two twenty one

New Blog Header

2012-05-23T07:04:00.004-04:00

You may notice something new above. That's right, I got a new header! I designed my last header and I liked it, but I started to get bored with it. It's like eating the same cereal everyday for over a year. You still like Fruit Loops, but you need to switch it up a bit and eat some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You know?

I couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with my new header so I reached out to my friend Joy. Joy and I met through theknot.com back when we were planning our June 2011 weddings. Ah, memories.

Joy has started her own design blog and shop, Sage and Berries. She designs patterns, prints, and web kits. She also has tons of awesome freebies. Seriously, you guys, you have to check out her blog. She's super talented!

What do you think of the new design?

Do you ever get bored with your ~~cereal~~ blog header?

Weekend Recap

2012-05-21T07:04:00.011-04:00

Hey friends! How was your weekend? Delightful I hope. Mine was a nice mix of work and fun.

Friday night I met up with some friends for dinner and cocktails downtown. We spotted a ton of ducklings while walking the canal on our way to the restaurant.

On Saturday, Brad and I headed to Lowe's to pick up some flowers and mulch. The pretty, $30 hydrangeas caught my eye (like the one below), but I ended up coming home with a $12 clearance one. Fingers crossed I get it to grow.

We filled the back of his SUV with 15 bags of mulch and headed home to start our work.

Our flower beds were starting to look homely.

It's amazing what a little weed pulling and mulch can do. I even touched up the random white do-hickey with some more brown paint. Please don't tell me that I'm not allowed to paint that do-hickey. We've lived here for almost 3 years and I still don't know its purpose. I'm guessing it's not meant to ward off solicitors. If so, it's doing a terrible job.

Now we need to find a better solution for the brown drainage hose. We installed it last year because the tree on the right was hogging all the water. It was becoming disproportionally larger than the other shrub so I put it on a diet. But the drainage hose bothers me so we need to come up with something else.

The other front flower bed looks a lot better too. I planted my new clearance hydrangea in front of our hostas. I'm so proud of how big the hostas are getting. We transplanted them a couple months ago, and I was worried they wouldn't do well. See, worrying does help in some situations, like growing hostas.

The tiny little green thing closest to the bottom of the photo is my Kroger clearance hydrangea I bought and planted last fall. I hope I can get it to grow this summer. I let the random lilies stay because I'm a nice person.

Check out our clematis. This thing is a beast. I swear it can grow inches in a day. I use fishing line to help it grow up and over our mailbox. From what I understand, this is a violation of our homeowners association CC&Rs. But remember, I'm a rebel, and I do what I want. And, I share a marital bed with the vice president of the HOA.

After a long, hot afternoon of landscaping we used our new (and FREE!) Jenn-Air grill for the first time. I had a Michelob Ultra Light Cider with my grilled chicken. It was pretty good, and it's only 120 calories and about 10 grams of carbs. Not too shabby.

Sunday morning started off by drinking coffee out of one of my favorite mugs.
There are no truer words.

Brad is to Nutella as Snoop Dogg is to marijuana, which is why I whipped up some delicious Nutella rolls. The recipe is from Micheal at Inspired by Charm. Please don't pin my image of the Nutella roll. Click here and pin the original. Muchas gracias mis amigos. And here's a random factoid: I prefer the rolls cold rather than warm. Don't ask why. I just do. You should try them.

After breakfast Brad mowed the lawn while I worked on some stuff inside. Jack got in some Animal Planet viewing. Don't worry, we limit his tube time to an hour per day.

Around dinner time Brad let Jack out into our backyard for a bathroom break. I went to check on him a few minutes later. When I called he didn't come, but that that's not unusual because he likes to sun himself on the side of the house, and he doesn't like to be disturbed. So I threw a toy in that general direction in hopes that he'd get it and bring it to me. Nothing. I found this strange so I went to other side of the house... where I found our gate had been left open. Dog mom panic set in. I called for Jack and started running toward our front yard. He came running around the corner of our house and met me on the side of our house. Thank goodness he had only ventured into the front yard. He acted like he did something wrong because he ran back into the backyard, picked up a ball, and brought it to me as if he was saying, "Sorry, mom! How about you forget that I ran out of the yard and play with me instead?"

You better believe I had a beer with dinner after that minor dog mom panic attack.

How was your weekend?

Do any landscaping? Any tips for growing hydrangeas?

Eat anything good?

Have a minor panic attack over your dog getting out of the yard?

No Bake Cookies

2012-05-18T07:03:00.002-04:00

No bake cookies cause me to reminisce. The first time I made no bake cookies was when I was in mini 4-H. I'm fairly certain that I entered those cookies in the county fair the 3 years I was in mini 4-H. I think I mixed it up one year by using chunky peanut butter instead of creamy. But when something is a sure thing, you go with it, especially if you're only getting a participation ribbon.

I moved on to bigger and better things when I hit the big leagues-- regular 4-H when I turned 8. I won Grand Champion overall at my county fair and went to the state fair twice for cake decorating, earning special merit (top honors) both times. I came a long way from no bake cookies.

I broke out the no bake cookie recipe last weekend. We were heading to a pool party, and I didn't have time to make something elaborate. So I channeled my inner 7 year old and whipped up my participation ribbon winning cookies.

You know you want to make some for yourself, so why not click on the image below and download the recipe card?

What is your stance on no bake cookies?

Are you a fellow former 4-H member? Head, Heart, Hands, Health, baby.

Nothing A Little Spray Paint Can't Fix

2012-05-16T07:05:00.024-04:00

What does one do when they own something that is functional but it is, for a lack of better words, ugly? They grab a can of spray paint. That's exactly what I did for this little project.

I've had this file storage box for about 5 years. I bought it because it was in the clearance section, and I needed file storage. I didn't buy it for it's color.

So last fall, yes, last fall, I spray painted it pink. Why are you just now reading about it? Because I do what I want. Just kidding. I don't really know why it's taken me so long to write a post about it. Maybe you're reading about it now because I've been inspired by my recent trip to Ikea. Speaking of which, do you spy any Ikea items in the photo?

Why yes, that is a Kassett magazine file and Forsommar plant pot. I should have bought at least one more pot. I love the design. Two packages of paper napkins with the design did come home with us.

I plan on using the file storage box to store sewing supplies once I finish my filing cabinet. That's why the box is sitting next to my newly updated sewing machine cabinet. The magazine file contains my sewing machine manual and a vintage sewing book that belonged to my grandma. I put some of my grandma's vintage wooden thread spools in the pot. The "C" is a $2 paper mache letter from Hobby Lobby that I spray painted.

I love the updated look of the storage box. It's much prettier than the ugly green. No?

Do you believe in the power of spray paint?

What's your favorite spray paint makeover project?

First Ikea Pilgrimage

2012-05-14T07:04:00.004-04:00

Hey guys! Hope you had a splendid weekend and Mother's Day! Our weekend was jammed packed with fun. The highlight has to be our first pilgrimage to Ikea in Cincinnati. Brad even took off work Friday for this momentous occasion. You bet we filled up the back of Brad's SUV before voyaging back to Indiana.

In case you're concerned, I'm not driving in this photo. My phone went all wonky on me and swapped the photo to look like I'm in the driver's seat, taking photos of myself while, apparently, driving with no hands.

So I committed a royal blogger fail. I went to Ikea, and the only photos I have to show you are of our food. I'm sorry. I got so sucked in to looking that I completely forgot to take photos. But I'll assume that many of you have been to an Ikea, and you know what it looks like inside.

We had to try the meatballs and chocolate cake. No disappointment there.

I'll offer you some tips to make up for my lack of photos. Sound good? OK, so if you're a first-timer, take a list. I went on Ikea's website and used my snipping tool to capture the photo, name, and price of each item I wanted. (I also browsed their online catalog and snipped images of things that I wanted to look at.) Then I inserted the images into a Word document and printed it off. I'm so happy I did this. It's very easy to get distracted in there. The list helped me stay focused on the things that I really wanted to get. Not gonna lie, I'll probably take a list every time I go.

Another tip? Go on a weekday. We left our house around 9AM on Friday morning and arrived at Ikea around 11AM, an hour after it opened. The place was practically empty for the 3 hours we were there. I couldn't imagine going in there on a Saturday.

If you're driving 100+ miles like us, I'd suggest going on their website and making sure that they have your item(s) in stock. I got a very large, sometimes out of stock item, so I went online Thursday night and made sure that my item was, indeed, in stock.

I can't wait to show you guys what we got! I figure seeing the final products of what we purchased will be more exciting than the items in their boxes.

Have you been to Ikea?

What's your favorite Ikea purchase? If you've never been, what would you purchase?

Do you have to drive 100+ miles and take a day off of work to get there?

Who thinks Indianapolis should get an Ikea?

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2012-05-10T07:04:00.009-04:00

Raise your hand if you like pizza. I'm assuming that everyone reading this has their hand in the air because I don't think I've ever met someone who said, "Ew, I hate pizza. I'd rather eat chewed up food from Alicia Silverstone's mouth."

We love pizza in this house. Always have, always will. Our go-to (semi) homemade pizza is barbecue chicken pizza. It's my kind of recipe because there are 5 ingredients. And I don't know about you, but I love recipes with minimal ingredients.

You want to know the ingredients, don't you? OK, here you go. Pizza dough (from your grocer's refrigerator section, you know, next to the crescent rolls), chicken, BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's), 1 red onion, and cheese. Boom. 5 ingredients. The 6th ingredient, cilantro, is totally optional.

If you try out this recipe, feel free to adjust the amounts of ingredients to your liking. I'm not gonna lie, I don't measure very much when I'm cooking so I guestimated the amounts. Use your judgment, friends. It's kind of hard to mess up this recipe.

Here's your handy dandy, printable recipe card. Click on the image to download the card.

What's your favorite kind of pizza?

I'll be linking up at the following parties:

Home Stories A to Z

Tatertots and Jello

House of Hepworths

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Tidy Mom

Weekend Recap

2012-05-07T07:04:00.001-04:00

Hi, friends! I hope you had a splendid weekend. Ours was pretty laid back. Probably too laid back. I documented most of our weekend on Instagram. If you aren't on Instagram, you need to jump on it.

Friday started with a morning cuddle and ear scratching session with Jack. He likes to put his face as close as possible to our faces so he's certain that we're noticing him.

My peony bushes are blooming! I've been stalking them for weeks. Here's one I picked Friday morning.

Friday night we headed downtown to meet up with friends at the Indy Food Truck Friday Festival. The first Friday of every (warm weather) month, a bunch of Indianapolis food trucks park in a lot and sell their food. If you live in Indy you have to check it out.

After leaving the Food Truck Festival, we walked a few blocks to The Ball and Biscuit for drinks. I got a pretty ~~ridiculously strong~~ champagne cocktail.

Brad and I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by hitting up a local Mexican restaurant on Saturday. Margarita? Frozen with salt, please!

We spent most of Saturday being lazy. Jack pretended he won the Derby. (Wasn't that a crazy finish?)

I picked more peonies.

We took Jack to ~~his favorite place on earth~~ the park for a walk/run Sunday morning.

While organizing my home office I came across some of my grandma's vintage, wooden thread spools in a box. Aren't they pretty?

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

Are you on Instagram? What's your user name? I'm twotwentyone. Let's be friends.

Guest Blogging

2012-05-03T07:02:00.001-04:00

Hey, friends! You can find Jack and me over on Michelle's blog, Decor and the Dog, today.
Head over and say hi!

I hope you enjoyed the four posts this week. (Why yes, I am counting my guest post on Michelle's blog as my fourth post of the week.) If this week was too much "Chelsea time" for you please let me know, in a constructive way, to shut my trap. If there are no objections, I'll keep trying my darnedest to post Monday - Thursday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thrifting Finds & Tips (part two)

2012-05-02T06:45:00.001-04:00

I thought I would go into more detail about the Goodwill Outlet today since many of you seemed so intrigued yesterday. As luck would have it, my 9AM appointment flaked on me yesterday morning so I had time to hit up the Outlet before my next appointment. Was this destiny? I think yes.

So this is what the Goodwill Outlet looks like from the outside. (If you follow me on instagram you would have seen this yesterday morning.)

And this is what it looks like inside. The big blue bins are what you dig through. They are rotated throughout the day. Look out when the guys are wheeling them into the area. My butt was once clipped by one.

I'm so happy my 9AM decided to sleep in instead of answering their door because I had the Outlet score of my lifetime yesterday. Oh my goodness. Even Brad was impressed with my find. I cannot wait to share it with you. (Don't worry, the client finally woke up and called me to reschedule. Their child will not go without therapy this week.)

Let's move on to some more of my thrifty finds.

I found this vintage Glasbake mixing bowl last spring at Goodwill for $3.99, which is a steal because a comparable bowl was listed for $35 on Etsy when I did a search at the time. I absolutely LOVE the color of the bowl. We use it to store and display our non-refrigerator vegetables in our kitchen.

I have a thing for vintage kitchen bowls. The clear mixing bowl is Fire King. The milk glass mixing bowl doesn't have a stamp on the bottom so I don't know that maker. It doesn't matter though, I still love it.

I also have a thing for hobnail milk glass, as seen in this post. Yes, I purposely bought 3 of these vases. I also have a larger version of them.

I also own 3 of these same exact vases. Yes, 3. Did I forget to tell you that I'm actually an 85 year old woman who hoards vintage knick knacks?

Here's some unsolicited advice for you: buy alstroemerias (the flowers in the vase above). They are cheap and last up to 2 weeks with little upkeep. I buy mine at Kroger for $4 a bundle. Be sure to read the display date before you buy though. I bought these yesterday and the display date read 5/8/12 so I know that they're pretty fresh.

I do have some pricier thrift store finds. These vintage Fenton hobnail milk glass pieces were found by my best friend in Chicago. They were slightly more expensive because they're Fenton. I think the candlesticks were $12 and the candy dish was $7.

I hope you enjoyed this short thrifting series. My best advice for you is to go often and have fun with it. Thrifting is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

If you've never been in or seen a Goodwill Outlet, what do you think?
Are you a closeted old lady hoarder like me?

Thrifting Finds & Tips (part one)

2012-05-01T07:04:00.013-04:00

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of thrifting. I love the treasure hunt aspect of it. When you walk into a thrift store you never know what you're going to find. It's kind of like playing the lottery, only you're not winning gobs of money-- you're winning a coveted item, usually for cheap. But I'm pretty sure the high that you get from winning the lotto and finding a treasure can be somewhat comparable.

Ok, so some people will tell you to go thrifting on certain days. Many say that Wednesdays are best, and that the weekend is the worst because things are picked over. These bad boys below defunct that rule. I scored these vintage Ball Mason jelly jars at Goodwill on a Saturday... afternoon... on 50% off Saturday. 50% off Saturday is easily the busiest day of the month around these parts.

There were about 20 of these majestic vessels on the shelf. I stood there contemplating grabbing all of them. They were $1.99, but since it was 50% off Saturday they were only $1 each. 13 of the best jars landed in my cart. I was absolutely giddy.

I plan on using them to store odds and ends in my home office. I've already started storing my Target washi tape and ebay bakers twine in them.

Here's a tip: go often. I live within 10 miles of 5 different Goodwill stores. If I'm in the area, I'll stop in and take a look. My job requires a lot of driving, so if I have time, I'll stop in a store.

I came across this blue Mason jar at a Goodwill when I was between therapy visits. It was $1.50. Cha-ching. The little vintage deer were found at a thrift store in Northwest Indiana. My best friend and I went on a thrift store tour one weekend last fall (mentioned in this post).

Another tip: don't be afraid to haggle. There are some stores where you can't haggle, but the deer were at a family-owned thrift store. I went back and forth with the owner and walked out paying $3 for 4 deer.

Bambi also came with the set. Doesn't he look like he's saying, "Whatchu lookin' at?" Sassy little fellow he is.

I came across these $2 vintage tatting threads while on the thrift store tour. They set on top of my recently made over sewing cabinet.

Do you have a Goodwill Outlet in your city? No? You're. Missing. Out. We have 3 in Indianapolis. The Outlet is a true treasure hunt destination. All the items are put into huge bins and wheeled out into a huge, open area. People feverishly dig through the bins. Wearing gloves is encouraged because sometimes there are unknown objects (and liquids) in the bins. There's nothing like wishing you had gloves when you grab something and it's wet. Gag. And one of the best things about the Outlet? Goods are sold by the pound ($.49 - $.69 per pound).

I found these vintage pink canisters at a Goodwill Outlet. They cost a whopping $1. I gave them a good bath when I got home and stuck a candle in each to get rid of the funky smell.

I like through the hardback book sections at thrift stores. Books are such cheap and easy decor pieces. I especially love the Reader's Digest condensed books. The patterns are so fun, and you'll find these everywhere.

What is your best/favorite thrift store find?
Do you have a thrifting tip or trick to share?
Who wants to take a field trip to Indianapolis and hit up the Goodwill Outlet with me?

Come back tomorrow for part two!

Braided Chain Bracelet

2012-04-30T07:04:00.009-04:00

Hey, friends! How was your weekend? We drove to Cleveland on Friday for a friend's wedding that evening. Does spending 5+ hours in a car make your butt fall asleep? Yeah, mine too.

It dawned on me a couple days before the wedding that I didn't have a bracelet to go with the dress I was planning to wear. So I did what any DIYer would do-- I whipped up my own bracelet.

I came across this blog post by Kellie from Nest of Posies about a week ago, which led me to this tutorial by Erica from Honestly... WTF?

I got all of my supplies from JoAnn Fabric. I used some coupons so the price in the parentheses is actually what I paid.

large lobster claw clasp: $3.99 ($3.19)
5 embroidery threads: $1.95 ($1.56)
1/2 yard large gold chain link (found in the lace by-the-yard section): $9.99 ($6)

The total cost of my bracelet was about $6. The half yard of gold chain allows you to make two bracelets so I'll be making another one soon. I should also let you know that it took me about an hour to make the bracelet.

I followed Erica's tutorial but after a while I got rid of the bobby pins. Another issue I ran into was the links. The links below the link I was working with would get in the way so I ended up disconnecting those links. I would add them back on one at a time as I braided the thread on.

At the end of the wedding festivities (belly dancers and all), I realized that I didn't have a good photo of myself modeling the bracelet. All I had were some fantastic photo booth photos. Hopefully my friend doesn't kill me for posting these. Love you, Kristin!

So I threw the dress back on yesterday to take this photo. My head is intentionally not in the photo because I was sans makeup and my hair was beyond frightening. You're welcome.

I know the bracelet is super matchy-matchy, but I like it. I paired it with fuchsia and gold teardrop dangle earrings from Forever 21, which can somewhat be seen in the sequin-hat-wearing gangster/evil bunny rabbit photo above.

What do you think of the bracelet?
What's your favorite thing about weddings/wedding receptions?
Do you have a quintessential photo booth pose?

In other news, I'm going to try to post 4 days a week from now on (Mon-Thur). I have all my posts lined up for this week. Pats on the back are welcome. Be sure to come back tomorrow! I'm sharing some thrifting finds.

I'll be linking up at the following parties:
Home Stories A to Z
Tatertots and Jello
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Tidy Mom

Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler Review + Giveaway!

2012-04-20T07:06:00.007-04:00

Happy (Almost) Earth Day! I hope you help out our magnificent Mother Earth by doing little things everyday. Want to know one of the things we do in our house to help out Big Mama Earth? We recycle. We love to recycle so much we pay for it. Personally, I think recycling should be free, and you should have to pay for trash removal. Who's with me?

About a month ago, Rubbermaid contacted me about reviewing their Hidden Recycler. I was in need of a recycling solution so I said, "Shyeah!" You see, before the Hidden Recycler, we were using brown paper grocery bags from Trader Joe's as our recycling receptacle. Yes, we are those people who don't bring their own reusable grocery bags to TJ's. Duh, it's because we need the brown bags to recycle at home. We set a TJ's bag next to our trash can, and once it is filled with recyclables we empty the bag into our recycle bin in the garage. I mean, why walk the extra 15 feet to garage if it isn't necessary?

But now that the Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler has come into our lives, things are about to change.

How does it work? Glad you asked. You attach it to the inside of a cabinet door. You can either screw it to the door or use the included hooks. I went with the hooks.

It features a 5 gallon, leak-proof lined, and machine washable bag.

And this is probably the coolest part: you can detach the bag and carry it to your recycle bin. ~~One of the gals from The Price is Right~~ I will demonstrate.

I should quit my day job and become a hand and arm model, right?

We really like the Hidden Recycler. I think our trash can likes it even more. It hated competing for space and attention.

Want to win a Hidden Recycler? Fabulous! Here's the low down.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.

Mandatory Entry

Tell me one way you reduce, reuse, or recycle.

The Nitty-Gritty

Giveaway is for one (1) Rubbermaid Hidden Recycler.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25th at 11:59PM (EST).

Giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada.

Random.org will be used to choose the winner.

Disclaimer: I received my Hidden Recycler for free. I was not compensated to review this product or for this giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

Weekend Gardening

2012-04-16T07:04:00.011-04:00

Hey, friends! I hope you had a delightful weekend. I had a crazy busy Saturday-- I woke up early on Saturday to go with a friend/colleague to a massive church sale. After scoring a bunch of therapy toys for super cheap, I headed home to take Jack to the vet with Brad. And I'm happy to say that our 32 pound ball of energy got a clean bill of health. Then I was off again to meet another Indy blogger, Jessie from Imperfectly Polished, for lunch.

Our little family spent Sunday working on our vegetable and herb garden. Here's our loot.

Brad built an 8 feet by 4 feet raised garden bed in our backyard when we moved into the house. He got to work tilling the garden for the second time this spring while I planted flowers in some of our planters.

Jack served as our friendly supervisor.

We always figure out where we're going to plant the vegetables and herbs before we put them in the ground. You can't make gardening decisions all willy nilly. (The tarragon isn't pictured. It requires partial sun, so I planted it in a small pot and set it on our back patio.)

We put buckets (with the bottoms cut out) around the tomato plants so the wind doesn't blow them over. When they get tall enough we put out the tomato cages.

Here's the finished product after a good watering. We'll be replacing the rusty metal fencing later this week.

Brad hung a hose organizer by our DIY rain barrel watering system that's next to the garden. Don't worry, I'll post about it soon. And yes, I realize that it looks slightly ghetto. I'm working on that issue.

In other gardening news, I cannot wait for my peonies to bloom. Yes, I've dedicated the entire south side of our house to seven peony bushes... and two rose bushes.

I'm probably more excited than a person should be for this peony bush to bloom. My parents gave it to me a couple years ago when they were cleaning out their flower beds. I definitely recommend planting peonies from mature plants instead of buying new ones at a store. I bought two of my peonies from Lowe's a couple years ago and they've yet to bloom. Sad face.

Well, I'm off to jury duty today. I always said that if I was selected for jury duty that I would wear a wig in case we find the defendant guilty. That way if he/she gets out of jail and happens to run into me on the street they won't recognize me and try to kill me. Yes, I think these crazy thoughts. And no, I don't have a wig ready for today. Dang.

Do you have a garden?

What do you plant in it?

Have you ever served on a jury? Did you dress incognito?

I'll be linking up at the following parties:
Home Stories A to Z
Tatertots and Jello
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Tidy Mom

Hometown Bridal Shower

2012-04-13T07:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday, friends. I want to reminisce today. So that's what we're gonna do. OK? OK.

A year ago, at this time, I had my hometown bridal shower. It was held at what is basically the icon of my small hometown. The house was built in 1861 and was originally a private residence, but now it's used as a B&B and you can rent it out for events. My dad actually lived in the house for a few years when he was younger. I'm told that my aunts used to sun bathe on the roof, and my dad helped put the onion on top of the cupola. Another fun fact: the house was in the 1989 movie, Prancer. Cloris Leachman's character lived in the house. Yes, my super small hometown is kind of a big deal.

The guests enjoyed wandering around and looking at all the rooms-- some were even adventurous enough to climb the stairs all the way up to the cupola.

My mom used small potted tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and roses as the centerpieces. Then, the guests took one home as their favor. You gotta love double duty, right? I took a rose home and planted it in one of our flower beds. It lived through the winter and is growing like a weed. Success.

My Maid of Honor, Natalie, came up with some pretty spectacular games. Like the game where I had to answer a question about Brad in order to open each present. If I got it wrong I had to do the running man. And if you know me, you know that I'm incapable of executing the running man.

The cake was delicious-- half white with raspberry filling and half chocolate with chocolate mousse filling.

My mom was so proud of herself for finding the saying for the cake "on Google".

It was a lovely shower. I enjoyed spending time with my family and friends. Now I want to have another shower. Someone get married or have a baby so I can plan one for you.

Where did you have your bridal shower (or where would you like to have your bridal shower)?

Did you play any fun games that involved embarrassing the bride?

Have you seen the movie Prancer? No? You should. Just be prepared for the sub-par acting.

Blue Soul Designs Winner

2012-04-11T07:05:00.000-04:00

Hey friends! I'm ridiculously swamped with Etsy orders right now so I don't have anything fun to blog about. I haven't had time to do anything other than cover letters with moss or wrap letters with jute.

And our house is a mess. Shoot, I found moss in my bra last night. I swear Brad would divorce me if I wasn't being paid to, in essence, destroy our home. Want some proof? This is the current state of our dining room table.

Anyway, I'm announcing the Blue Soul Designs ring winner today!

And the winner is...

Comment #8

Kristy from Hyphen Interiors!

Congratulations, Kristy. I bet any ring you choose will look stunning on one of your fingers.

Here's a little somethin' from Sarah, the owner of Blue Soul Designs.

Hi Two Twenty One readers!

Thank you so much for an awesome giveaway~ ya'll are awesome! Thank you Chelsea for hosting the giveaway for me! :) Congratulations to the winner, Kristy!

Knock-Knock.

2012-04-06T07:07:00.001-04:00

Remember last week when I told you guys how I want to paint our 1995 maroon front door so bad it hurts? Well, I've been playing around with some color combos in Photoshop, and I want your opinions.

We live in one of those awesome cookie cutter neighborhoods, and I'm tired of our house looking like every other house in our hood. So I want to paint our front door and shutters.

Lets start with the "before" shall we? Ooh, look at all that maroon goodness.

I really want the door to be the focal point of the house. Also, I hate the matchy-matchiness of painting the shutters and the door the same color.

Option One is to paint the door blue and the shutters and window thing beside the door black.

Option Two is to paint the door teal and the shutters and window thing beside the door black.

Brad accused me of being goth when I showed him the pictures with the black shutters. So in case you're thinking the same thing here's two non-black shutter options.

I think Options 3 and 4 are bor-ing. I don't like how the shutters blend in with the house.

Option 5 is more of a rainbow smorgasbord look.

And just to let you know, I'm only painting the shutters, door, and the window thing beside the door. So if you suggest painting the garage door or more, I expect you to help me paint.

Also, almost all of our neighbors have navy shutters so that's out of the question.

What do you think?
Do you have a different suggestion?

Happy Easter!

Blue Soul Designs Giveaway

2012-04-04T06:06:00.000-04:00

Congratulations, it's half-way through the work week! And to reward you for getting to Wednesday I have a giveaway for ya.

Sarah, the proprietor of Blue Soul Designs, is graciously giving away one of her beautiful rings.

All of her jewelry is nature and beach inspired (I don't know about you, but I wish I was laying on a beach right now) and ridiculously reasonably priced. Sarah opened her Etsy shop to connect with other creative people and share her love of creating with others. She also uses her shop to earn some extra money to cover her medical expenses.

Pretty, right? And on top of giving away a ring, Sarah is offering free shipping for Two Twenty One readers! Enter FREESHIP when you check out.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment telling me your ultimate spring break destination.

Additional Entry

Head over to Blue Soul Designs. Come back and tell me your favorite item in Sarah's shop.

This giveaway ends Friday, April 6th at 11:59 PM (EST).

Random.org will be used to choose the winner.
Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post or giveaway.

Weekend Recap

2012-04-02T07:05:00.000-04:00

Hey, friends! Happy April! I hope you had a delightful weekend. Did any of you become instant ga-gillionaires? If so, I'm totally down for vacationing with you, or if you want to buy me a car, or if you want to throw me some of that cheddar.

I don't work on Fridays so I met Brad for lunch and bought what would be our unlucky lotto tickets. So Brad will have to hold onto his dreams of owning a Challenger, and I'll have to hold onto my dreams of a Range Rover and a trip to Europe.

After purchasing our ultimately losing lotto ticket, Brad went back to work and I headed to see my other lover. I was determined to use one of my Christmas gift cards.

Shortly after entering my home away from home, I stumbled on these beauties. I thought, "Self, these would look great in the guest bedroom. You should purchase them." So I did. I'll show you how they look on our guest bedroom bed soon.

I swung by Target on my way home to buy the Indiana University onesies for my non-existent baby that I contemplated purchasing on Wednesday.

I also picked up some washi tape. Yes, they have washi tape at Target. 4 dolla make you holla! You can find it in the stationary aisle next to the paperclips. You're welcome. I decided that their perfect home would be in one of the vintage Mason jars I found at Goodwill about a month ago.

Our Friday night was pretty boring. I worked on Etsy orders while Brad played guitar and watched TV. We slept in til 10 on Saturday. Well, I woke up around 9:15 and played on my phone in bed for 45 minutes.

I played with this guy for while. I may or may not have his favorite orange ball tucked between my chin and my neck in order to get this photo.

Then we headed to our friend's house to pick up some compost for our garden. Because evidently that is what married people do on Saturdays. Jack came with so he could ~~ignore~~ play with our friend's dog. On our way home we stopped by Trader Joe's for some groceries. I did bring home a bottle of bubbly pink moscato. Who wants to come over for drinks on the back patio?

Jack passed out on my lap on the way home for a whopping 3 seconds. He doesn't really care for my lap because it's not big enough for his 40 pound body.

I also picked up some pretty tulips at Trader Joe's. Yes, wine and flowers are a staple in my home. Remember that. I put them in one of my hobnail milk glass vases. Did you know that if you put a penny in the water the tulips will stand up straight and live longer? The more you know.

I think they look lovely on my ruffled burlap table runner. I flanked the vase with two of my hobnail milk glass vases. More hobnail milk glass, weird.

That's pretty much it. Did any of you partake in April Fool's Day? I opted not to celebrate this year. Last year I posted an ultrasound photo on my facebook page. Word got back to my non-facebook-using parents who were in Las Vegas ~~without me~~. That was an unpleasant phone call. I was laughing... My mom wasn't.

Did you miss Friday's post? It was about our wedding details. You can see how ~~delusional~~ excited I was to do so many DIY projects for our wedding.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

Have you purchased clothing for your non-existent baby?

What would you buy or do if you won 640 million dollars (said like Dr. Evil)?

Our Wedding: The Details

2012-03-30T07:05:00.002-04:00

It's Ultimate Wedding Week details time!

I'm ridiculously excited to show you all the details of our wedding. I tried my hardest to add personal touches to our special day. This included designing and making many of the things related to our wedding. Though it was a lot of work, I loved it ~~because I'm a glutton for punishment~~.

I designed and assembled our wedding invitations. Read more about them here.

OK, now onto the wedding day.

My engagement ring was purchased from Marlan Jewelers in Cleveland, Ohio. I designed my wedding band, which was made by Van Horne Jewelers in Granger, Indiana. Read about that here. I purchased Brad's tungsten wedding band from Tungsten Direct for $60 with a Groopdealz deal. Holla!

I brought my own Scrabble tiles so my photographer could get this shot. Me? Type A? No way.

One of the reasons why I chose my dress was because of the blinged-out belt.

My mom made my veil. She cut the tulle from a pattern and hand stitched the lace along the bottom. We bought all the supplies at JoAnn Fabric.

I loved my hair flower from Silver Pencils.

I had a custom wedding dress label made and sewn onto the inside hem of my dress. I purposely bought a quatrefoil shaped label because it's the symbol of my sorority, Phi Mu. I purchased the label from Initial Impressions.

My mom made my garters. The red and white IU-themed one was my toss garter. The keepsake garter was my something blue.

My something old (my late grandma's wedding ring), something new (earrings from Nordstrom), something borrowed (my mom's pearl bracelet), and something blue (garter).

My shoes were by Vaneli.

My bouquet was made of peonies (my favorite) and hypericum berries. My bridesmaids' bouquets were made of garden roses, peonies, and hypericum berries.

My grandmother's wedding ring was attached to my bouquet.

I wanted to be able to display our wedding guest book instead of putting it in a box and never looking at it again. I liked the idea of a wedding guest book tree but I didn't like the thumbprint trees because I think it's creepy to ask for your guests' fingerprints. I found a wedding guest book tree that had self-adhesive leaves. I purchased it from Absinthe Custom Printing.

I made our ceremony program box. I also designed and assembled (with the help of my awesome Maid of Honor) our layered ceremony programs.

I made the moss covered monograms that set on the fireplace mantel that we were married in front of. I also made the peony topiaries that flanked the sides of the fireplace and the peony pomanders that lined the aisle.

My mom and I made the ring bearer pillow, and I jazzed up the flower girl basket.

I designed and made our escort cards with leftover paper from our wedding invitations. I also made our card box (it's for sale-- let me know if you know anyone who would be interested).

I bought all of the reception chair covers and pink sashes from Linen Tablecloth. In our area, to rent a chair cover and sash it costs at least $3.50 per chair. RIP. OFF. I ended up paying $1.73 per chair (Linen Tablecloth has a crazy Black Friday sale). I also bought a pink tablecloth for $9 to use on our cake table. After the wedding I sold the chair covers, sashes, and pink tablecloth. In the end, I technically only paid $25 for the chair covers, sashes, and tablecloth.

My mom and step-grandmother were nice enough to iron every chair cover and sash before the wedding.

I designed and assembled all of our table name and menu cards.

I made half of our reception centerpieces. The day before the wedding I bought roses from Sam's Club and took off the petals so they could be placed inside the hurricanes.

The other half of the centerpieces were arrangements of hydrangeas, spray roses, and hypericum berries, which were made by our florist/day-of wedding coordinator.

Our custom wedding cake topper was from Lynn's Little Creations.

The Kate Spade Mr. and Mrs. toasting flutes were a bridal shower gift, as were the cute bride and groom flutes.

Our wedding favors were IU decorated sugar cookies from Brad's favorite hometown bakery, Donut Bank. I bought custom stickers from MAU Promos to seal the cellophane cookie bags that I purchased from Artistic Ephemera.

I made all the props for the DIY photo booth. We purchased a photo booth software program and ran it on a laptop computer. A flat screen computer monitor, webcam, and photo printer were also used. Two duplicate photo strips printed onto one photo paper, so the guests cut down the middle. They taped one strip into a scrapbook and took the other with them.

I made the flip flop baskets and the signage.

After the wedding, I designed our thank you cards. I had them printed onto Vistaprint postcards. We I wrote the thank you note on the back of the postcards, slipped them into envelopes, and mailed them off.

I hope enjoyed this series about our wedding!

In case you need to catch up, here's our before the ceremony, ceremony, and reception photos.

What personal touches did you put into your wedding day?
Did you do a lot of DIY projects for your wedding?

Our Wedding: Reception

2012-03-28T07:08:00.003-04:00

It's Ultimate Wedding Week reception time!

We had cocktail hour immediately following our ceremony on the other side of the fireplace from where we had the ceremony. While our guests ate appetizers and started to get their booze on we took photos with Brad's side of the family. I think we enjoyed a whopping 10 minutes of cocktail hour.

Our reception room turned out great. We have an amazing group of family and friends who helped us set up the space the day before the wedding. The lanterns had battery-operated lights inside them so they would glow above the dance floor.

My mom is an awesome bow-tier.

Half of our reception centerpieces were the thrifty hurricanes that I made. We filled them with rose petals and water and topped them off with a floating candle. The other centerpieces were hydrangea, spray rose, and hypericum berry arrangements made by our florist.

Our reception tables were named after places Brad and I traveled to together. I made the table cards with the name of the city/place and a photo of us that was taken in that particular city/place.

Our dinner menu was on the backside of the table name card.

An IU decorated sugar cookie, which served as the favors, was placed at every place setting. The cookies came from Brad's favorite hometown bakery. I think our guests liked them because there were none left at the end of the night.

We decided to do a receiving line as guests picked up their escort cards and moved into the reception room. That way we could have a chance to say hi and thank each person individually. It moved pretty fast-- only taking about 15-20 minutes to greet 120 guests.

The escort cards were laid out on a table with our grandparents' and parents' wedding photos. I made the escort cards-- more about them on Friday!

The Indiana University fight song played as we entered the reception.

My mom insisted that we have a head table. Good idea, mom, because I love this picture.

Brad's grandfather gave a lovely blessing.

Before long it was time for us to cut our beautiful wedding cake. It was decorated in Swiss dots and pink garden roses. The topper was custom made to look like Brad and me. And we couldn't forget Jack.

Our Maid of Honor and Best Man gave wonderful toasts.

Our first dance was to "Stay With You" by John Legend. I bought two dance lessons through Groupon in attempt to not look like eighth graders spinning around in a circle on the dance floor. Amazingly, Brad had fun at our lessons. We didn't do a fancy choreographed number-- we just learned a couple basic steps.

I shared the father-daughter dance with my dad and step-dad.
We danced to "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III.

Brad and his mom danced to "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.

Then it was time to dance!

I made flip flop baskets for when our female guests needed to kick off their heels. I bought flip flops from Old Navy, bound them together with ribbon, and put the size in the middle.

My Maid of Honor caught the bouquet.

Our friend intensely caught the garter. This photo makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Our guests loved the DIY photo booth. So did we.

It was such an amazing day and night spent with our family and closest friends. I would do it all over again in an instant.

In case you need to catch up, here's our before the ceremony and ceremony photos.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding reception?

Did you have a special wedding cake topper?

What was your first dance song?

Spring Moss Monogram Wreath

2012-03-27T07:05:00.018-04:00

My husband puts up with a lot-- my tendencies to not put away my clean laundry for ~~weeks~~ days and to clutter our kitchen island, and the aftermath of all my DIY projects. I showed him this spring moss monogram wreath when he came home from work yesterday. He replied, "I figured you were doing something with moss since it's all over the floor". I quickly changed the subject, telling him that I'd take him to Orange Leaf.

This was a fairly inexpensive project-- about $10. I picked up a moss table runner and a 12" paper mache "N" from JoAnn Fabric (coupons in hand). I also got some ivory poly-satin from Hobby Lobby (with a coupon, of course).

I began by spray painting the letter green with spray paint I already had. After the paint was dry I started gluing on the moss.

When the letter was covered on all sides, I cut a piece of the poly-satin and attached it to the back. I took another piece of fabric to make the bow. Then I secured the bow to the top.

I made the wreath for our front door but I took photos of it on the wall because our front door is an ugly 1995 shade of maroon. Jack says, "Mom, the color of this door makes me sad. Oh, and when will dad be home? I want to go on a walk."

I want to paint our front door so bad it hurts. But I don't know what to do about this:

The window frames on the door have melted and warped. The paint has even melted. The front of our house faces West so the sunlight beats on the door all afternoon and evening. Has this happened to any of you? Can we fix that or do we have to get a new door? We're planning on tinting the storm door in hopes of helping the problem.

Have you made a pretty spring wreath?

Does your front door melt?

I'll be linking up to the Spring Fling door decor party... and

Our Wedding: Ceremony

2012-03-26T07:04:00.066-04:00

It's Ultimate Wedding Week ceremony time! If you missed Friday's post that featured pre-ceremony photos, click here.

Our ceremony and reception were held at the same location-- a restored 1940s barn. We liked the idea of having a one-stop shop for us and our guests. Our ceremony started at 5:30 PM and lasted about 25 minutes. We like short weddings so it was appropriate that ours be short and sweet.

We rolled up to our ceremony and reception location in a stretch Excursion. I told the limo company that the complimentary red carpet wasn't necessary.

When we arrived I took some photos with my family. I have the smallest extended family (we're talking like 11 people) so that wasn't very difficult. Somehow Brad was left out of the photos. He was inside troubleshooting our DIY photo booth software. I'm with my dad, mom, and step-dad on the left and my older brother and younger half-sister on the right.

After those photos were taken I headed into our reception room to hide from the guests that had started arriving. My bridesmaids and Brad's cousin helped clean my dress. I wish I was making a pretty face in this photo, but of course, I'm not. Can you tell that I'm freaking out about a small detail, like the position of a centerpiece, in my head? I clearly didn't drink enough champagne in the limo.

My mom made my veil. She cut the tulle from a pattern and hand stitched the lace along the bottom.

While I was in hiding, our guests started arriving in the ceremony area. I made the moss covered monograms (that I'm also selling in my Etsy shop) and peony topiaries on the mantel. I also made the peony pomanders that lined the aisle.

Brad's paternal grandparents were unable to attend our wedding because of his grandfather's failing health. So Brad's cousin set up a live web cam in the back so they could watch our ceremony on their TV at home. How cool is that?

Brad's second cousins were our ring bearer and flower girl. Our flower girl cracked everyone up because she dropped like one petal every couple steps because she didn't want to waste them. Then after the ceremony was over and the bridal party was on their way out, she started to pick up the petals. Adorableness.

I'm behind the doors flipping out because the music was cutting out during the seating of honored guests and bridesmaid processional. I'm pretty sure my eyes bulged out of my head every time it cut out.

Brad and his Best Man yucking it up. I'd like to think that his Best Man is saying, "You're really lucky, Brad. Chelsea is a dime." And Brad replies, "Yeah, I know. Chelsea is pretty darn amazing." Or they're laughing because they know I'm behind the doors cursing our DJ.

My step-dad and dad walked me down the aisle. I chose Vitamin String Quartet's version of Dare You to Move by Switchfoot as my processional song. The doors opened at the :57 mark. I'm dramatic like that.

We switched the designated sides for our ceremony. I hate it when I go to weddings, and I can't see the person I'm there to "represent". So my guests sat on the groom's side and Brad's guests sat on the bride's side.

We look like giants standing next to our officiant. She's about 5', while Brad and I are 6'+ in our shoes.

Swapping bling.

Uniting.

Making out.

Mr. and Mrs.

Making it officially official.

After the ceremony we took a photo of both of our families together.

Then we took photos with Brad's side. Here we are with his parents and younger brothers.

Our cute flower girl and me.

Gah, after getting all these photos together I want to get married again or plan another wedding. Who wants me to help plan their wedding?

Come back on Wednesday for the ~~par-tay~~ reception photos!

Where did you get married?

What song did you choose for your processional?

Did you have any crazy moments happen during your ceremony?

Our Wedding: Before the Ceremony

2012-03-23T07:07:00.002-04:00

I haven't properly shoved my wedding photos down your throat, so I figured this would be the perfect time. Especially since it's Ultimate Wedding Week. That means that I'll have four separate posts (before the ceremony, ceremony, reception, and details) for your viewing pleasure.

Brad and I were married in Bloomington, Indiana on June 25, 2011. We met while attending Indiana University, so getting married in Bloomington made perfect sense to us. Now let's get started with the pre-ceremony photos, shall we?

Here I am getting my make up done. I went with airbrush make up, and if I could afford it, I'd have my makeup professionally done everyday. I'd also wear false eye lashes.

My maid of honor, Natalie, got me a pretty awesome day-of wedding gift-- a photo book of pictures from my bachelorette party in Chicago.

Not to bring down the mood or anything here, but this photo is special to me. As I sat in the makeup chair I got a phone call from my dad. He said something no one expects or wants to hear, especially on their wedding day-- "your grandmother just passed away". After I got the terrible news, Brad came down to the bridal suite to comfort me.

My wedding dress is by... hang on, let me go look at the tag... Impression Bridal. The bridesmaid dresses are from David's Bridal.

My bridesmaids loved their gifts (like they're going to tell me they didn't like them). I got each girl a personalized makeup bag, pearl necklace and earrings to wear for the day, pink pashmina, and green flip flops, with some frilly pink fabric that I hot glued on.

My hair stylist drove down to Bloomington from Indy to do my bridesmaids' and my hair. I'm
fah-reaking out in this photo because we're running an hour behind.

My mom zipping me into my dress. I love the scalloped lace on my dress.

Putting on my earrings. I'll show you a detailed photo of them next week.

OK, so this was slightly awkward for me. My bridesmaids, my mom, and photographers were in the room when I put on my garter, and I was all like, "So what do I do? Just pull it onto my leg all sexy-like?" My photographer was like "Yeah, duh." I was sexy-like for maybe 3 seconds before I started laughing. Awkwardness aside, I must say that I like how my bubbies look in this photo.

Opening one of the wedding gifts Brad gave me. He got me a heart-shaped jewelry box with "Mrs. Chelsea Brad'slastname" on it, and there was a pearl bracelet inside. I got another present when we got back to our suite after the reception-- an engraved ring holder with birds perched on the side.

My mom putting on my pearl bracelets-- the one Brad gave me and her pearl bracelet that I used as my something borrowed.

Brad and his groomsmen drank beer and got ready in their suite while us girls got gussied up in the bridal suite.

I gave Brad a pair of IU cufflinks for his gift. He never questioned why I made him buy a French cuff shirt.

We did a "First Look" for multiple reasons. 1. We didn't want to feel rushed after the ceremony to get all the shots we wanted. 2. Our ceremony was at 5:30 PM, and we would still need to take some family photos during cocktail hour. 3. We wanted to get the nervousness out of the way.

Here is Brad seeing me for the first time. I think he likes what he sees.

We met at the Rose Well House, on IU's campus, where Brad proposed.

Brad's dad drove him to the Rose Well House to wait for me. I rode in the limo with my photographer. After dropping me off, the driver headed back to the hotel to pick up our wedding party. We did this so we could have some time to get photos of just us.

This photo was taken in front of the Chemistry building so it was appropriate that we do a
dip-and-kiss shot.

This is my serious face. I tried to channel my inner Tyra and smile with my eyes.

Brad's youngest brother gave me this parasol. Some chick left it at his house after a party.
Finder's keepers.

Our wedding party! All the guys bought their own suits. I think tux rentals are a rip-off. The guys paid a little bit more and were able to keep their suits. Part of their groomsmen gifts were their Kelly green ties. The guys also got personalized coolers filled with Yuengling beer-- something we don't have in Indiana. Luckily, my good friend brought us 2 cases from Pittsburgh.

Our best man and maid of honor took my suggestion of a "prom pose" very seriously.

My bridesmaids and I had to take a "sorority squat" photo. Three of us were in the same sorority, and Kristin (second to the right) was in the sorority across the street from our beloved Phi Mu.

My maid of honor, Natalie, doing her dutiful job of brushin' my shoulder off. And to thank her, it appears that I'm touching her behind. I framed this photo and gave it to her as part of her Christmas present.

Drinking some ~~Dom~~ Korbel, on the way to the ceremony and reception site.

Come back on Monday to see our ceremony photos. Have a splendid weekend! Let's go Hoosiers!

Did you have your makeup professionally done?

Where were/are your wedding colors?

Did you do a "First Look"?

Adventures in Shopping

2012-03-21T07:07:00.007-04:00

I love shopping on Mondays. It's so much better than Fridays... and the weekend. I barely ever shop on the weekend anymore. I get irritable when surrounded by massive amounts of people. Maybe this has something to do with group hugs making me uncomfortable. Anyway, if you ~~stalk~~ follow me on the twitter or instagram, you may have seen that I was visiting my lover on Monday. His name is Home Goods, and he treats me well.

I went in there with full intentions to use a gift card I had from Christmas, but sadly, I came home empty handed. (Don't worry, lover, I'll never quit you.) I did find some pretty neat stuff though-- like these lamps. I'm digging the geometric pattern on the shades.

I thought this painting would look nice in our boring master bathroom, but there wasn't a price tag on it, and I forgot to ask a sale associate if they could price it for me. I can get extremely distracted while shopping.

Aren't these pillows cute? If only I had something to put them on...

I came across this mirror and it made me nauseous. Something about all those shells just set me off. If this mirror is in your home, and you ask me to visit, you may have to cover it up, or I may vomit in your house.

After being somewhat disappointed, I headed to Old Navy. I needed some new shorts since it's 900 degrees in March. I must say that I'm not very happy about this ridiculous warm weather. I haven't done nearly enough lunges and squats yet. I thought I had time! But I will say that we've enjoyed taking Jack to the park every night after work.

Old Navy has a pretty nice selection of shorts. I got pairs in the following colors: cobalt, ruby pink, black, and navy.

images via Old Navy

Are you lucky enough to have a Home Goods in your neck-of-the-woods? I have two near me. Who wants to take a field trip to Indianapolis and go Home Gooding with me?

What do you think of this weather?

Have you done enough lunges and squats to be shorts-wearing-ready?

Weekend Recap

2012-03-19T07:07:00.020-04:00

Hey, friends! I hope you had a great weekend! How was my weekend? Well, I'm glad you asked because it was fan-freaking-tastic.

On Saturday, Brad and I headed to the Habitat Restore. He got some odds and ends. I got a $1.50 hot glue gun. Then we took a walk along the canal downtown.

After our afternoon stroll, we ventured into the ghetto to buy an amazing dresser from a nice man on house arrest. The dresser was listed on Craigslist for $65, but I asked if he would take $50. He agreed. So I got it for $50, which is pretty good seeing as people in Indianapolis think they have gems and post ugly 1980s bedroom suites for $1,550.

I have big plans for this beauty. Big plans.

The dresser came with some bonuses. My favorite is the naked and footless Bratz doll. I named her Bubbles. (Anyone else creeped out by these dolls? They look like stripperific drag queens, no?)

Sunday was a regular Sunday so I won't bore you with those details.

How was your weekend?
Do people in your area list things on Craigslist for outrageous prices?
Who are you cheering for in the Sweet Sixteen?