Blogger Inspiration: The Bella Life

Do you all read The Bella Life blog? If you don’t you should because they are funny, inspirational, and all around awesome. They did a post about Dollar Tree hurricanes and how Camberly & Keighley fancied them up. Feeling inspired I trucked over to my local Dollar Tree and picked up the last hurricane they had. I’m hoping that they will get some more in stock because really, you need more than one pretty hurricane on your mantle. Also while I was at the DT I picked up some glitter skulls because I felt that my house needed some Halloween sparkle. So here is what I did with my Dollar Tree finds:

Hurricane:

I kept it simple and filled the bottom with some moss (also purchased at the Dollar Tree) and simply placed a few little white pumpkins I picked up at a local grocery store (Harps) for 67 cents a pound! I purchased 7 and only spend $1.50.

Glitter Skulls:

In an attempt to make my mantle more appealing I opted to switch out my candles which one sat upon these candle sticks for skulls. They are super fun and when we leave the light on over our mantle the glitter reflects. Kevin was even a fan of them, which is a good thing because he generally doesn’t dig the glitter.

These are only a couple of the touches that I have added to my house but I think they are fun. I’ll post my DIY Halloween wreath soon.

Saturday Steals: A Coat of Paint

It  is Saturday again, and that means that it is Saturday Steals over at Archives of Our Lives.

This week I got a SMOKING DEAL over at Home Depot. I am currently in the middle of redoing the interior of my house. Sounds kinda crazy and intense... and well it is, but its really more furniture and paint changes. We aren't tearing anything out, yet. Someday I would love to tear out my carpet, however it's just not in our budget at the moment. Anyways, I went to Home Depot to pickup some paint so I could get my kitchen island painted. Remember when I was trying to pick out paint colors? Well after getting advised by my super fantastic friend I went with Library Mahogany by Ralph Lauren. So we went to Home Depot with the intent of only buying a quart because paint can be pretty pricey, especially name brand. Well... are you ready for the steal.... Ralph Lauren paint is on CLEARANCE right now. The paint guy said that Martha Stewart's paint line was pushing out Ralph's. I did have to compromise finish in order to get a great deal though. The only finishes that they had at our Home Depot were flat and eggshell. I obviously went with the eggshell finish. I only have gotten 2/3rds of my island painted thus far but am already loving the effect it has. Below is a sneak peak of the project.

So, if you are needing paint and want a super amazing deal head over to Home Depot and buy you some Ralph Lauren paint for super cheap! I got 2 quarts of the paint for $7, it retails $14 for one quart. 75% off!! Seriously, go buy some paint and make over a room in your house or some furniture. 

Project Apron: Complete

Today was a fun filled day of sleeping in, swimming, and sewing. We woke up late (always a plus) and then headed over to Grandma's for a swim in the pool. The boys love it and are obsessed with water which always makes for a fun time.

Once we came home and put them down for a nap I decided I was going to conquer my apron project that has been sitting around forever... seriously since March. I did have someone teaching me how to sew, but she is busy and so I figured I could do it. I followed a pattern and am pleasantly pleased with my final outcome. Of course, it is not perfect. My seams are not straight and i'm sure it is not exactly as the pattern calls for, but I am proud of it!

{in case you are wondering: no i am not preggers, just slouchy and a little pudgy in the midsection}

Coolest Bed(s) EVER!

I was over on Design*Sponge today and looking at their Before & After's and stumbled upon the coolest idea for my boys toddler beds ever!!!

Seriously, how cool is that? The great thing is that it's made from pallets. So it's super inexpensive to make because you can find pallets at hardware stores or like us, they are just delivered to our work. I love the rustic look put think it would even be cute painted. I cannot wait till our kiddos are big enough to sleep in toddler beds. Here is the link to learn how to make your own kid a super awesome bed for virtually no cost! Lori Danelle

{Day Eight}

This is my house, with my beautiful shutters that my husband built and I helped paint. They seriously were the talk of our neighborhood when we put them up. They are awesome and Kev did such a good job of building them. As noted previously, I love our little flower beds. Now that we have these shutters our house looks even more amazing. I am so thankful that I have such a handy husband! We have other projects we have been working on and once they are completed I will share with you all the excitement and joy I get from doing home projects.

PS. Monday is the day that Kevin got home from Denver. The babies were so excited t o see him and I was so excited that we were all reunited again. Families are such an amazing blessing!

Project Completed??

KINDA....

I kinda have been feeling how Cooper looks. But how can you not laugh at how adorable this is? Aiden was so content and Cooper just couldn't get his point across any better than this face.

To help me get out of my crazy feelings I have been having I decided to make me my curtains. I only made one tonight. It is for our guest bathroom. I was super excited when I had it finished and shoved the rod through the almost too small opening I sewed in it when I realized that I had forgotten a major part.

You see, I got the inspiration for my curtains from the ones I bought that are hanging in my kitchen/dining area. I think they are super cute and they tie up nicely with some fabric that is attached to them. So I simply bought some fabric to match both bathrooms and coordinating ribbon as my accent color.

Well I had finished and hung my little curtain up with pride in the bathroom and then suddenly realized my mistake. I simply blurted out "I AM SO SMART!" Kevin quickly responded with "How smart are you?" Me: "I am so smart I forgot that ribbon was supposed to hang from the back to TIE!" Kevin: "It's okay. You can just sew it on to the back. No one will know." So I did just that, and it turned out pretty good. My seams aren't straight and they are not perfect but Kev and I are impressed with how good they turned out.

However, I do have one slight dilemma. I made the curtains so there would be some privacy in the bathroom. So, do I just hang it high

or low on my windows? I just don't know what to do. So please, offer your suggestions.

Also, I know I have not posted on my little tykes. Do not fear. Here are some pictures of them sleeping. They sleep a lot right now so... it only means they will get bigger. YIKES! They are almost half the size of me (length wise).

Two little sleepy guys.

Cooper's face planted into his blanket

Aiden enjoying his hand. For some reason they taste better than anything else right now.

***UPDATE****

I hung the curtain high in the bathroom because you can untie the ribbons and have some privacy.

The Nursery

Kevin and I have decided that we wanted to do a Safari themed nursery from the very beginning and we have finally started the project! Last night Linda (Kevin's mom) came over and helped us shade the animals, because we aren't very good at it, and boy does it look AMAZING! Here's some pictures of us painting.


Linda and her Monkey Masterpiece


Kevin's favorite the Lion


My favorites the Giraffes


Linda working on the birds


Me working on the Turtle

Once we are finished I know its going to look insanely amazing and I cannot wait. We stayed up till 11pm last night painting because it was just so much fun!