 were hanging out. "Oh don't mind us"

"Helloooo down there"

(turkey shots taken from this see-saw)

Briefly airborne

I had forgotten how fun see-saws are.

obviously exuberant

Probably the funnest playground slide ever! Makes your stomach drop.

I did this and slid down the slide. Josh isn't as flexible, so he had to work for it.

One of the ladders beat me up.

pasty leg returns

Oh hey rock wall!

Conquered. Take that child-toy!

Easy as one...

two...

three...

tah-dah!

And I had to squeeze in one more session with the whale before we left.

So all in all, rich people can afford playgrounds in their side yard and open it to the public.

And we sure are glad they did.

Because we had a WHALE of a time.

yesssss. (pun victory)

Stay tuned for our upcoming DIY projects!

Haley

{wishing I had a blue whale ride in my side yard}

To someone else's dead Grandma's house I go

2011-08-14T22:19:00.000-05:00

Um What?!

I went to my first ever estate sale Saturday. What's awkward about barging into a house of the recently-deceased to pillage through their belongings? Oh, nothing. Especially when all three of the aforementioned dead-lady's (elderly) daughters are asking if you need any help or have questions. What is the appropriate response? "I'm sorry for your loss. How much for this mirror?"

I didn't stay long and I didn't buy anything.

I would expect that some of these rich folk in Nashville would have some killer estate sales. I'll keep my eyes peeled. (Catch the pun?)

So that was the start of my Saturday. The rest of the Saturday morning/afternoon was spent at antique stores. I had a great time looking around, getting ideas (mostly for later in life when we have a house). There are a whole bunch of antique stores and consignment stores along 8th Ave, all clumped together. Very convenient, thank you.

So my plan was this: Take out $100 in cash and spend no more. Sometimes I go a little crazy at antique stores. And I was celebrating my first paycheck... I don't normally drop a Benjamin whenever I please.

I'll share a few of the things I saw that I thought were cool:

This is the biggest one that I went to, and was most organized. I heart it.

I found strange things like this:

'Cause who doesn't need a larger than life Bruce Lee?

But there were also a ton of amazing pieces, too.

Like this wooden folding chair bench. I take it that it was once a pew because it had the little rack on the back on the left chairback for the communion cups. It was $250, which was about what I expected. Lovely though.

I also thought this enormous copper thing had endless potential. It is a corn husk... something. You could have it just as decoration and store stuff in it. You could utilize it as a central piece in a room and but something tall like branches of some sort. I mean really, possibilities are endless.

I apologize for the quality. The flash on my phone just wouldn't co-operate. But it is an old tool caddy like this one from Secret Garden Cottage's blog:

Except it was really long and had 5 compartments. Can you say coffee table centerpiece? Craft storage? Future dining room table centerpiece? I can see it. And it was only $40 (a good price for those things) I was THIS close to getting it, but found something I liked better.

I'd seen this on Pinterest and put it on my radar for the space above my fireplace:

So when I saw this ladder, that's the first thing I thought about.

I fell in love. I have future when-we-have-a-house plans for it too. The more I though about it, the less I liked the idea of wrapping it in chicken wire (plus its kinda heavy to hang). It is so beautiful in its own right. I am now planning to prop it up in a corner of the living room behind the chair where there is some empty space. I'm still going to do something to spruce it up. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Since it couldn't fit in my little Civic, Josh will have to go Monday to pick it up. I'm so pumped and it was less than $30!

Look at this awesome ladder utilization from The DIY Showoff!

Like the ladders in libraries! Love it!

And what antique girl doesn't love old trunks? I always have to stop and look. This one was something like $30 and I was a little beat up but still had a very nice weathered look. And a little bit of red paint.

It was hard to walk away, but I have no where to put it! I actually thought of my mother-in-law. We looked at lots of old trunks together in past antiquing days.

Speaking of in-laws, I found my father-in-law something special too. What do you think? Should I get it for Christmas? *wink* You can't see it, but it is marked down from $500 to $325. What a deal! (I think my mother-in-law would disown me if I did buy this for their house though)

Oh and this surprised me! I saw this out of the corner of my eye and couldn't believe it. These are those pantry storage racks! We had been looking for some that would hang over the door (not have to be screwed in). These probably could be hung but they were reallllly long so I decided to measure my door before I bought them.

So I went to another antique mall and found some other great items.

Old LIFE magazines (which are much larger than their current brothers) for only $3 each. This one caught my eye: "The Incredible Year: '68" This would be a cool display on a wall in an office or a boys room. All sorts of Life mags in frames. When I told Josh about it, he decided he wants to go back and get a few. (He likes the history stuff)

So then I found what I am going to used for the chicken wire piece:

No, not the King Tut poster. The 40x30 wooden frame. It is very light and a great size for the wall above the fireplace! I stopped by Lowes and got the chicken wire and "Vanilla" and "Butter" spray paint (yum) {They are a cream and a soft yellow} But I think a soft blue might be better. Everything in the living room so far is in the tan/white/gold family.

I thought this book was adorable! The Fascinating Story of Dolls

I ended up getting the large frame, this doily-esque pillow, and beautifully weathered copper pan:

While at Lowes I checked out the lamp shade. I got a "small" and a "medium" ivory drum shade to see which looks best.

This is medium. It's a bit oversized but that kinda makes it look retro. The downside: you can't see the little rosette on top.

This is the small. It fits, and you can see the rosette on top, but I think it just makes it look even smaller. (They are already pretty small). And I don't really like that you can see the plain metal part of the "neck." Its hard to tell in the pictures, but does anyone have an opinion?
I wish they had a size in between. Anyone know of any Smediums?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for how we can spruce up the ladder (Hang something from the rungs?)

After Josh got home from a weekend gig in Birmingham, I showed him this beautiful scenic road, which of course led to a random playground, so that adventure will hopefully be posted in the next few days.

Stay tuned,

Haley

Broccolisauri and Falafel Rappers

2011-08-13T22:59:00.002-05:00

Lessons from preschool:

As I was trying to diffuse the tension between two 5 year-old boys arguing over dinosaur toys, I pulled on my educational-pants and tried to teach them a thing or two in the process. It went a little something like this: {lets call them John and Johnny}

{John} Teacher! Johnny won't share the T-rex toy!

{Me} Well, John, Why don't you play with one of the other dinosaurs?

{John} No! I don't like those!

**This is the part where I'm racking my brain about dinosaurs. Specifically honing in on Jurassic Park**

{Me} Look, here is a raptor! These are my favorite dinosaurs. Do you know why?

**Insert children's intrigue**

{Me} Because they are smart! The Tyrannosaurus Rex may be big and mean...

{Johnny interjects} AND he has big teeth!

{Me}... yep, they sure do. By the Velociraptor is smart. They have big brains! They have friends and work together. Did you ever see a group of T-rexes together?

{John} {Or the other one, I don't remember} No. Just the momma and the baby

{Me} So the Raptors are cool because they are smart and they have friends and work together

{John} Yeah! I like Falafel Rappers! They have big claws!

{Me} ... uh-huh (Crisis averted!)

Let's you and I review.

They potentially just learned the following things:

1. The name "velociraptor"

2. That they are social and co-operative creatures

3. T-Rex is a solitary creature, not social or co-operative

4. Moral lessons such as being big and strong isn't the most important thing

5. Being smart is cool

6. Working and playing together benefits everyone

But really all they heard was:

1. Falafel Rappers are cool. Big claws!

All-in-all: They just got schooled on dinos and didn't even know it. Did you notice that Velociraptor because Falafel Rapper? I think that is an improvement that the scientific community needs to recognize. Later, as I was essentially quizzing them on dinos, the brontosaurus became a broccolisaurus. I literally laughed out loud. I couldn't help myself. It was so cute.

Side note: I totally just got schooled, too, because I had no idea that "velociraptor" was one word.

***

I was also impressed with a 3-year-old boy who apparently has an environmentally-conscious family because this went down:

We monitor the kids as they go potty and wash their hands because so many of them either sit and play in the water all day, or they try to get sly and just run water over them and not actually clean them with soap. In this case, a little girl was playing in the water.

She was actually putting her hand around the faucet so that water was spraying all over the counter.

I told her something along the lines of, "We don't play in the water when we wash our hands. See how much water was wasted on the counter?"

...at which point the little boys behind her says, "Yeah, if you waste the water, the earth will die!"

Again, I couldn't help but giggle and just say "That's right." What killed me was the way he said it so dramatically and bug-eyed.

***

Oh and I unintentionally taught the 3-year-olds to say "Look at my sweet moves" when they dance. Kids really do repeat everything you say.

I hope to have an update about the rest of the week soon including another concert (crazy, right?) and antique store finds.

So stay tuned!
Haley

Weekend Adventures: August

2011-08-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

A weekend in review as recounted by out iPhone photos.

This weekend included movie date night, lazy mornings, tax free weekend, live music, new church, and a hidden trail.

Friday after work we had movie-night.

Um... SO good. Funny (hysterical even) while maintaining a quality that most romantic-comedy movies don't. Touching, cute, insightful, and cinematographically lovely. I highly recommend it.

We also want to see Beginners. Watch the trailer. Love me some Ewan McGregor.

Saturday we had a lazy morning. I made some peach pecan muffins from scratch. I had planned to make blueberry muffins again, but the blueberries got gobbled up before Saturday, so I used allrecipes.com to find an alternative utilizing what we had. (Love that site! You can create a virtual recipe box and save the recipes you want to try.)

After lunch we took advantage of tax free weekend.

Be bought Josh a couple of these:

Shirts, not boy toys

Black fitted button-downs from Express. I'm pretty proud of our savings, so I'll share.

Normally $60 each (meaning we would normally never purchase them)

+ tax free (10% savings)

+ Express sale: Buy one get one for $20 ($40 savings)

+ a coupon from Josh's mom: Save $30 off a purchase of $75 or more

= Total spent: $50 for TWO Express shirts.

Total savings: $70 (not including the tax we saved).

Why did we opt for such fancy shirts for Josh? Because he has joined The Tennessee Three. He will be the new touring drummer for the legendary Johnny Cash band. Bob Wootton was Cash's guitar player from 1968 on, after Luther Perkins died (the original guitarist).

This is Johnny cash in 1974 (you can hear Bob's guitar solo at about the one minute mark)

He still tours playing Cash/Carter songs with his family and maintains the name "The Tennessee Three" {It used to be Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three}. We are beyond excited. Since Johnny Cash's signature look was all-black, we decided to get some fancy black clothing.

We were planning on utilizing tax free weekend to buy the Mrs. some new clothes as well, but if you know me, you know that crowds stress me out. It's the chaos and the in-my-bubble-ness. I don't like strangers bumping into me. Or dodging rude people who don't gently move out of the way.

So we moved on to coffee from Bread and Company before dinner at Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House. Yum! It is our current Nashvillain favorite restaurant.

If you come visit us, we WILL take you here. Delicious and affordable. Josh applied to work here and got the job, but we would have had to shave his beard, so I vetoed that job. I'm protective of my man's beard.

Speaking of:

I love my husband! Especially his beard.

After dinner we chose a bench in the Batman Building courtyard to relax before the Decemberists show.

No instagram effects :(

After we felt our food was sufficiently settled, we walked across the street to the Ryman to find our seats.

We learned our lesson the hard way: always opt for the balcony at the Ryman Auditorium!

This column was not conveniently placed.

And the lights were often right on us...

But the show was so great. Colin Meloy has such a dynamic stage presence. I love it when musicians interact with the crowd.

Sunday we got up and went to church. Thus the church-seeking process begins. This week we tried Journey of Franklin by recommendation of one of my co-workers.

We definitely could see ourselves there... because they had us at "Welcome, help yourself to some coffee"

But really because it had a modern service and a young crowd. Not to mention it is located inside The Factory, which is one of the places that makes Franklin such a cool place.

It is actually set up a lot like First Hattiesburg (which we miss dearly) but a lot smaller. We are going to try it on for size for a few weeks since this week wasn't a "usual" service (guest speaker).

Since we love Franklin and hope to someday buy a home there, we decided to drive around and get a feel for the residential areas. Um... can't quite afford, well anything we saw. But I'm convinced a perfect, cozy little home is out there for us.

Whilst exploring and marveling, I saw a sign for an "overlook" and we pulled over. At the overlook was a little trail. I freaked out a little.

This is the view from the overlook... foothills of Franklin

The aforementioned little path

I wasn't exactly anticipating a walk through the woods when I got dressed this morning. But I made due.

We had a lot of fun fantasizing about living on a parcel of land in the mountains where our future little ones can play in the woods.

... UNTIL ...

A fallen tree blocked the path. We actually did jump over it (which was an ordeal in my pretty dress) but the path kinda ended about 100 ft past it.

Apparently it didn't lead to any big scenic view. Sad. But we still had a good time.

Well that's all from this weekend's adventures. This week I get CRP and First Aid certified. Til next time! Stay tuned,

Haley

Yum Town

2011-08-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

Do you like the new look? I found the background at ShabbyBlogs via my friend Mallisa who just started her blog. I still haven't really figured out this template-adjusting biz. Maybe one day.

I couldn't help but share this delicious treat with you.

A blog I follow called Bakers Royale always has tantalizing recipes popping up on my feed. At a glance, they all seem way beyond my current skill set. (However, that won't stop me from trying.) All summer they have been posting "Cocktail Popsicle" recipes. Yep. You read that right. Cocktail popsicles.

uh... now that is something I think I can conquer. Here is one that caught my eye today:

White Sangria Popsicle

I'll allow you to gawk for a moment.

Some examples of their more involved recipes I'd like to take a bite out of (pun) include blackberry cabernet cupcakes, nutella pastry pockets and chocolate mousse brownie bites. Sweet tooth much?

In other news: Our DIYing will be pretty minimal for the next few weeks. Since I just started my job, it could be 2-4 weeks until a get my first paycheck (I should probably check on that, huh?), so we are going to play it safe until then. I guess I could walk you through some projects I did before I started the blog, which means I can't show you step-by-step pictures, but I can supplement.

In the "life update" arena: Josh has been very busy today meeting some pretty substantial musicians (including Taylor Swift's studio drummer). I'm so excited for him. He has waited so long to be in a location where music is a viable and expanding occupation.

Well basically this post is just to share the happiness of finding that White Sangria Popsicle recipe. Pretty pitiful.

Stay tuned,

Haley

New Job Discretionary Tale

2011-08-02T23:35:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, I started a new job this week in my new city. I am officially a preschool teacher! Because of the nature of my job, I want to be sure to protect the kids and my school and respect their privacy. However, I will keep you updated on cute little anonymous anecdotes from the day and lessons I've learned from my job and the kids (since we all know that children unintentionally teach you almost as much as you teach them).

For example: My preschools taught me today that I rely on auto-correct and spell check entirely too much. I got super paranoid about dictating how to spell words for them to write down on paper that their parents will see. {a writing activity: "my favorite move is..."

As in... all flustered and I second guess myself on how to spell words I KNOW how to spell like "despicable"... and a huge inner-dialogue of self-deprication and English phonetic rules run through my head in a matter of me saying "Your favorite movie is Despicable Me? That's a long word. I'll help you spell that"

I'm really thinking. "Seriously kid? Despicable Me? You couldn't have been like your friend Johnny and pick Toy Story? Let's see. D-I-S-picible? No... D-E-spicable. No. D-E-S? Yeah I think so. Visualize the movie. See the poster in your head. It ends in A-BLE. If I could just discretely grab my phone and let it auto-correct me to be positive. Oh my gosh, Haley. You are a college graduate. Don't let this preschooler intimidate you. Get it together!"

On the flip side. My job can also be one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet. Shaping these little humans to be kind and honest is our goal. We get to love on them and see their tiny faces light up when we tell them they are doing a good job or that picture they drew is beautiful.

And that kids are pretty darn cute when they are napping.

That's all for now folks. Stay tuned!

Pallet Coffee Table Tutorial

2011-08-01T00:15:00.000-05:00

If you are a Pinterest advocate, you may have noticed that repurposing wooden pallets is all the rage in DIY-Land. Well I jumped aboard that bandwagon. The pallet-style coffee tables I had seen had all utilized rather large pallets that would probably take up all walking space in our little apartment. So when Josh found these three little guys behind a Mexican restaurant and brought them home as a "surprise," my mind started racing. I wanted to take what I had seen and make some adjustments. (side note: you know you are deep within DIY-Land when Husband brings home Mexican-restaurant-trash and you get all giddy)

Remember the pallets we stacked as a coffee table?

Pretty snazzy, huh?

Well I had bigger dreams for this guy. Dreams of rich stain, storage, and legs. I'm here to tell you dreams do come true! (Well, 2 out of 3 in this case) Introducing Sorta-Finished-"Special"-Walnut-Coffee-Table!

Mmmmm... Chocolate-y goodness... well really walnut-y.

Staining the three pallets was easy enough, though incredibly time-consuming. I definitely would have done things a little differently, and I'll give those tips at the end.

First, gather your supplies.

Enter: our new orbital sander DeWalt. We got this guys for $60 (no big sale or awesome deal to brag about, unfortunately), but we figured we were going to be needing a good sander for many future adventures in DIY-Land, so we may as well bite the bullet. We also got Medium and Fine grit pads.

Also included in the toolbelt:

container of water (something disposable),
rag (or 2),
old paint brush (or 2),
stain of choice (in this case: Minwax Ebony & Special Walnut)
tarp (if you happen to have to do all this on a 3rd {though really 4th} floor patio)

So obviously you sand the wood first. I was really nervous/anxious throughout most of the sanding process because I was just waiting for any of our neighbors to shake an angry fist at me, and therefore kept checking over my shoulder and down through the slats of the balcony as if I were expecting the KGB to show up.

Luckily they did not. And after a while, I relaxed. I was so happy to find that this sander sucks in the dust and traps it for you. I mean, like, really efficiently. I was pretty worried the neighbors below us would come home to find all their patio furniture covered in... sander-dust? All in all... I was nervous about our first project in an apartment complex.

The wood was already raw, so I was just removing the grime and smoothing it out. I also dulled the edges in case any shins accidentally found them in the dark... or little nephews. This is a plank half-way through the sanding. Can you see the difference from the dark-grime to the light-ungrime?

Well I can.

(Side note: I had to hand-sand the inside spaces, which resulted in a pretty nasty splinter, thus half-heartedly sanding the rest of those untouched-by-power-tools areas.)

So once all three pallets were sanded, top and bottom and edges of each plank, mind you, staining begins. I used a technique that Sherry from Young House Love demonstrated in this tutorial. The irony? They used this technique because they wanted their new wood to look like old pallets. We already had the pallets in great condition, but I wanted more color from them. In the end, they don't look very "weathered"... just dark.

Anyway. This is how it went down.

First you use a brush to wet the wood. This way it doesn't absorb a ton of the ebony stain. It is best to go one plank at a time. Don't get overly-abitious or the water will soak in before you get a chance to stain.

Then you brush on ample amounts of the ebony stain. Be prepared for dripping and splattering. I looked like I had some strange skin disease by the end of it all.

Use a rag to wipe off the excess. It is up to you how much stain the wood takes in based on how much water you "pre-soak" with and how long you let the ebony stain sit. I sometimes did two ebony passes if I wasn't satisfied with the texture I got.

(Forgive my pasty legs and socked feet- the tarp was really hot and the socks buffered the heat)

Don't forget to get on the "inside" spaces, edges, and ends. I usually did something like this to easily access the hard-to-reach areas (aka-Splinterville or Untouched-By-Power-Tools-Land)

Here is an example of the difference.

And here is an entire-pallet before and after. Honestly, you could leave it at that. Maybe add some poly to make sure it is all sealed and call it a day. But not this gal.

I moved on to add Minwax Special Walnut stain. I experimented a bit with the middle pallet to see how dark it would turn out and if there were any tricks I wanted to try. I tried the same technique as the Ebony (water first, stain, wipe), but honestly, it had little effect because the Ebony stain was already working, thus repelling the water. So I gave up on any special antics and just directly brushed it on. Sometimes I would wipe off the excess, but that was mostly due to impatience.

(Again, excuse the pasty leg)

See the difference? Pretty noticeable this time, eh?

So then you just wait for the stain to dry (cause for one thing, it's pretty stinky)

Here are some pics of why the pallet that is on top is my favorite. It has some pretty spectacular details if you look hard enough.

Knots and Print

Cool waffle texture

Did ya catch that one? I caved "Josh + Haley" into one of the beams. You can barely tell... but it makes me very happy. Disproportionately happy. Because I know it's there.

Oh, and while Josh was out getting groceries and such, I asked him to stop by Lowes and get legs. After much picture messaging back and forth to show me all my options (I probably should have just gone with him), he came home with these:

The shape vaguely matches that of the legs of the couch and chair. Since they are a different type of wood, I knew the stain would look different. But I made peace with that fact quickly because they were going to be in the shadows of the coffee table anyway.

So I painted a sloppy coat of Ebony (no water coat this time) and wiped it off.

Then coated them in the Special Walnut.

(No picture of all 4 fully-stained, sorry. But you get the idea, right?)

So that was about all I could do that day (Friday) until it all dried.

I noted how much more of the Walnut (left) I used than the Ebony (right).

In case you cant tell, I used probably 2/3 of the Walnut and maybe 1/3 of the Ebony.

I was a little worried about leaving them outside overnight because 1.) The stain is pretty sticky until it dries and stuff might stick in it, and 2.) it had sprinkled earlier and I was paranoid it might rain overnight.

So we brought them inside and made a little teepee of pallets in the living room (on a tarp so it wouldn't stain the rug) and put a fan on it.

Boy am I glad I did that. It POURED Friday night.

I'm pretty proud that I resisted the urge to mess with them before they were dry. I'm not one for patience. But luckily we were well-occupied Saturday around Nashville, so I wasn't even at home to think about it. When we got home that evening, we got back to work.

Installing the legs was very easy. They already has little screws sticking out of the top, so we just placed them were we wanted them (about an inch from the edges), pushed them into the wood so the screw would make an indentation, then Josh drilled a little hole where the marking was, and screwed in the legs.

And just like that, our coffee table had appendages.

So we removed the tarp and stacked the newly-stained-still-a-little-sticky pallets and viola.

The plan is to cut out part of the boards from the next-to-bottom shelves to create little cubbies, insert baskets, and instantly have storage. Hard to explain, I'm sorry. I'll just have to show you whenever we get about to actually doing it. First we must retrieve Josh's Skil saw from Hattiesburg. Oops.

Lessons Learned:

I would recommend using a separate brush for the water. The two stains were fine for the same brush, but the stain left in the brush when I used water affected the outcome of the ebony stain. And it ruined the tupperware container that I used for the water because so much stain settled in (and I even washed it out a couple times in the process). A separate brush might have prevented this.
Gloves wouldn't hurt, especially in the sanding process.
Do all this in a well ventilated area, especially the stain. And read the cautions on the stain.
Be prepared for splatter, spills, and other stain-related tragedies (i.e. don't paint/stain close to walls, directly on any flooring you value at all, in any clothes you aren't willing to throw out... or designate as painting clothes)
Allow yourself plenty of time (It took me about 6 hours for the whole sanding/staining process)
You might want to try completing one side or pallet then moving on. Meaning do both stains in one sitting. I went through all three pallets with the water/ebony process, then went through all three again with the walnut. It was daunting to have to do it all over again.
Double or triple check that you got to every nook and cranny, edge, corner, and knot.
We haven't poly'ed yet, but we plan to. This will ensure a protective layer from condensation-cups and the like.
Take breaks or your neck/back will kill you the next day (speaking from experience). I sat down and basically worked straight through with maybe 2 five-minute breaks. What can I say? I get in the zone.

Budget breakdown:

Pallets (3)...............Free

Ebony Stain..........$7.50

Walnut Stain.........$7.50

Brush....................$1.50

Legs (4)..............$28.00

Total...................$44.50

(Not including the sander because it was something we were planning to get anyway, and it will be used many more times)

I admit, the legs are a little, um, ridiculous, but have I mentioned I'm a bit impatient when it comes to my projects? I just really wanted some pre-made easy-to-install legs. I probably could have FOUND something to used as legs had I waited. But all in all, a coffee table under $50 is a nice deal.

Check out these other ideas and subscribe to their blogs!

My friend Holley recently posted this uber-cute repurposed pallet shelf! I've been crushing on it, and even considered sacrificing one of my pallets for this purpose, but I was already so committed to my coffee table.

Or check out this post from Blue Velvet Chair that has several ideas for pallet freecycling. Some of them, though fantastic, are way out of my skill set. Others are a "someday" project. Perhaps when we have more room.

and

Have you seen any other repurposed pallet projects you love? Any plans to use pallets around your own house?

Stay Tuned, Folks

Haley

Nashville Nesting

2011-07-26T23:41:00.000-05:00

So when will my posts stop rambling on and on about the move to Nashville? Well probably when it finally hits me that I'm a Tennessee resident. A metropolitan dweller. An urban girl, if you will. I have been living here for a week and a half and it still hasn't quite set in that I won't be "going home"... this is my home now.

Get ready Nashville!

(image via)

Well really more like this:

This is really a view from our apartment! We live in the foothills slightly west of the downtown area, but believe you me, we are still in Nashville. This post is dedicated to a few more views from inside the apartment. I'm not ready to give the whole tour, yet.

Above is my little backsplash project. Instead of hanging each cookie cutter letter individually (thus more holes in the wall), I just hot-glued them to a cutting board. I like that it is all cut up and worn. You can't really tell from the picture, but there is an "M" monogram engraved on the board. Below it are my new(ish) salt and pepper shakers and my chicken/rooster kitchen timer from Everyday Gourmet in Jackson. (I really really wish it would cock-a-doodle-doo instead of ding! or at least bock) I found the shakers at Harpeth Antique Mall near Franklin. They match my wedding china really well... talk about luck. The twine marks the salt because I can never remember which is in which shaker and they look exactly the same, so I always ended up smelling the little holes or pouring a little into my hand. It got old. A little bow of twine and problem solved.

Here is what the backsplash looked like in Hattiesburg:

Here is our coffee table project:

Josh picked these skinny pallets up behind a Mexican restaurant in Hattiesburg about a week before we moved after I had showed him this project.

Our plan is to sand it (we just bought an orbital sander -yay new toys!), stain it using the method Sherry from Young House Love demonstrated here to bring out the grain and texture. The middle pallet will be removed and cut up to make separators so there is some storage. Add some little legs to lift it off the floor slightly and BAM... one sexy repurposed coffee table.

Next we have our plate display:

This hangs above the brand new couch. I made that mirror with my mom and Sis several years ago out of an old window pane they found somewhere. I'm going to sand it down some to make it show it's age (at the time we made it, I didn't like the "aged" look... I was like 14, don't judge) The plates belonged to Josh's great-grandmother, Mamaw Creel. The bird plates are mine from Pier One. They show up elsewhere in the house also.

Here is a close up of the sweet yellow flowers:

Here is a pic of the plate display "in progress." I probably rearranged them a dozen times (notice the yellow one on top that didn't make the cut?). I wanted it to focus more on Mamaw's plates. What spawned the idea was that I wanted to display them since they are so special to us, but we were low on dining room space. And it hit me. Hadn't even thought about it before that moment. I was so set on having a buffet and hutch.

But the real reason for the following pic is because you can see our beautiful new sofa! We are so proud of it.

It may not look like much, but it is deep and comfy as if it were made from down [as in goose feathers. semantically weird sentence, sorry], sleek, clean lines, and once we get some cooler throw pillows (Maybe a soft blue? Buttons will probably be involved. Or lace. I'm on a lace kick), it will change the whole mood of the room. The in-yo-face green isn't really vibe-ing with the subdued color scheme.

We ended up having a very cream/yellow/green color scheme in the living room and I'm digging it. Here is a pic my rosebud end table lamp:

I found these beauts (I have two) at Cracker Barrel of all places. I had a hankering for mashed potatoes one day, and it seemed my options were Cracker Barrel or KFC, so we went to CB. What d'ya know, that little store actually had some really neat home decor items in an "all-white" display area {sounds racist}. I genuinely freaked out when I saw it. They only had one and I really wanted a matching pair so my sweet adoring husband asked if there were any more in the store and there was one more! Hidden in the back those sneaky b-words. Hooray. They will be getting a shade upgrade. Maybe a linen or burlap drum shade?

Here are is a little serves-no-purpose-other-than-to-look-pretty action:

I picked these crates up at Magnolia Flea Market on Highway 49. I've been eyeing wooden crates at flea markets for ages waiting for my perfect opportunity to pounce. They run anywhere from $25-50 each but I got these guys 50% off. Meaning both of them for 25!

Displayed are... ('cause I know you care)

{Starting from the bottom}: a basket with a ceramic birdie from Marshalls or Ross (it looks like a nest... get it? tee-hee), a couple of small glass bottles I've had for so long I couldn't tell you where they are from, a tall candle I got at Hobby Lobby on sale a long time ago, all on a yellow and while place mat from Target.
{On top of the crate}: on the corner by the fireplace is our Willowtree wedding cake topper.
{In the top crate} are three blue glass jar (also been eyeing these waiting for a good price. They can be pricey if they are on sale at an antique mall/flea market) and the dried bouquet of flowers Josh had for me when he proposed [cue collective awwww].
{On top} are three classic novels, an iron trivet with a picture of us on top, and a wire gold leaf tree from... you guessed it... a flea market. Those suckers seem to be everywhere.
{And leaning along the left side} is a cinnamon stick broom from Publix.

Moving on.

I found this fantastic bed skirt at the Franklin Antique Mall. (Catching the pattern?) I usually only buy from flea markets because antique stores are so pricey, but I go there for ideas. This bed skirt was so unique and reasonably priced I just couldn't pass it up. Especially since we don't have one and I was tired of seeing that tacky box spring.

Lovely.

Also in our bedroom the jewelry cabinet I made from a wooden Coke tray.

Maybe I'll do a step-by-step post later if anyone really wants to know... But basically it is a Coke tray with a picture frame hinged to it with screen door netting hot-glued to the inside of the frame and little cup hooks screwed in the top of the tray. I still want to put a drawer or something at the bottom for my rings.

Well that's about all I've taken a picture of so far. There are still lots of pictures to be hung, projects to complete, and stuff to settle.

So stay tuned,

Haley

Inspired Today

2011-06-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

As I sit in front of a computer 5 hours a day, I surf the blogosphere a lot. Here are some things I have found today that I love:

I want ~~to refine my sewing skills~~ make my mom teach me how to sew so I can make this skirt from Elle Apparel

I want a Cricut or Silhouette so I can make vinyl cutouts and make things like Desiree from The 36th Avenue. Such as this table...

And these pillows...

I laughed out loud at this cute way to cool down your drink from Alphamom

Here is another thing to add to the "When I can sew" category, subcategory "When I have kids." And This patriotic get-up would be cute un-patriotic as well, with just some patterned fabric.

This is a neat, unique idea to spruce up your moulding from Lindsey at Better After

What number? Oh...

I want a bunch of different but coordinating wooden dining room chairs like this to put around the table we make out of our old door...

I have seen tin cake carriers at flea markets and loved them but didn't know what to do with them (other than have them sit around a look pretty) until now. Check out this lamp made from a tin cake carrier from lilliedale...

Stay tuned...

Haley

To-Do list

2011-06-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have been caught in a whirlwind. I have been out of pocket all weekend, but I am (currently, though subject to change) excited about gearing up for the move. I want to get the house all cleaned up and start packing. I feel like we should get it cleaned/organized before we pack it up. This may seem illogical, but that way I will know where everything is so I can pack it in a more organized fashion.

Each time I've moved (which has been all-too-frequent in the last 4 years), I like to pack like-things together and label the box of EVERYTHING that is in it. I want to know where everything is when I start to unpack.

We also want to snap a few pics of our current house since it is our first home together. We have a few pics from Christmas and when I made a project, but I want to be able to remember our first place. (And I want to show you our before and afters)

So this is our to-do list:
Clean up
Take pictures of our house now
Ensue packing
Weed out all our clothes and junk we are going to sell
Continue packing
Gather all our yard sale item in one corner
Put prices on everything
Plan a going away party
Continue packing
Make signs and post online about yard sale
Have said yard sale and going-away party
Count our stash made from the yard sale (yeah right)
Whatever we don't sell, give to Goodwill
Go home for mom and dad-in-law's birthdays (conveniently on the same day)
Fix all the holes we put in the walls so we can get our deposit back
Deep clean the apartments so we can get our deposit back
Pack the last bit before the move
HARRY POTTER midnight premier
Peace out

(You can see my priorities are in all caps.)

We (...I) have lots of projects planned for the new place. I'm sure Josh is going to love this DIY phase I am in right now. I want to turn the door we picked at a flea market into the dining room table. This is our Number One project, so we can have a space to work on as well as eat (since we are selling the big chunky desk Josh has). I want to make one bench seat for the table and the rest will be chairs, maybe mismatched flea market chairs, maybe new.

Stay tuned for updates...
Haley

Plans are taking shape

2011-06-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

Alright, so here it goes. We have, as of yesterday, applied for an apartment in Nashville and are moving July 14th.

As in, three weeks from now? YEP!

It is hard to believe that this is actually happening. We are having a yard sale in two weeks to get rid of all our old hand-me-down stuff we no longer want (keeping basically the beds, antique chairs, new rug and lamps, and kitchen stuff). New city, new life, new style = new furniture (or thrifted, but new to us). This makes Haley a very happy wife.

I have been scowering the blogosphere for ideas and inspiration. There are some amazing DIYers out there who are so gracious to share their awesome ideas. Maybe I can be one, too? There will be much DIYing and renovating in my futer (which also makes me very happy). We are stipiing out "stuff" down to the bones and simplifying our life while simutaneously creating the life and lifestyle we have been putting off. Its funny how "stuff" can weigh you down from accomplishing the things you want to do.

Maybe I will post some pics of our current apartment in all its "before the purge" glory.

Nashville on the horizon

2011-04-18T21:03:00.001-05:00

So here's the skinny:

Josh and I have been working really hard these past 4 or 5 months since the shock of the wedding and holidays wore off and we have been planning to move. We have paid off two lines of debt and all we have left are one student loan and the car. We were considering waiting until we at least got the loan paid off to move, but why? Our payments are manageable right now and we aren't getting any younger. Besides, we are kinda at a financial dead end in Hattiesburg. We are stuck in part-time jobs, I can't for the life of me find a full-time position, and moreover, I have no idea what my long-term career will be. I need to get my feet wet and learn HOW to work full-time. I'm really looking forward to it though.

I'm starting to consider ESL (English as a second language) as a career. I would teach English to non-native speaker. That way my Spanish can still be put into use, but I like the idea teaching English better. Maybe that will open the doors for Josh and me to live abroad for a period of time. Maybe after Nashville. There is a certification program in Nashville that is offered twice a year (conveniently enough in August) for three consecutive weekends. It would be quicker (and cheaper) than a Master's program in TESOL, that way if I decide it isn't for me, I won't have spent so much time and money into that career option. I just wonder how much luck I'll have finding a job in ESL.

Josh has a plan: music. When we move, the biggest factor is finding a job for me. He will work at a coffee shop or restaurant to start off and hopefully after some networking and God's favor, he will be able to either a)go back to school at Mid Tenn and get a better education of the recording industry or b) make a viable connection that shuffles him in the biz.

We are thinking Nashville will be a 5-7 year home, probably not a forever home. However, that is long enough to buy a home. Home buying in my mind is a huge marker of adulthood. I think we will be great homeowners though. We have some many plans for "when we someday have a house." That and all my HGTV skills. The first year or so we will probably rent so that we can find jobs, have a steady income to impress the banks, and so we can find what part of the Nashville area we like best. I really want to live in a studio or loft apartment. Now would be the time for that, but we'll just have to see what is available in a few months. We are planning our first trip to nashville in the next couple of weeks to do a preliminary search for apartments/rental homes and jobs.

Wish us luck!
H+J

A little late

2011-01-14T22:01:00.000-06:00

I made this to remember. But here we are over two months after our wedding and I am yet to update. Typical.

Well since the wedding there has been school, honeymoon to Aspen, Thanksgiving, graduation, christmas, and my birthday. I'm glad school is over and done with, but I still feel like my education isn't quite done. I will probably go back... once I figure out what I want to do. That's one thing I envy of Josh. He knows his path: music. That is the goal, the plan. It must be nice to have something to shoot for. I'm pretty aimless at this point. The goal is change. At least I can't fail, right?