I’ve been wanting to put some family photos up for a while now, but I wanted to do something a little different. I’ve done the whole gallery wall thing, and the GIANT statement piece thing, and I wanted something new. Theres a little wall space above our record player and my original thought was to get some square frames and do a little 9 photo sort of dealio. Then, on one of my many trips to Target with the Penster, I stumbled upon these super cute binder clips. I wanted them and needed a reason to have them, this sorta got my brain going. So I bought them, because…Target. I’m a little bit of a craft binger. When I have an idea, it needs to be done now. Preferably with no extra trips to the store and no well planned out methods. Which makes me a bit of a corner cutter. Some times it works, some times it doesnt, but in this case it turned out pretty well. I had one left over 1x from our pallet deck project. So I harrassed brett to cut it down into 3 even pieces because I’m annoying and I don’t quite trust myself yet with unsupervised power tool usage yet (soon.). I like the natural wood, but it doesnt really go with anything in our house. Plus I’m trying to suddely switch to everything black, white, and metalic (because pinterest told me to). I had no sort of stain, so I just grabbed some black acrylic paint and water. I watered the paint down pretty well, and then just layered it on until I was happy with it. This was way better than just painting it completely black, because i got to keep the woodgrain in there as well. It sorta got me thinking what else in my house I could “stain” but thats a whole different set of posts… After letting the paint dry for a while. I got out 9 binder clips and hot glued them to the boards. I just eye balled it and put them where I thought they looked good. In hind sight, I wish I would have set them further apart, I didnt take in account the spacing for 8×8 photos. In order to get these guys up on the wall I took a tiny drill bit and put holes on either side of the wood and then nailed right through it. These are definitely light weight enough for that to work. If you use sturdier wood you may have to us an anchor and screws, but for this type of project my impatient unplanned ways worked just fine. Then I found 9 of my favorite photos and had them printed in 8×8 from Walgreens. Usually I would have just gone through postal pix or any other app from my phone, but the problem with that is some of my photos are super edited and because of “low quality” they wont print them for you. Which is great that these companies want you to have great quality photos, but honestly, I do not give a rip if my photos are slightly grainy. You do you, I’ll do me. In the end, I’m so happy with how it turned out. I love that we can trade photos in and out of it as well. Anything that can be changed up every now and then is a-okay with me. This project cost me about $30 and that was mainly the cost of the photos. I had everything else on hand. If I include the cost of what I had laying around it would be about $35, so it’s super affordable and super quick to make. I have some other home projects lined up that I’m SUPER excited about! I can’t wait to share! What are some of your favorite ways to display family photos?

Is it Friday yet? Here’s something free!

July 15, 2015

free PRINTable

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You guys!

Is it just me or did it feel like it should’ve been friday, 2 days ago! This week is just taking its sweet time. I blame it partly on a couple of exciting things coming up in the next couple months. Like ladies nights, and get aways, and visits from friends! But alas, those seem far far away and here we are…stuck in the every day muck! YUCK!

In honor of me feeling sorta bleh, I thought I’d treat ya’ll to a free little printable. If you’d like. I spent some time messing around and doodling during Penny’s nap today. Some of the favorite things in our house are the items that are personal to our family. “I love your stinky face”, may seem like a weird thing to say…and well..i’m weird. This expression comes out of my mouth quite often…wether its Brett or Penny that it’s directed to…it’s definitely my way of showing great love to them. And no…their faces are not stinky.

This will most likely be up on our mantel (when we get a sweet new faux fireplace from my mom!). But, for now…whoever wants it can take it.

You can download the printable…HERE!

Happy Wednesday friends…Even though the week is ONLY half over, that means we ONLY have half more till the weekend.

See how I tried to make it sound better than it is. It was worth a shot!

P.S. It should be noted that I have NEVER done this before. This should print out on regular 81/2×11 paper. If you have any sort of issues with it let me know and I’ll try and fix it. Thanks for your patience as I figure these little things out for the first time : )

Faux Cacti Gift

July 14, 2015

Crafty, DIY

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On mothers day this year I wanted to make some little gifts for a set of moms that have become very special to me in our new hometown. I have seen a bunch of little rock succulents around pinterest and have been dying to try it.

All you need:

Rocks
Acrylic Paints
Small Clay Pots
Yarn
Hot Glue/Gun

What ya do:

Paint your rocks and assortment of greens.
When they dry take some white paint and make little marks for the pricklies
place rocks 3 – 4 rocks in the pot
make a yarn pom and hot glue onto one little cactus

Thats it. I stuffed a little bit of fluff in the bottom, but it would be even cuter with some gravel holding them in. This is a super simple little gift and its totally affordable too! They would be really cute as center pieces for a party and you could really use any container to add a fun little spin on it. Now go make your friend a succulent that wont die! Those are my favorite kind!

Tilly and a Big Girl Bed.

July 12, 2015

baby, life

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I feel like I’ve recovered enough from this experience to tell the tale.

About 2 months ago Brett and I decided it was time. Time to remove Tilly from our daughter cold turkey. Tilly is her beloved pacifier that shes had since birth. Its not just a pacifier. It is THEE pacifier. There is literally no other one in her life…she refused all of them…except…Tilly. What an unusual name for a paci, you say. Well, it started as a Wub-a-nub with a catapillar on the end. Brett and I called it a capatiller, and then it just became Tilly. Enough about the history of Tilly, lets get to where I failed as a parent shall we.

This pacifier was not only a friend to Penny, but to us as well. We had the kind of bed time routine parents longed for. We’d grab our baby girl, stick Tilly in her mouth, drop her in her crib, say “i love you.”, and walk out the door. Within minutes she was out, and sleeping most nights from 630pm – 7am. We were living the dream.

Then…it all changed.

“Cold turkey is the best way!” they said. “It will only take 3 days” said another. “We took Johnnys away and he didnt even notice!”.

Those parents definitely did not have children like Penny. Eff those parents.

It was hell. For an entire month. And it did not show signs of slowing down. If anything, it got worse. We thought a big girl bed may help, but really it just made her screams louder, due to the fact she could scream right at her door. Accompanied by fists of fury and yells of “Mommy! Daddy! Tilly! NOOOOOOOO!” I actually went to our neighbors house one day, because the screams were so intense, and I wanted to make sure they knew my daughter was safe and being checked on regularly. I was really concerned that people would start to wonder what was going on over here.

One night at 2am I looked at my daughter who had tears streaming down her face and asked “Penny, do you want to be a big girl?” and she replied through sobs, “…no”. My heart broke. So back to the crib we went and a week later the Tilly was returned. We gave it to her and she slept an entire night. After caving in, I walked into our room and laid on our bed and began to cry. I felt like a failure. I felt like a terrible mother who had just committed the ultimate sin. Letting your child win. Against all of the advice of “Keep going! Dont give up, it will get better!”, I caved.

To add insult to injury, after returning Tilly the sleepless nights continued. She didn’t go back to her usual self. I felt like we broke her and things would never be the same again. That is until I learned about the dreaded “2 year sleep regression”. It exists. There are many forums on the interwebs discussing how much of a pain in the ass it is. I’m pretty sure we timed the pacifier removal during a growth spurt/teething/sleep regression trifecta. Way to go Lemsters. Dont worry, this story ends well.

I’m happy to report that, FINALLY, this last week Penny is back to 12 hour night sleeps and 2 hour naps. We’ve gotten back on track and have a new bed time routine, filled with bath time fun and books (like all you normal people do). She still has Tilly for night night time and gladly hands it over the second she is awake. I’m sure we’ll attempt a removal again sometime, but maybe not too soon. Honestly, I think that Penny is fine. Brett and I, however, are slightly traumatized.

So why did I feel compelled to share this with people? If anything I just hope that this is proof that not every kid is the same. It’s so easy to get into the comparison game, and feel like if it doesn’t look like what “so and so” did, then you arent doing it right. If your kid is taking a month to get rid of their paci and its that supposedly should take “3 days”, it’s okay. You most definitely are not alone. And if you caved and gave in so that you could get that sweet illusive beauty, sleep, that’s okay too. Sometimes it’s just not the right time, and you can try again later. Take a break, regroup, and get back to it. We’re all learning. We’re all figuring this mess out. And no one has the same story. How boring would that be?

By the way, I have every intention of tallying up the nights of restless sleep and returning the favor when Pennys a teenager wants to sleep in on the weekend. Just you wait little one. Revenge will be mine!

Saturday! In the park…

July 12, 2015

life

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You’d think it was the 4th of July! (all my Chicago fans say…”Amen!”

I wanna talk a little bit about the 4th of July. One, because I can’t believe it was already a week ago, and two because…well…it’s my favorite!

In my short time of being a mother, I have quickly realized that “life events” very rarely ever meet my high expectations. For example, I definitely thought Pennys first trip to the Pumpkin patch would be the best day of her life. She was a month old. She had about as much skill as a pumpkin at that point…so I was a little bummed when she cried through half of the experience. Ugh…babies. So inconsiderate.

Anywho…this 4th I was AMPED. For a while a specific group of friends, including Brett and I, did the same thing every year. Cheesy parade in the morning and a firework show at night in our hometown, on the football field of our high school. After a few years off, we finally got the gang together again, only this time, we all have children! I couldn’t help myself building the day up since about May 1st. “Penny’s gonna love it! She’s gonna have so much fun! We’ll remember this day FOREVER!” I had no worries about chasing her all through the crowd or keeping her out of the street during the parade, I was all stoke.

We had a 3 day weekend so we were in town by Friday afternoon. We swam, we ate, we got some good quality fam time. Then…it happened. Brett and I are knee deep in the worst sleep regression of all time with Penny. She woke up at 10pm, and did not get back to sleep until 3:30 AM!!! We were a mess.

We woke up the next day…and I was a little bit derailed in excitement. “Aw, man. She’s gonna be a mess. What were we thinking. This is gonna be the longest day in history.”

And you know what? It was a looooooong day, but it was filled with so…much…FUN! Penny loved the parade, and she danced for literally 4 hours straight at the fire work show. We had the best time, so many laughs, and there are some memories that we made that I will remember forever.

Penny watched about a minute of the firework show before she got a little nervous. She didn’t cry, but she spent about 25 minutes burried in my neck saying…”Fireworks! Loud! OOOOooooO Pretty! Loud!”. And I will never ever forget that. Best 4th in my life for sure and Penny may not remember it, but it was the first time in her life that I expected the best and got it. For that I’m thankful.

We had all of these firsts when she was just born, but I feel like they didnt really count. Seeing her face light up as she grows and becomes more and more aware of whats around her is intoxicating. It makes me so excited for whats coming next. Which I believe is Halloween…and I have a sneaking suspicion shes gonna have a bast! At least…I hope so.

DIY Pallet Deck.

May 15, 2015

DIY

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We have a pretty decent yard at our place. To us it feels like its the biggest yard in the world, because we’re so used to apartment living and our tiny patios that come with it. Part of the yard is a huge side yard space that was pretty much FULL of weeds. And most likely…bugs. Gross. Lucky for us, my father in law works in a place that has an endless supply of free pallets, so that got me thinking. Pallet deck! It was the perfect solution for us because we rent, and we do NOT wanna drop a bunch of money into a yard that we most likely will not be hanging out in in a couple years. I figured we could use the same technique with the coffee table we built a while back.

In my mind this was going to take, like, a Saturday. I, of course, was a little over zealous. It took us all Saturday and Sunday, several trips to lowes, and it’s not perfect…but we love it anyway.

Our original plan was to line all of the pallets up and then string them together with scrap wood. Unfortunately, not all pallets are the same, and not every single one lined up perfectly, but we made it work. I don’t think we could put a billion people on it and have a dance party, but I’ve sat out in the sun with an iced coffee and it worked just fine.

At the end of the day, we spent about $70. Thats including the cost of screws, wood, and sealer to help with weathering. I wish I had more step by step instructions, but I’m more of a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal. We lined up the pallets so they fit well together and then just filled in the cracks with the new wood. Boom! You got yourself a deck.

As a bonus project I spray painted an old beat up patio set, and it gave it a little extra life. A weekend well spent indeed. Now lets have a BBQ!

body image…blarg.

March 21, 2015

fitness journey

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What a feisty little biz it is. I had issues with my body before Penny, and like I had already anticipated, they worsened through pregnancy and are at an ultimate high as a mother. I am still, STILL, 10-15 pounds over my pre pregnancy weight, and still 20 pounds over my goal. It’s frustrating. I’m still planning to work really hard and get there, but I get derailed a lot. That’s okay. That’s life. I’ll keep going.

What I’m really getting at here is though I feel “huge”, I am not as “ginormous” as I believe that I am. Post pregnancy has brought on this absurd fear that I weigh 1,000 pounds and look disgusting all the live long day. I don’t weigh 1,000 pounds. I weigh 150…which may feel like death to me, but I’m not obese. The way I see myself has caused me to fear shopping and when I do I see something I like, I pick it up in a Large or Extra Large. Or like the biggest sack dress I can find. I try these things on, immediately hate myself for it, and then go home with my head hanging low. You guys. I am not a size Large (also, there is nothing wrong with these sizes, I’m just painting you a picture of my personal struggle, right now). I’m probably about a size or maybe a little more away from what I was before. That’s not a big difference! A size up is not that bad.

Yesterday, I made a Target run with my husband. We needed super glue, so naturally I spent about an hour in the clothing section. I decided a different approach this time. I picked up the things I liked in Mediums, it seemed like a nice neutral place to start. I tried them on, and you know what…they were too big! And instead of thinking that I was a frump, I went back and grabbed a size smaller, tried it on and something magical happened. I felt good. I walked out of the dressing room excited and threw 3 new items in the cart with a smile on my face. The hubs was encouraged by this I’m sure. He never knows what he will have to work with when I come out of that mirrored room returning an arm full of items to the nice lady who hangs that mess back up.

I guess the point of this post, is that our minds are some serious jerks sometimes. Body changes are hard, and body image is a tough one to battle, but dont be afraid. Try on something that fits and work that shiz! Am I where I want to be? No. But I am closer to my goals than I think, and wearing a sac everyday will not help myself see that. Also keep in mind where your shopping. I may have been able to rock a Target small, but a Forever21 small is a different story…when I can fit back into that crap I’ll know I’ve reached my goal. For now… I will enjoy the little victories and eat my salad for lunch and see what happens! For now I’ll keep trying to make healthier choices because it’s good for me, not because I want to be “skinny” again.

For now I wont hide behind the fear that I look different than I used to and I’ll have confidence in the things that fit me. On to the next one!

I built something!…well, I helped.

March 12, 2015

DIY

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I have been planning on building a coffee table since before we moved. I even gave the coffee table we had away, to motivate myself. We are very much a family that eats in the living room. We watch A LOT of movies, and we usually eat dinner on the coffee table. So, with my hasty furniture give away, and my mega procrastination, we’ve been eating (GASP!) at the dinner table.

Until today! One of the people I’ve grown quite attached to up here, is Brett’s cousin April. She really has become a pretty great friend to me and BONUS she has power tools and sweet sweet ideas.

Thus, our coffee table was created! And I’m sort of obsessed.

We cut down a pallet and cut scrap wood down to fill the gaps, which was much easier than breaking the entire pallet down. We did a dark stain all over, but when I got it home I felt like it was missing something. So, I took a chance and slopped some gold paint on the smaller planks. I’m so happy and I feel like it really completes our living room! Furniture is so hard to commit to, for me, and I love this more than anything I was thinking about buying. PLUS! It was 100% free! Thanks April!

I’m taking a chance and really trusting my toddler with a mug of flowers. So far she’s doing super well and touching with one finger, but the eagerness in her face tells me I may come into a room full of shredded petals. Only time will tell!

I threw a pity party today…and no one was invited.

February 24, 2015

life

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Just me.

Me and my self loathing.

Today was hard. It was pretty rainy so we were stuck inside all day. Plus Penny has a little cold, and well…I was lame. I woke up knowing it was going to be a tough one. I didn’t feel like doing any of it. ANY of it.

I half assed my work out. I ate all the carb items in my house, even though I’ve been killing the low carb game. I laid on the floor trying to get penny to “snuggle snuggle” while we watched Tinkerbell. I tried to coax her into playing in her room alone, but that didn’t work. I tried to do the dishes, but a GIANT spider climbed out of the drain, so that was over. Penny was whiney…I was useless. It was a very bad day.

I wrote this little note on our chalk board the other day when I was super pumped on life and fitness and all the things! And there it was…mocking me. All day. YOU keep going 2 day ago Katie…I’m going to see how many things I can do while laying down.

Brett came home for lunch and that gave me excitement for about 2 whole seconds, before remembering that I was exhausted and a bummer, so I finished that hour sitting on the floor zoning out and thinking about how dumb this day was and how many hours I had till bed time.

There isn’t really a huge point to this post, other than to say, today wasnt so good. That’s okay. To quote one of our favorite movies…”They arent all diamonds”. Today was hard. I love my family, Penny is amazing, my husband is hot like fire. I was lame today. I want so badly for everything to be perfect. To always have a clean home, yummy dinners, a fit bod, and a sun shiney toddler. That is not reality 24/7, but I can try. And if every now and then I have a day where I’m sort of the worst…well…we’ll get through it and I won’t be proud of it. Then we move on.

We’ll try to be better tomorrow.

I better eat this ice cream before we do that.

Good night.

stretching…

February 20, 2015

life

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This week has been AMAZING! But, oh lordy, am I tired.

I may have shared this in the past, but I am PAINFULLY introverted. There is a reason I have known all of my friends for about 15 years or so…because making new ones makes me want to curl in the fetal and cry. Basically…”I DONT WANNA!”.

Before we moved, people kept encouraging me, and saying things like “Don’t worry, you’ll make new friends”. To which I replied…”I already have friends.”.

I am proud to report that I have hung out with a different lady every day this week! I hung out with my mom friends I met at the park (the ones I hit on last week). They are awesome! I went to a play group with my ever so lovely cousin April, who has proved to be an amazing support to me thus far in the move. She’s incredible. I went to a ladies bible study (with free child care…woot!). And today I even texted one of my new friends (on my own!) and we spent some time at the park.

It’s so incredibly hard to do these things, and I feel like I am being stretched as a person in a way I have never thought possible. To be honest, I feel like I owe it to Penny. She is getting so big and she is learning SO much. Cooping her up inside to watch Daniel Tiger all day sounds fun to me, but I know she gets antsy. She’s so much happier when I let her run her face off and I honestly am a better mama when I’ve gone outside and talked to other humans my age.

PLUS! She is napping like a champ now. We have successfully moved her to 1 nap…and its usually about 2-3 hours long. Praise Him!

This little picture I posted of Pen and Brett was from the other night. Brett and I are trying to go on a long walk when he gets home from work every night. It gets me and Pen outside again, and it allows Brett and I to just talk about the day and have us time. It’s so easy to just zone out on TV and our phones, so it’s a good way to get all our talks in before the FRIENDS marathon and bed time ensues.

Before we hit the trail we let the little one walk on her own, because she loves it. There are all of these beautiful Jasmine trees here with white blossoms. A cool breeze hit and the flowers fell to the ground like snow and Penny ran through them as the sun set. It was one of those moments where you actually see everything and you soak it all in. And in that moment, everything is perfect. I’m thankful for those moments and I hope I continue to take the time to watch them happen.

As for this weekend we have some fun stuff with the fam planned and I’m counting down the hours until Brett gets home (always.). Happy Friday my friends! I hope yours is an epic one!

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DIY: Photo Display

Is it Friday yet? Here’s something free!

Faux Cacti Gift

Tilly and a Big Girl Bed.

Saturday! In the park…

DIY Pallet Deck.

body image…blarg.

I built something!…well, I helped.

I threw a pity party today…and no one was invited.

stretching…