Goals

It’s very important to set goals. It keeps me focused. Right now our main goal has been to get the house presentable for Thanksmas (Thanksgiving & Christmas get together with my hubby’s side of the family). This will be our first year to host it and nervous doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings. I know it will all be perfect because we will be spending time with family. This is also the first time that this side of the family will see our house. While we have improved it vastly since we bought it last summer. There are still quite a few things on our “to-do list”.

So far, I think we’ve been flying through the list of projects. Just this weekend, my awesome hubby painted the bathroom and touched up a few spots throughout the house. Last weekend we painted the dining room. {pictures of both coming soon}

But this post isn’t just about those goals. I have about a million goals to accomplish before the year ends. I made a list at the beginning of the year and so far I’m falling short on my accomplishments. By posting my goals on here for all-of-the-world-to-see, I hope for this will be the motivation I need to make it through my list.

.The List.

• Find a Church & Attend as often as possible
• Nightly Chapter & Prayer together as a family
• Cook at home more, eat out less {doing this}
• Try 2-3 New Recipes a month
• Save More, Spend Less {trying really hard on this one}
• Read 10 books this year { 8 more to go}
• Read a story to baby boy every night
• Be more physically active {doing this}
• Date night at least every other week
• Send more cards
• Make more homemade gifts for holidays and birthdays.
• Print more pictures, keep photo albums
• Lose weight
• Goals:
• Hubby: lose 15-25 lbs {13-18 more lbs to go}

• Me: lose 15-25 lbs {8-18 more lbs to go}
• Be comfortable and happy with our bodies
• Take Vitamins
• Eat healthier {doing much better}
• Limit 1-2 pops per week {really good here}
• Drink more water, juice, and milk {definitely doing more of that}
• Laugh more; Be positive
• Be closer to God, Family, and Friends
• Travel more
• Establish good routines
• Help more/Volunteer
• Be more active in community and school functions

Tonight we are joining a Bible Study group of young married couples. Starting tomorrow morning I am doing the couch to 5k plan. Wish me luck.

What are your goals?  Have you accomplished them? Any advice for me? 

Rubber Ducky Birthday Bash

This weekend we celebrated our son’s 1^st birthday! His birthday is actually on Wednesday but the weekend worked better for celebrating with the families. It was a blast. Who knew a 1 year old party could be so much fun! Since I'm a first time mommy, this was my first birthday party to plan and host. It was quite the experience. I loved every minute of it! 

Picture time!! 

There’s the birthday boy! I made his shirt and paci clip. I think he liked the balloons more than anything else.

Awe family shot.

Daddy duck had to have this duck whistle he found at the dollar store. Little duckling just couldn’t resist playing with it. He actually blew into it; he even surprised himself with that one.

We had the welcome signs posted on the front and back doors. Duck labels used as napkin rings. Pom poms for centerpieces with little ducks inside.

Duck feed pails for the little ducklings to put their snacks in. Snacks consisted of Quackers, Cheesy Duck Puffs, Ducky O’s, Cheese Quackers, and Duck Legs. For drinks we had Pond Water, Bubble Bath Punch, and Duck Juice. I absolutely love the way his cupcake cake turned out. It was simple but very awesome.

I found a great duck balloon on ebay. Target had the awesome duck storage bins that held our goodie bags. (The goodie bags contained a bar of soap & two test tubes full of bubble bath all wrapped up in two washcloths.) I designed all the printed pieces at the party including his Happy Birthday Banner.

I made him a “Year in Review” poster. It lists his birth date, weight, length, sign, birthstone, growth, milestones, famous people born on his bday, this day in history facts, prices of gas, rent, milk, bread and movie tickets, popular songs and movies in 2010, important news in 2010, and a list of his favorite things. Above the guest book and year in review we hung a photo line with a photo from each month from birth to 11 months.

These are the outdoor decorations. My younger brother drew duck feet walking up the sidewalk. He also drew this adorable duck on the front porch.

We played Pin the beak on the duck and duck waddle race. Funny how much the “big kids/adults” got involved in both games.

He was so sleepy by this point but he was quite the trooper once he got into the cake.

It was an amazing party. I honestly don’t think it could’ve been any better. Thanks so much to all those who came and to those who helped! We greatly appreciate each of you! Everything went smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time. The birthday boy definitely enjoyed it all and that’s what makes all the hard work worth it. : ) Happy birthday little man!

Update: Dining Room Table

 Last weekend was a really busy and wonderful weekend for us. My husband's parents came down for a visit. We had a wonderful time with them. After their visit, we decided to get started on the table. We built it in one day. I can’t believe it went together so fast. Granted, we did miscalculate on the frame and had to redo that part but other than that it was a breeze. Basically, the hubs built it and I made it pretty. Instead of boring you with a lot of text, I’m just going to let the pics do the talking (for the most part). Enjoy! 

The correct frame...I have all these pictures of each step we did to build this but it was for the miscalculated frame and I'd rather not show that one ;)

It's a pretty good size table 6ft by 4 ft. (ignore the mess surrounding the table)

I had to rough it up a bit and give it some character. 

Staining...see the difference. 

Just look at all that detail. *swoon*

I even got the legs to be just how I wanted them...not how I planned on doing it. I had researched this technique to "antique" the legs...I was all set to do it, then I dropped my staining rag and it hit one of the legs. As I pulled it off I realized it had left a little of the stain on the leg. It looked awesome (in my opinion) so I took the rag and rubbed it along the frame. Presto! I got exactly the look I was going for and it took literally 60 seconds to do. 

Pretty hands, huh? Advice: When staining you will get the stain on your hands (hopefully not as much as me, try not to be jealous) it happens. It does not come off with soap and water though. Ryan googled it for me and found that veggie oil helps. Worked like a charm. So when staining if you get some on you, just wash off with veggie oil.

GLOSS! We wanted this baby to shine! 

The finished product...kind of. We're still glossing it. We've got about 2 more coats to go. Isn't it lovely? Now we just need to get to work on the chairs and do something about that horrible Texas Orange on the walls...ick. (BOOMER SOONER)

{BONUS} 

I worked on a side project during the table construction this weekend: The Growth Chart! I've been wanting to make one of these for months now. I made myself a goal that it had to be completed for my son's first birthday so that I could measure him then. I saw it originally on TipJunkie and it immediately when on my project list. 

We bought a 1in thick 6 ft x 8 in board from lowes for $6 and a can of stain for $6. My husband helped me measure and mark the board. After we had the marks made I printed the outline of the numbers. I then began tracing the numbers onto the board. I laid a newspaper under my numbers and traced along the outline with a ballpoint pen and using a lot of pressure. The ink from the newspaper transfered perfectly. I used a black permanent marker to fill in the numbers and marks.

Then sanded the edges a little to removed the sharpness and stained it.

It was a very fast project and really easy! I absolutely love it and can't wait to get little man's measurements on it next Wednesday.

Party Planning

Our little boy is about to celebrate his very first birthday. To keep it short and sweet and not provoke any tears: it’s been a very fast and wonderful year.

Let’s get this out in the open: I love planning and DIY projects. I can’t explain why but I just do. So you can imagine how excited I am to plan and make things for my son’s first birthday party.

I will not specify exactly when I began planning but let’s just say that it was “early”. I tackled the theme first: Ducks, Monkeys, or Cars. I went with ducks because honestly when else would he let me throw him a rubber duck party?!?! I couldn’t get over how adorable this theme could be so I ran with it.

After searching the net for ideas and inspiration, I’d come up with a plan. (TipJunkie and Pinterest were my main resources in this search. These are two of my favorite sites, they even rank higher than Facebook.)

Theme: Rubber Ducks

Colors: Blue & Yellow

Games: Pin the beak on the duck & Duck waddle (racing with balloons between your knees)

Goodie Bags: Bath time supplies- bubble bath, soap, & wash cloths.

Cake: Cupcakes in the shape of a 1.

Drinks: Water, kool-aid, and Bubble Bath Punch

Food: Snacks that little duckling could have – Pretzel sticks, cheese puffs, cereal, crackers.

Cute Ideas that I love:

Making him a birthday t-shirt & hat

Tiny Pails for snacks

Pom poms for centerpieces

Year in review poster

Photo line – a photo of him from each month of his first year

Personal DIY Banner

Welcome to Bryson’s Pond & Duck Crossing signs

The party is a little over a week away. All the projects are well underway and most are completed. I’ll make more posts of the progress of the projects and then a final post of the PARTY! :) 

Update: Dining Table & Chairs

We have found chairs!! Lovely, beautiful Windsor style chairs. I’ve been looking for some online, at antique stores, and yard sales. The cheapest I found was four for $120 from online or four for $200 at an antique store in my hometown. It was starting to look like online would be my best bet.

One Saturday, a friend and I went to this cute consignment/antique store in our town. This shop had it all…even had chairs…just not the style I really had in mind. The shop keeper is one of the sweetest people I have ever met, my friend wants to adopt her. The keeper informed us that there was more furniture in the back but there wasn’t any air conditioning. Being the troopers we are, we went out in the hot back area. Low and behold there they were. FIVE Windsor chairs. I almost squealed with excitement. I quickly checked the price tag…$65 for all five. JACKPOT! I wasn’t driving the truck that day so I had to wait till the next day to go back with my husband and pick them up. The lovely shop keeper generously knocked $5 off the total. So I ended up with 5 windsor chairs for $60 ($12 each). Not too shabby.

** It needs to be mentioned that while in the hot back area of the shop, my friend and I stumbled across the most beautiful china cabinet I have ever seen. It was definitely a colonial style piece and had the age marks to prove it. For a reasonable $225 it could’ve been ours…however it was too tall for my house. My ceilings are 8 foot ….this was right at 8 ft if not over. Oh well it was lovely eye candy while we were trekking back and forth with the chairs.

Here are the chairs, aren’t the lovely? Just plain and simple. : )

These are the colors we’re considering to paint the chairs. They won’t be bright and shiny, we want rough and aged…so imagine these colors dry brushed on the chairs. Pretty, huh?

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!! 

Home Sweet Home Projects: Dining Table & Chairs

Recently, the hubs and I were discussing the fact that we need a new dining table. We will be hosting our first “Thanksmas” at our house this year and our table just doesn’t provide adequate space for such an occasion. I’ve looked at some in stores and online. The criteria: long but not super wide, dark stain, white legs, possibility for a bench, color, cute chairs. I just couldn’t find one table with the perfect chairs I love. 

Then it hit me; I’m never going to find exactly what I want. So, my mind goes to my good ol’ standby “If you can’t find it, make it”. I ran the thought past the hubs and he told me to show him what I want….but what did I want.

I had a list of criteria but already had trouble fulfilling it. What was I missing? Why couldn’t it just come altogether in neat package?! AHA! That’s the problem. It’s not going to come altogether.  To get the vision I had in my mind, we were going to have to mix things up a bit. 

1. First things First – {The Table}

We’re going to make our table long enough to seat three chairs on each side and one at each end. But since we don’t need that many seats on a daily basis we are only getting 4 chairs and making a bench. The table will be pushed against the wall with the bench underneath for daily uses, when we need the space we’ll simply pull out the table and grab a couple of spare chairs.

I found these two beauties online. I love the simple lines and the two tone color scheme. I’m gonna rough the boards up a bit before we stain it. I want the top to look a little used and worn. The legs are going to be white but I will dry brush a little of the stain over them to give it a little character. The bench will be made just like the table, just on a smaller-more-bench-like scale.

2. {The runner}

While searching for tables I ran across the perfect runner; a burlap table runner. I love the use of the green fabric in the center of the runner. I decided to go with a brown satin material for my center. I’m excited to see how it turns out.

3. {The Chairs}

I really love the idea of colorful chairs. The hubs isn’t big on the idea but he’s willing to be flexible. This is where I get to let my personal style show. I want square seated chair so I can easily add and upholster a cushion to the chair. I like really tall backs on chairs, the more ornate in design the better. We’re still searching for chairs but the above images are my inspirations. The colors will be based on the fabric below, which I plan to use for the cushion.

4. {The Plates}

I think everyone should have few random plates in their lives. I like the idea of having plates the same colors as the chairs and set up some colorful place settings for the table. We don’t necessarily have to eat off of them, they can just be fore decoration. I’m still searching for the perfect plates…I may end up just painting some myself. For now, I’m using the image above as my plate inspiration.

I’ll try to post throughout this project as we finished different steps.  I would like to go ahead and thank my husband for all the hard work he is going to put into this with me. Also, for always going along with my crazy plans even if they are a little outside of his comfort zone. This is going to be a lot of fun and I cannot wait to see it all come together making my vision a reality. 

Another Wedding Onesie

Since I liked Mr. B's first onesie tie, I decided to branch out a little more and add a vest for his outfit to wear at my cousin's wedding. I found this great vest tutorial on {B} is for Boy. I just followed the first tutorial I posted for the tie then the tutorial for the vest. It was super easy and by far my fave onesie I've made. I received several complements and people were surprised that I made it myself...guess I need to let my crafty-side out more.  Here are some pics of the onesie and a few from the wedding.

 Family outfits for the wedding

 

Me and my beautiful cousins, Casey & Elizabeth.

Me and my handsome boy.

 

Family

Onesie Ties

I had seen these adorable onesies with ties on them all over blogs and on etsy.com, so I decided to take a stab at it.

The first time I tried this was for my best friend's wedding. I wanted my baby boy to wear something super cute but also something that matched the colors of her wedding. So I found some material that seemed to match and got to sewing. It took me two attempts to get it right...the first one was awful but the second was very cute.

The second time I did it was for St. Patrick's Day. I have been buying onesies for each holiday but when it came time for good ol' St. Patty's Day, I couldn't find one in his size. So I decide to make him a St. Patty's day tie for a plain onesie he already had. I think it turned out absolutely adorable.

These are very simple to make. Just download the tie pattern, get yourself some Wonder Under or any other appliqueing material, and start cutting and sewing.

Wedding Flowers

To help save some major $$ on the wedding, my cousin and I decided to make her flowers. She got all most everything needed to make the flowers on sale at Hobby Lobby. It took lots of flowers, ribbon, glue dots, and patience to make them. But it was a lot of fun and I'm glad she trusted my enough to let me do them. I think they turned out great, even better than I had imagined.

Here's the bouquet we based her bridal bouquet off of:

Here's Her bouquet:

She wanted daisies for the bridesmaids. The centers of the flowers were not the prettiest so she found some "gems" online and we glued them in the center of the flowers. We used the same ribbon and pattern on all the flowers to make them match and to add in more of her wedding colors.

 

She wanted her toss bouquet to be a little different but to still have her wedding colors. So we had a little fun with these and threw in some colorful flowers instead of just white like the other bouquets.

 

These are the boutonnieres and corsages.  The one on the left is for the men in the wedding and the male family members. The one on the right is for the female family members.

 

These are all the flowers we did:

This was a fun project, I really enjoyed it. I love the way they all turned out and I think she truly saved a lot of money doing them this way.