Live.Laugh.Photograph

Falling Behind/ Guest Bloggers?

2011-08-09T22:38:00.000-05:00

Wow I am totally lagging in blog posts lately!

First off I want to apologize for my absence :) Things are going pretty well for us right now but also pretty busy!!

Miss K starting school, me job hunting, daily workouts training for my first 5k, and a bridal shower coming up this weekend... when I say busy, I mean busy! I love it though and I'm also on a personal mission that I will share with you all when I'm ready and/or finished.

I will be out of town for a few days but don't worry! I have a guest blogger lined up who is new to this whole blogging and stay at home mom thing!

Also, if anyone wants to guest blog here at live.laugh.photograph I would love to have you! Just send me an email to laurabicks@gmail.com. It can be a craft, recipe, inspirational, old, new, whatever!

Drop me a line ;)

xoxo

Kindergarten

2011-08-05T18:04:00.001-05:00

I never thought I'd see myself here.

I mean, I knew I would but when Miss K was born and I thought about her going to school and becoming a "kid" I just thought it was so far away and I had plenty of time!

Well, that time is here, the now! She started her first day of Kindergarten today.

I did not cry.

I did not get emotional.

I did not feel like I was losing my "baby"

Instead I was happy.

Proud of this little person I raised.

Excited that she was excited to start and couldn't wait to meet her teacher.

Today was amazing and I can't wait for all of the goodness to come........

Here we go, we are on our way!

Daddy's Girl

A little pep talk from both Maw-Maws before going to her classroom!

She had the option to come home with me or to stay until the half day was over. She stayed and even rode the bus home all by herself! PROUD moment!

I always ran to the mailbox when I got off the bus. It cracks me up now that she does the same thing :)

I would love to hear about the first day your child started Kindergarten!!

Any advice?!

xoxo

A day at the park

2011-08-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

Miss K and I have been spending lots of time together lately since she will be starting school this Friday! It makes me sad but at the same time I am really excited for her to go because it's all she talks about.... Plus I plan to get back into the work force and get my career started!

We recently went to the park to get some of her energy out. It was a lot of fun and if it weren't so hot outside we would probably go every day!

Afterwards we checked out a new frozen yogurt place and it was delish!

xoxo

New Haircut

2011-07-30T07:24:00.000-05:00

Well Miss K's first day of school is next Friday. She won't be starting full time until 2 weeks after but we are gearing up for her first year at school!

Last week I gave her a new haircut. I asked her if she wanted "bangs" like Ellie (my little sister) and Mommy and she said yes!

However, once I was finished cutting, she kept saying she wanted me to cut them more because they were "getting in her eyes". She is getting used to them now and we are training them to stay to one side.

After I was finished she started modeling for the camera and blowing kisses to all her fans!

Today we're going shopping for school clothes!!! Wish me luck, she's a picky one!

xoxo

DIY Cat Treehouse

2011-07-27T07:57:00.000-05:00

In my last post I rambled on about the kitty tree house we made for the kitten we weren't sure we were going to keep lol

Well, just in case you are interested in how to build your own for your furry friend, here is what you will need:

Carpet- we used 2x12 ft section

staple gun

2- 2x4's

plywood

12in. cardboard concrete form

sisal rope

Optional: toys to hang, fabric to line inside of cubby hole

OK let's get started.

First, we roughly drew out what we wanted it to look like. We saw 2 different ones at petsmart and took what we liked from each to make one we loved!

For our base we used a 2x2 piece of plywood and wrapped with carpet. Then we cut the 2x4's to size. No measuring, we just eyeballed how tall we wanted it to be. The tallest one would hold the cubby hole on top.

The second 2x4 was cut shorter to place a little circle area where the cat could lounge.

Then we took the remaining 2x4's and cut two pieces about 1-2ft tall. We wrapped all of them in carpet except the longest two boards. I wanted kitty to have a little scratching post so I wrapped half with carpet and the other with sisal rope around the bottoms.

Now comes the tricky part. To make the cubby hole and little lounge post, we needed to cut 3 circles. 2 for the cubby hole (top and bottom) and one for the lounge post. I had the pleasure of doing this task and it wasn't easy! I needed to cut them to fit inside the 12in. cardboard concret form.

I securely stapled the circled plywood inside of the form at the top and bottom. I lined the inside with fleece. The hubs was cutting the carpet to size as well. Then I cut out a little hole and wrapped it in carpet. This was the hardest part!

Then for the lounge post we cut a piece of cardboard concrete form about 6 inches high. Then I placed the last piece of plywood cirlce inside of it and stapled it together. Then carpeted that as well.

For the long circle tube, again I used the cardboard concrete form and eyeballed how long I wanted it to be. Then I cut out a rectangle in the middle. Then I used the last of the carpet to wrap the inside and out and stapled the edges. I also used my glue gun to glue down pieces of carpet that were wanting to fray.

Once we had all of our pieces ready to go we started to assemble it. Lots of screws later we had made our very own and very inexpensive cat tree house! I realize this sounds complicated but it was really easy and we had fun building it together! I wish I had taken pictures along the way but we kind of flew by the seat of our pants.

Here is the finished result!

xoxo

Introducing Voodoo

2011-07-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

Well I am finally starting to feel back to my normal self again!

You know the saying "when it rains, it pours"? Yeah, that expression has been my life story for the last month. So many negative and sad things have happened but I just try to remember the good.

Always keeping a positive outlook on things or re-directing my thoughts to something else helps me get through!

I know I said I would have a ton of pictures from our trip to Cincinnati but unfortunately, there weren't too many picture taking moments. I have a few and I'll post them soon!

For now, I'll tell you the story of how we got out newest addition, Voodoo.........

Whenever we go out of town we always board our dog Buddha. It's like a mini vacation to him because he can't get in the building quick enough for us to drop him off! The day after we came home the hubs went to pick him up. While he was there, he noticed these huge bird cages with kittens in them. There was a sign that read "FREE kittens, Save a life". The hubs is not a cat person in any way, shape, or form. But this particular one caught his eye. He (the kitten) was at the top of the birdcage hanging upside down from the corner!

He called me on the way home to tell me about him and I knew we at least needed to try it out! So we got a 3rd party opinion. We were mainly concerned with Buddha and how he would react. Huskies have been known to eat cats. We called the vet when he got home and they told us we could take the kitty for a few nights and try it out. The hubs was so generously giving us 24 hours. Note my sarcasm ;)

It was the best decision ever!! Kitty came in and got used to us and his surroundings. 24 hours went by and the hubs didn't say anything. Two days later we headed to petsmart to buy a few toys and such. But he never did say we were going to keep him. We looked at scratching posts, and the huge cat tree houses. But they were too expensive for a cat we weren't even sure we were going to keep ;)

We drove home and unloaded the car. Then the hubs picked up his wallet and said "I'll be back" and left. I called him to see where he was going. He told me he was on his way to home depot and we were going to build a cat tree house.... tonight! (More to come on that soon!) OK, we are building this tree house for a kitten we've had for 3 days and we aren't sure we are keeping yet?

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect kitty. Buddha and Voodoo are the best of friends. I never thought I'd see the day! I realize I've been rambling on so I'll shut up! Here are some pictures over the last week and a half...

I have to give a shoutout to St. Bethlehem Animal Clinic for saving the lives of many cats and kittens in the Clarksville area. They visit the shelter on a daily basis to rescue them and adopt them out for free. Plus if you adopt, it's half price for their vaccinations! If it weren't for them and their effort, these kittens would be in heaven.

xoxo

Our newest addition!!

2011-07-24T23:28:00.000-05:00

First off I want to say Thank you to all of you for your kind words and encouragement through this difficult time :)

We are all doing better and my Grandpa is actually doing much better as well so that has really lifted our spirits!!

And speaking of things that lift spirits, here is the newest addition to our household!

All I will say is that we rescued him from being euthanized and we've had him for a week now.

Much more to come on this later!

Thanks for sticking with me ;) I also have 2 new craft projects that I've done and one was with the hubs help!

xoxo

So much to tell

2011-07-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

We are finally home from visiting family. So much has happened and I can't wait to share the good stuff with you all.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Our vacation wasn't really much of a vacation in the sense of the word.

It was emotionally and physically draining while we were there.

We knew we were there for a reason and it was to see two very special people in our lives who had fallen ill. My grandfather who is doing much better, and my husbands Aunt who unfortunately is no longer with us......

We got to say our goodbyes and at least see her before she left this world. It has been a very long week so please forgive me for not blogging as much.

Right now my mind is on real life stuff and I honestly just don't have the energy or 'want' to do anything other than just lie around the house and spend time with my family :)

I know things will get better soon and I will be back to my crafty self again. But, for now, I may just be a little scarce until I am ready to get back into the swing of things!

xoxo

Blog Swap Giveaway WINNER!!

2011-07-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to announce the winner of the Pink Stitches giveaway winner!

Drumroll please................

Random.org picked comment #35!

Simplysara!

Congrats Sara I am emailing you now :)

Mini Vacation

2011-07-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be out of town for the next week or so! It's finally time to go visit family {first time since Christmas} and we have lots planned!

I will have a ton of pictures as always when I return :) It will be a nice and much needed break for me since Miss K will have all of her Aunts and our Mom's to help us out!

As of now, I'm not planning on blogging, however, with my sweet new phone I can do it on the go so I'm pretty sure I'll sneak in a few here and there while I'm away ;)

Don't forget that the last day to enter my giveaway is this Wednesday the 6th until midnight {central time}. I will pick a winner on Thursday and get in touch with the lucky winner!!!!

I will miss you....

xoxo

Guest Blogging {Anthro Inspired Mirror}

2011-07-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

When I saw this mirror from Anthropologie, I just fell in love with it!

But the price, not so much!

Here is the original- $168

And here is my version- $5

{can i get a woop woop!}

Wanna know how to make one of your own?

Of course you do!

Today I'm guest blogging over at Someday Crafts with a tutorial for you!!! I know, seriously uh-mazing right?!

Come say hi and check it out!

xoxo

Monday FUNday {July 4th}

2011-07-04T07:00:00.006-05:00

Today is a very special day. Today we celebrate our 235th year of being FREE! Today people will celebrate with fireworks, bbq's, and spending time with friends and family. Today I will be thankful for our country and the service men and women who put their lives on the line to make sure we stay a FREE country! I am proud to be an AMERICAN. Happy 4th of July!

Source: tumblr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: libertyworks.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: acfreetobeme.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people” – Abraham Lincon
“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.” - Anonymous Do you have any plans for the 4th? xoxo

My new wallet!

2011-07-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

I've been so addicted to my sewing machine which is a big reason why I haven't been blogging as much. Well, that and life has just been crazy busy!

Anyway, I had been using my previous wallet for over 2 years. My sister and I both bought them together when our significant others were deployed. It was still in good condition but since I knew I could make myself a new one I went on the hunt for some tutorials.

I found this one and modified it a little bit but I am in LOVE with my new wallet!

I didn't stop there either! I also made myself a checkbook cover!

And this cute little writstlet clutch... Can you tell I {heart} ruffles?

But what I'm most excited about is my new purse to match my wallet! I'm going to share that later on today with you as well :)

Now that I have my new Windows Phone I'm going to make a case for it as well!

xoxo

Come Say Hi!

2011-06-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

I'm guest blogging for a sweet friend today. It involves this.....

Come on over and check it out!!

xoxo

Blog Swap Giveaway {with Pink Stitches}

2011-06-28T14:51:00.001-05:00

Hello beautiful bloggy friends!

Today I am so excited to announce that my BFF Bonnie {of Pink Stitches} and I are doing a blog swap giveaway!!

First let me show you the aweseomness that is Bonnie........

She mostly showcases her amazing sewing projects which I've talked about before here. But she also has some pretty sweet tutorials as well! Like these spray painted flats that were featured on numerous blogs around the web!

And have you seen her whimsy bicycle tee? OMG super cute!!

And probably my favorite thing of all time for little kids is her Crayon Roll Tutorial. Before I had my sewing machine I asked her to make Miss K one and it has been the BEST investment EVER. No doubt. In fact, my littlest sister asked me if I'd make her one and so I did using Bonnie's tutorial. It is so easy people!

And if those aren't cute enough, you have to check out her Esty shop! She has everything from coin purses, to sunglass pouches, makeup bags, and drawstring bags to name a few.

My top three FAV from her store are her Marley Bag made from Japanese import fabric!

And then there is the Hellen Bag named after her Mother! I just love the blues with hints of pink!

Last but not least I'm loving this cute little gathered clutch!!

It is so fun and perfect for summer!

It has my favorite color combo pink and green, not to mention the floral pattern ank polka dots!

Oh, how I would love to carry this beauty around while doing my grocery shopping or going out on a date night. But let's face it, date nights just don't happen!

And since date nights don't happen 'round these parts, one of my lucky readers will get the chance to WIN IT! Can I get a woop woop?!

Here's how to enter!

Mandatory- Head over to Bonnie's Shop and then come back here and leave a comment telling me your favorite item!

Extra Entries:

Follow my blog and leave me a comment letting me know you do {1 entry}

Follow Pink Stitches blog and leave me a comment letting me know you do {1 entry}

Blog/Tweet/Facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment for each with links

{up to 3 entries}
Buy anything from Bonnie's Shop and you get 5 extra entries! {leave 5 separate comments}

Giveaway ends July 6th!

P.S. I'm giving away this bird nest necklace over at Pink Stitches!

Head on over to enter!!

Good Luck Lovelies!

xoxo

The results are in!

2011-06-28T12:41:00.000-05:00

I got my test results in the mail yesterday. No not those test results. The results of my state baord practical exam!

I was just hoping for a passing score really! It has been months since I graduated and I thought I had forgotten all of the state board ways of doing things. But to my surprise THIS is what I got!

Pease excuse that ugly picture that was taken with a webcam. Really, can anyone look decent on those?

SO, yes, I have offically sent off for my license and can now get a JOB! {Not too sure about the job part} We will see how it goes!

xoxo

PTSD Awareness Day

2011-06-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

Today is National PTSD Awareness {post traumatic stress disorder} day.

What is PTSD?

Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop PTSD. These events can include:

Combat or military exposure
Child sexual or physical abuse
Terrorist attacks
Sexual or physical assault
Serious accidents, such as a car wreck.
Natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake.

After the event, you may feel scared, confused, or angry. If these feelings don't go away or they get worse, you may have PTSD. These symptoms may disrupt your life, making it hard to continue with your daily activities.

(source)

This is something that is very important to me since I have seen loved ones go through it. It is NOT an easy thing to go through as a person suffering from it or a loved one who has to watch someone go through it.

It can be trying on you mentally and physically. It is something that cannot be cured overnight. Once diagnosed it takes a lot of work, therapy, treatments, etc.

The numbers in military related cases are rising and people need to be aware that this is a real problem and is affecting SO many soldiers and their family members.

If you are interested, here are Ten Ways Community Members can help:

Understand that anyone can experience trauma, such as accidents, assault, war, or disasters.
Think broadly. When trauma happens, the survivor's family, friends, coworkers, and community are affected.
Learn about common reactions to trauma and readjustment to life outside a war zone.
Be aware of where get help for trauma survivors, Veterans, and people with PTSD.
Expand your understanding of how PTSD is identified and treated.
Know that treatment for PTSD works.
Ask a Veteran or trauma survivor if talking would help, but do not push if someone is not ready to discuss things.
Realize that stigma is a barrier to getting treatment. Getting people to talk or seek help is not always easy. Your encouragement matters.
Know the facts. More than half of US adults will experience trauma in their lifetime. About 7% of adults will deal with PTSD at some point. For Veterans and male and female sexual assault survivors, the figure is higher.
Connect with self-help resources, apps, and videos about PTSD

(source)

For more information on PTSD, you can go to the National Center for PTSD. To CURE it we need to SPREAD the word.

xoxo

Who Am I Really? {Part 3}

2011-06-26T21:00:00.004-05:00

Whoa it's been a whole month since I sat down and actually MADE myself blog about, well, myself!

To catch up on this series you can read Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here!

I left off last time telling you all about living in Germany and all the friends we had. After all our soldiers came home, it was time to part ways and move back to the USofA!

It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand I so badly wanted to just stay there with everyone I had come to love as an adopted family. On the other, I really couldn't wait to get back to the land I called home where all of my real family were waiting!

We had all of our household goods packed up.

Miss K slept in her pack 'n play since we had to ship the crib.

We woke up at 3am on June 1st 2007 to make our way back to the states. We had only 4 bags of luggage to our name. It was just us and our bags! And our 100lb puppy Zeus ;)

We got to the Frankfurt Intl Airport around 5am. Miss K was such a trooper. We stopped at a little restaurant inside for uur last German style breakfast!

And right as we were at the gate waiting to board the plane, she passed out from the lack of sleep.

I was a tad worried about our 8 hour plane ride with an almost 1 year old. But to my surprise, Miss K did absolutely wonderful!

She loved having snacks and reading books. In fact, I don't think she got out of her seat one time!

And 8 hours later we landed in Chicago. Got our rental van and headed for home with our two kids in tow! Zeus and K were the best of friends!

We got stuck in crazy Chicago traffic but we were not upset at all. In fact, we were just happy to recognize other license plates and street signs!

4 hours later we made it home. For the first time in over a year we got to see our family!

We were finally able to introduce Miss K in person to her grandparents!! We celebrated her 1st birthday...

And we had a welcome home party where I was finally able to get a 4 generations photo!

My littls sister Julz

And my little brother Marcus

And my 3 littlest sisters Bre, Corissa and Ellie with Miss K

We attended my brother's high school graduation, and spent every waking moment catching up with everyone!

So where did we go from here? Our next duty station was Ft. Campbell. Home of the 101st Airborne Division. Since we were away from family for so long, we the hubs, decided it would be best to move closer to family so he re-enlisted to go there. It is about a five hour drive from home. It's perfect! We still get to see family when we want or if something happens without the hefty bill of a plane ticket!

Our report date was June 10th. Miss K's 1st birthday. We packed up our belongings and headed to KY. Everything was going great! We got settled into our new home, we had a brand new truck and were living life to the fullest.

Then, the hubs went back to work. And we soon learned that things weren't going to be peachy for much longer.

To be continued......

xoxo

Life 365 {weeks 17-24}

2011-06-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting forever for a friend of mine to sned me some pictures so I could finish scrapping these pages!

I am proud of myself for keeping up with this challenge though! One picture for each day of the year and then put into a scrapbook.

It's a great way to capture everyday memories! Now, on to the pages.....

Credits:

All scrap elements and pages are from Gingerscraps Scrap Your Life and Templates and Felties are by Creations by Julie.

xoxo

A Dress for Miss K

2011-06-24T19:01:00.001-05:00

Remember this pretty fabric I showed you the other day?

Well, I have been wanting to make a pillow case dress for Miss K ever since I got my sewing machine. Once I got a few projects under my belt I decided to give it a try.

And guess what? It was SO EASY! Much easier than zippered pouches people!

I think I'm going to make her at least a million more.

Have a great weekend! I have lots of great stuff coming up next week as well as another giveaway!!

xoxo

Scentsy Giveaway Winners!

2011-06-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much to those who entered the giveaway!

We had a pretty good turnout :)

The WINNERS ARE:

#6- Iffy

#15- Becca

#20 -Stephanie

#21 -Simply Sara

Congrats ladies!!!! Send me an email so I can give you the details!

Also, be on the lookout for another great giveaway coming super soon! It's going to be fan-freakin'-tastic!

xoxo

Eventful Day {and thank you!}

2011-06-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

**Take out- $21, Broken windshield- $250, New Refrigerator- $600, Not knowing if you passed your exam so you can get a job to pay for all of these things- PRICELESS!**

Well, my final state board exam is completed... at least I hope!

Here's a quick recap of my day:

I woke up this morning early to get a little bit of ~~blog reading~~ study time in before Miss K woke up. The day started off so well.

Peaceful.

Quiet.

Coffee.

Then I quickly went over my labeled bags in my kit to make sure I had everything I needed for the practical exam.

Got Miss K dressed and her backpack packed full of goodies.

Dropped Miss K off at a friends house and ventured to Nashville {45 min drive}. Plenty of time to think and re-think how this thing is gonna go down.

Reminding myself to use my hand sanitizer after each step, take my time and be precise, if I mess up, continue going forward and don't stress about it. Yada yada.

I got there about 45 minutes early and sat in the parking lot going over the list of criterea. I do have to say I wasn't nervous at all really. Just dreading the whole day and actually having to go through the process, blah, blah! Just wanted to get it over with!

It wasn't so bad though.
The lady grading us was quite nice and cheery which helped put all of us at ease! And it was pretty laid back compared to what I had pre-planned in my head!

Everything went very well. I finished each portion of the test with minutes to spare so I just stood there and stared at myself in the mirror. BO-RING.

The whole process took about 3 hours to complete. By the end it was about 4:45pm and I was starving and so thirsty I could have stood out in the rain with my mouth wide open!

Our test results were going to take a few minutes to process so we were allowed to go to our cars and put our kits and whatnot in them.

Fifteen minutes later and nothing.

Finally one of the girls knocked on the door and the proctor {guy in charge} told her that the computer server was not up and running at the moment but it would be a little bit longer.

So our group of fine looking women were just sitting outside gabbing about hair and the test.

An HOUR later still we had nothing.

Finally, the nice lady who graded us came out and said that unfortunately the server is not up so she could not submit our scores to the website which basically means we weren't going to find out if we passed or not.

BUMMER!!!

The look of despair on our faces was priceless!

Never, ever had this happened before, but this is just my luck!

I'll be finding out through snail mail in the coming weeks or so if I passed or not. It's very frustrating going through the whole process and nerve-wracking only to find out at the end that you are going to have to wait days maybe weeks to find out! CRAZY business people!

Enough about that, I left feeling pretty down. I mean, I feel like I passed but not knowing for sure is what's killing me! I had a super huge headache from not drinking any water or eating anything and I just wanted to come home and curl up on the couch!

I started the long trek home. No music. Just silence in the car to reflect on what had just happened. I like to torture myself like that ya know? Then, out of nowhere a huge semi cuts me off and then flings a huge rock at my windshield..... and now, I have a chunk of windshild missing with a few spider spots.... sigh. Could it get any worse?

OF COURSE IT CAN!

I stopped to grab food on the way home since it was almost 7:00. Haven't had Chick-fil-a in long time so that's where I went. I.love.their.chicken!!

I finally pulled into the driveway at 7:15. Brought the food inside and there is something missing. Oh, yeah. Miss K's food is nowhere to be seen. They assured me it was in the bag. I'm no math whiz but, when I did the math, I'm pretty sure we were missing a 4 piece nugget meal. So I split my dinner with her.

Because that's what Mommies do. We make things all better despite what kind of crappy day we've had!

And lastly, I just found out that my refrigerator is no longer working. My milk is just above luke warm. YAY for days like today!

Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to thank those of you who sent me texts, emails and facebooked me with encouraging words and good luck! I really needed that today!

You are the best!!!

You awesome people are the reason I blog! And I love you and thank you for listening to me ramble on :)

I have a date with my couch and a nice bowl of popcorn. Goodnight!

xoxo

Don't Forget!

2011-06-22T00:37:00.000-05:00

The Scensy party and giveaway ends this Thursday the 23rd!

Make sure you place your orders before then to be entered into the drawing to win a half priced item!!!

Also, if you haven't entered the giveaway, you can do that HERE!

And when this giveaway ends, I've got an even bigger and better one to come! I'll give you a hint though, it has to do with recent projects I've made ;)

xoxo

Pretty Colors

2011-06-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

Looky what I picked up today! So many bright and fun colors. I have big plans for these! Just wanted to share it with you :)

Stay tuned.....

xoxo

I've Realized....

2011-06-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

via

The month of June is crazy hectic for me! I challenged myself to the Photography Challenge and made it to day 5! We are now on day 17.... so, um yeah. I'm thinking this month is NOT the best time for me to challenge myself with this task.

Let me explain. First, we had Miss K's 5th Birthday. Now we are on to Father's Day this weekend, then my final State Board exam next week, and next weekend it's my hubby's birthday. And on top of it, I'm still keeping up with my Life 365. I already take a photo each day and try to find the time at the end of the week to scrap them into a book. Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that I have to assemble and mail out quite a few more invitations for my sisters wedding by the end of this month.

SO you see, I'm kinda busy! With the crafting, sewing, birthday gifts, making Father's Day gifts, and studying.... there just isn't enough time in the day! Heck, I've even been having trouble blogging!

And that's why I'm going to do the photography challenge at another time. For my sanity! Also, if you notice that I'm not around as much, well, it's probably real life getting in the way! I'm hoping after next week things will be all down hill. But right now I'm stressed out about my exam and all the other real life stuff going on!

Just thought you should know ;)

xoxo

Me Sew Crazy!

2011-06-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

WOW you guys. I have only been sewing for 2 weeks now. Crazy right?

So far, I've been scouring the net for tutorials, and patterns, fabric, and pretty much anything I can get my hands on to learn! My friend Bonnie and I are going to work on a wallet pattern together when she gets back from her mini vacation. I am picky when it comes to wallets so I have a vision of what I want and together we will make it come together. {Hopefully!}

Let me show you a little of what I've been working on!

My first project was the camera strap cover w/ a pocket! I grabbed the bull by the horns and just went with it! Pretty crazy to try for a first project but in the end, totally worth it!

Then I made some of these little cuties. Ruffled headbands!

And the worst by far was the gathered clutch. Only because I couldn't for the life of me figure out the zipper part! But now that I got it down, I am confident and even made Miss K a purple one for her birthday as she requested! :)

And speaking of things I made for Miss K, check out this adorable basket that attaches to her scooter? She can keep water and toys in there when we go for our adventure walks! No more holding things for Mommy! I had a lot of fun making and sewing this one!

And last but not least, here are some cute little coasters {tutorial coming soon}! I love them so much and so does my furniture!

Right now I'm currently working on a sunglass case, ruffled checkbook cover, and a purse... more to come on those if I ever figure it out!

I'm also pondering another giveaway after the Scentsy party is over... what do you think?

And, if I did do a giveaway, what would YOU want?

xoxo

Monday FUNday 6/13

2011-06-13T12:49:00.000-05:00

Hiya there!

How is everyone doing so far this week?! I know we are only halfway through Monday but I hope it's been great so far!

This week we are looking forward to lots of playing outside...

Bird and squirrel watching...

Attempting to sew a new purse...

Studying for both Miss K and I {my final test is next week!}...

and another long weekend with Daddy {hopefully} so we can grill out!

What are you looking forward to this week?
Got any plans for the weekend? Please share!

P.S. Don't forget my scentsy party going on right now and your chance to enter the giveaway!

xoxo

5 Years Old

2011-06-10T00:01:00.019-05:00

Today Miss K turns FIVE! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was in labor at St. Josef's Krankenhaus. Walking around the block several times to help get my labor going. After 16 very long hours, several attempts to "induce", a difficult language barrier, and one tired Momma, Miss K entered the world via emergency cesarean while this Momma was completely knocked out! I woke up 4 hours later and finally got to meet her!

And even though it was difficult and scary, I would do it all again!

She will be starting Kindergarten this fall and I'm not sure I'm ready for that! I know she is ready though so it helps put me at ease :)

We are celebrating as a little family with an awesome cake {I'm making}, lots of presents, flowers, balloons, and pretty much everything she has asked for!

She is only little once and I try to make sure each and every birthday is better than the last!

So here's to Miss K on her birthday! I love you my sweet little girl!!

xoxo

Scentsy Party {Plus Giveaway}

2011-06-09T11:50:00.001-05:00

I am beyond excited that I now have over 100 followers! You guys rock!

So, in honor of hitting the 100 follower mark, I'm throwing a little online party along with a giveaway!

Have you heard of Scentsy before? If not, now's the time! I have 3 warmers in my house and absolutely LOVE every single one. The scents they carry are simply amazing and fill your whole home with goodness!

Here is a little information for you:

What are Wickless candles? A wickless candle, called a Scentsy Bar or a Scentsy Brick, is a highly fragrant wax bar that is warmed to release fragrance into the air. Because the wax is gently warmed rather than burned, it can hold more fragrance oil than a traditional candle. And, because there is no flame, there is no smoke, soot, or lead. Scentsy wickless candles are a safer alternative to traditional candles.

How is the wax warmed? Scentsy’s beautiful ceramic warmers house a low-watt light bulb that slowly melts the Scentsy Bar or Scentsy Brick, filling your home with one of more than 80 distinctive, long-lasting scents.

Right now I'm LOVING the Dotty warmer pictured below!

The Dotty Full Size Warmer

And here are some of my favorite scent bars!!

And they carry more than just candles!

Check out this adorable Scentsy Buddy!

Fragrance Foam

And even scent circles for your car, closets or drawers!

Now on to the best part!!

Cyndi {who is our host} is generously giving away 5 free samples to my blog readers!! Four of you will recieve a Scent Circle and one lucky person will recieve a Fragrance Foam!!!

Here's how you can enter:

Be a follower of my blog {one entry}
FOLLOW Cyndi's Want Wickless BLOG! {one entry}
LIKE Want Wickless Facebook Fan page. {one entry}
FOLLOW Cyndi on Twitter. @WantWickless {one entry}
Sign up for Cyndi's MONTHLY newsletter. Which is always jam packed with fabulous discounts and deals. {one entry}
Blog, Facebook and/or Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link. {up to 3 entries}.
Place an ORDER from my party "Laura Live, Laugh, Photograph"and get 5 additional entries {please leave 5 separate comments}

And to sweeten the deal, the first 10 people to order something from my party will be entered into a drawing for a HALF PRICED ITEM!

** Party and Giveaway ends June 23rd. 5 winners will be chosen at random.**

Happy Shopping!

xoxo

Bird Nest Necklace {Tutorial}

2011-06-09T00:21:00.002-05:00

I recieved a great response to my bird nest necklace for the what I wore post last week!

Thank you to everyone for your sweet comments :)

Because I love all of my followers, I am going to share this tutorial!

Trust me when I say it.is.easy.

To get started you will need:

Beading wire {I used 20 gauge}

Pearls/beads/stones {anything that you can thread wire through}

Wire clippers {or scissors}

Jump rings are optional

Necklace

Start by threading 3 beads {or however many you wish to use} onto the wire. I just used it straight off the spool.

Then you want to bend the edge so that the beads won't fall off!

Now take all of the pearls/beads, whatever, and form them into a circle.

First we want to make some sort of base for them to "sit" in. So start wrapping your wire around the pearls.

Wrap the wire smaller to make a base.

Once you've wrapped it around a few times you can flip it over and start making the nest.

Just keep wrapping it around in a circular motion. It doesn't have to be neat and pretty!

Mmkay, now that you have it wrapped, we gotta tie it together! Using your wire cutters or scissors cut off enough extra wire so we can loop them through each pearl/bead a couple times.

You can go from the top or the bottom. I started from the bottom and threaded the wire through the top making sure to include all of the nest. Do this 3-4 times and then move on to the next space between the pearls.

Almost done! Once you have the spaces secured you can either cut off the remaining wire or reinforce the botton, which is what I did.

Flip it over to the backside and thread your wire back through the loops you just made.

And if you still have some left over, you can just wrap it around the base again, and tuck in the edge of the wire like I did. There is really NO method to the madness! Do what you think looks best!

And here we have our finished birds nest necklace! Now you can add a jump ring to hang it on your necklace!

Here is the one I made for myself!

SO, what do you think? Pretty easy huh? I hope you've enjoyed this and if you make one come back and let me know! I would LOVE to see them :)

I will be linking up to these awesome places!
http://todayscreativeblog.net/

**Disclaimer: For personal use ONLY. Please do not use this tutorial for monetary gain. If you would like to share this on you blog, please link back to this post and/or give proper credit where credit is due! Thank you!**

xoxo

What I Wore

2011-06-08T01:31:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday! Happy Hump Day ;)

Can you believe I actually took more than ONE outfit picture this week? Crazy I know.

This first one was what I wore to go grocery shopping. I just love this petal pusher belt!!!

Dress: Walmart, Tank: Old Navy, Belt: made by ME, ring: made by ME, shoes not shown but they are from target.

And I wore this outfit to do some hair on Saturday and then do a little bit of shopping all by myslef! It was a dream come true!

Lace Tank, Eyelet Tank, Jeans: Old Navy, Petal Pusher made by me ;)

I will be linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy

xoxo

My first sewing project!

2011-06-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ever since I bought my DSLR camera I've wanted a fancy shmancy camera strap cover!

Sure, I could have bought one... but I'm the type of girl who won't pay money for something I KNOW I can make or at least TRY to make! Call me cheap but I think of it as a challenge!

This is the first thing I've made using my new sewing machine! It was really easy and with the help of a few tutorials found on different blogs, I was able to whip this bad boy up in no time! And my very favorite part about it? It has a POCKET! You know, to hold your lens cap, chapstick, or whatever! Oh, and it's padded, and has ruffles. BONUS!

I'm going to make another one just because I can ;)

I will be linking up to these lovely blogs ;)

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

Monday FUNday! 6/6

2011-06-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday!!

Last week flew by! I can't even remember what I did? I do remember buying a sewing machine and now my mind is consumed with sewing!

And I'm pretty sure that once you buy a sewing machine, you need to have a place to sew right? Seems pretty realistic to me.

A few years ago we finished the basement as a play area for Miss K. Trust me, it's not as nice as it once looked! There are crayon marks and stick people drawn on the walls, sticky fingerprints and toys thrown about.... and I'm gonna fix it! That's right. I said it. So that means since I mentioned it here on my blog, it's set in stone. You better hold me accountable now mmkay?

My whole idea with redoing the basement is to make it a playroom/craft room. A place where Miss K and I can hang out together while doing things we both love! What does this have to do with Monday FUNday? Well, I'm really excited about this and my mind has been running wild ever since. I've been looking for inspiration and here is what's making me happy on this Monday!

(source)

I'm not expecting anything this big or extravagent... although it would make me happy! I just need a little corner to organize all of my craft supplies instead of keeping them in plastic bags!

xoxo

Day 5 {High Angle}

2011-06-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

Waddup peeps?

Today's photography challenge was "from a high angle"

So here is my photo. Can you guess what I'm making?

xoxo

Color Splash Sunday

2011-06-05T11:14:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I participated in color splash sunday! But, I have this new thing where I'm really working hard on my photography skillz.

So, here is my entry for this week! And these little pots you see.... well, they've been redone! More to come on that later ;)

Photoshop action by Pioneer Woman and Textures by Kim Klassen

Have a great week everyone!!!

xoxo

Day 4 {Something Green}

2011-06-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm going to admit I didn't have time today to really take any pictures.

I was busy doing some hair and doing a little shopping. Oh, and I also sat outside for a bit while Miss K played in the pool.

Speaking of pools, it is H.O.T here! We're talking 95 degrees people! It's so hot my stupid ice machine broke. Well, I'm sure it's not because of that but it doesn't help!

Anyway, my point is that it's HOT. And I've been chugging water all day!

And you see that cute little ruffle? I'm perfecting the art of sewing ruffles!

xoxo

Petal Pusher Belt

2011-06-04T12:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my newest creation!

Today I will show you how to make these cute little petal pushers that you can use as a pin, hair clip, headband or even clip to your necklace!

I wanted to make myself an interchangeable flower belt so that I could coordinate with different outfits to add a little pop of color!

To get started you will need:

Felt

Fabric in colors of your choice {mine came from walmart in a bundle for $10}

Round object to make your circles {I used the assorted needles case pictured}

Needle and Thread in coordinating color

Alligator Hair Clips

Brooch pins or whatever those things are called?!

1 1/2 inch elastic band, Or ribbon {for a belt}

I precut all of my circles out ahead of time. But, if you must know, I folded my fabric over and over again and then placed my needle case over top to use as a guide.

First you will want to sew on your brooch pin. Take your felt circle and sew it on. This will be the bottom of the petal pusher. Just a few stitches is all you need :)

For each petal pusher you will need approximately 4-6 circles of fabric. This is all up to you. If you want more, add more!

Now take your circle and fold it in half.

Now fold it in half again so it is overlapping.

Start sewing them on! Just a few stitches is all you will need and there is no need to cut the thread and knot it. Just make a few stitches and then add your next circle.

Slightly overlap your second circle as shown below. Continue to add your circles until the felt is covered.

Woohoo! Now that all of your circles are in place you can add a little bead or rhinestone! I chose matching pearls that I had on hand. So I came up from the bottom, threaded the pearl and then stitched back down again. I did this two times to make sure it was snug.

And that's it! You can add the alligator hair clips to the bottom if you want so you can wear them in your hair.

And you can even make different kinds like the one in the middle below! See, how easy was that?!

For my belt, I just used 1 1/2 inch elastic that I got from Hobby Lobby. And now all I have to do is pin these little cuties to the belt!

I also bought some pretty ribbon to dress it up a bit....

And as I mentioned before, you can use them as a headband clip. Pictured below is the rosette that I made to go with the petal pushers.

I just love the way these turned out! I can wear them so many different ways and I really want to go buy some more fabric to make more!

I really hope you enjoyed this! Give it a try, it's really easy and soo much fun! The possibilities are endless!!

I will be linking to these fab sites :)

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

Day 3 {clouds}

2011-06-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

Today's photography challenge was CLOUDS!

Unfortunatly, they were pretty scarce today in the sky but I did find one I could capture!

Have a great weeknd Y'all!!!!

xoxo

Random

2011-06-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hey friends :)

I was going through my photos and I have a TON of them that really aren't worth posting about individually. So I'm just gonna throw them into one big post and try to explain as we go.

Sound okay to you? Mmkay let's get started!

I've finally finished painting all of the mason jars for my little sisters wedding! We have 4 more months to go!

Good thing I didn't give myself a manicure before this!

And I'm loving my new mason jar lanterns for my deck. They add a sweet touch.

I just filled them up with rice and added tea light candles. I also hear that sea salt works well too as it glistens against the flame. I might try it out?

And how could I forget my newest piece of jewelry! {LOVE}

I bought these on our wedding anniversary to compliment my tasty home cooked meal.

And I'm sure you remember the power outage I talked about. Well, we got pretty lucky as far as damage goes. Nothing too serious but we had HUGE branches fall from our pretty trees out back!

And I'm not sure where this little guy came from but he's cute and colorful!

My favorite new piece of artwork. I found something similar on pinterest and just had to re-create it!!

I find myself looking at it when I get frustrated or need to be reminded to just let go.

It is now my mantra.

So that's all folks! I've been up to a lot of things lately and I need to get working on a guest blog post and making some awesome new web designs for some pretty sweet bloggers! I'll keep you posted!

xoxo

Day 2 {photo challenge}

2011-06-02T23:27:00.000-05:00

I would have posted this earlier today but I sorta got caught up playing with a new toy!

The challenge for today was "what I wore today". I wore a cute little black summer dress with a pink tank underneath. Then this adorable belt, well more to come on that later ;)

Dress: Walmart, Tank: Old Navy, Belt: made by ME, ring: made by ME, shoes not shown but they are from target.

And the new toy I was talking about?

FINALLY got a sewing machine! I am soooo excited and have been messing around with it ever since I got it. Which reminds me, I need to leave you all now to go sew some patches on the hubby's uniform!

xoxo

Flower Photography

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted any pictures of my amateur photography!

These beauties are all from my garden....

textures by Kim Klassen

xoxo

What I Wore {and a challenge}

2011-06-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

Happy 1st Day of June!!!!

This month I'm taking on a new challenge. It's the 30 Day Photography Challenge. I really have been wanting to get back into photographing things and I'm hoping this will give me a kick in the rear I need. I will post a photo each day according to the theme.

It just so happens that today is self portrait so I'm going to use this what I wore post for Day #1.

This is actually what I wore last week but I didn't get around to posting it. Oops!

This outfit is super comfy but it's really nice with the sweet flower appliques. Anyway, I think my favorite part is the bird nest necklace! What do you think?

Would you like a tutorial on how to make your own?

And no post would be complete without Miss K!

Pants: Old Navy, Tanks: Old Navy, Necklace: Made by me

I will be linking up with these sites!

xoxo

Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder

2011-05-31T10:32:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to try something with popsicle sticks and decided on making a bird feeder.

I'm pretty happy with the results! I had no idea how to make it so I just started gluing the sticks together. Honestly, I was pretty sure it would be a failed project!!

So far though, it's been holding up and the birds love it!

To make it, all I did was make a flat base using about 7 or 8 sticks.

Then I used 4 sticks to create a lip around the base to hold in the bird seed.

To make the little house I put 3 sticks on either side and then glued sticks on top of another to create the little roof.

Then I painted it white and added some twine around the edges to give it a rustic feel {and to hide glue marks!}

It's a self feeding bird feeder so I only have to fill it up every once in awhile. I just feed the seed through the side opening!

And if you are wondering what those little things are haning behind the bird feeder, I will be posting about that later ;)

Try something with popsicle sticks!! It's fun!

I will be linking this project up to these sites :)

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

How to entertain a 4 year old

2011-05-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

When your power goes out you never really appreciate it until you don't have it!

As the hours drug on, it became apparent that

1) it would get dark soon

2) I had to find a way to entertain a 4 year old until bedtime.

Entertaining Miss K seemed fun but she gets bored very easily.

So what did I do? I broke some of the house rules.

We played ball inside.

We played fetch with Buddha.

We got out Daddy's head light and searched for treasure.

We danced {with no music}

And we made hand puppets on the wall.

And we killed about 45 minutes. We had a looong night to go!

xoxo

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

I know what it means to give in honor of freedom.

My husband has given his life to the Army.

And we as a family have given our life to the Army.

I have gone weeks at a time without talking to him.

We have lost friends in the name of freedom.

And for all of our loved ones we've lost, and those that we do not know who have given their lives, thank you.

And as the wife of a Purple Heart Recipient I wish you a Happy Memorial Day.

And let us not forget that Freedom isn't Free.

xoxo

Adventure Walk

2011-05-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Miss K and I have been going on daily adventure walks together.

I loooove getting the extra exercise and she loves looking at all the pretty flowers.

{and I love that it wears her out!}

She took her scooter along one day. It was really fun until we had to go uphill! Since then she hasn't brought it along ;)

I told her her little pony had to stay back at the house because I knew I would end up carrying it... along with our water bottle and my camera.

So we put him in the mailbox for safe keeping!

And off we go....

Here's Miss K testing me to see if I would tell her NOT to touch other people's mailboxes.

{I ~~need~~ want one of these for my mailbox!}

Not quite sure how to respond to this?!

There are butterflies everywhere around the neighborhood!!

Remember how I said it wasn't fun going uphill? Well this is why. I had to push it up for her!

Just look at those rosy cheeks! I could just squish 'em!

Do you go for walks in your neighborhood?

Do you find anything interesting?

xoxo

Kindergarten

2011-05-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official! Miss K is going to Kindergarten!

She is really, REALLY excited about it. She loves school and I think if she hadn't, I probably would be sad about her going! I'm a little sad sure, but knowing she will love it and have fun puts my mind at ease.

The school year starts early here so August 8th will be her first day. And it's for a whole day PLUS she gets to take the bus which is a bonus. She always talks about taking the bus to school. All in all, we are stoked about what the new school year will bring!

When I went to sign up, they gave us this cute little "packback" as Miss K would say, and it was filled with goodies for her as well as me {paperwork}.

Check it out!

Reflective safety stripes! Awesome

Look at all the goodness! Do you all remember highlights?!? LOVE

They included flash cards and other learning tools to help get her ready over the summer. She enjoys the flash cards and I thought it was funny when we got to "cone". I said what is this? She responded with "um, a birthday hat!" sooo close!

And then I asked her what this was. She said "soda". Again, so close! We love going through these together and I'm really glad they gave us these!

Wait, what? I came across this one and had to stop the bus. Seriously, addition and subtraction? In Kindergarten? I mean, it's fairly easy but man, what happened to the 4 food groups and green eggs and ham we learned about? hehe

xoxo

Power Outage

2011-05-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

I feel like I am sooo behind on emails and blogging. Let me explain.

Our power went out Wednesday night at around 10pm. The hubs was working his 24 hour duty and I was home alone with Miss K and the dog, which I am used to. It looked pretty nasty outside and while talking to the hubs on the phone, the power kept flickering.

I told him it would probably go out and that I should save my cell battery just in case. Well, I was right! We had a nasty thunderstrom whip through the area and knock down trees and power lines. At one point I noticed our dogs kennel, his 10x10x6 foot, 130 pound cage, GONE. It was just gone. I frantically looked around the yard for it and found it had flewn from the backyard, all the way to the front across the street and flipped upside down.

Great! Now, I have to figure out how to flip it right side up AND drag it back into the yard. I'm not sure how I did it but I used my wonder woman muscles and finished the job. Ok so that was taken care of.

After an hour without power I was texting my friend and decided to just call it quits and go to bed. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 4am. STILL no power. I crawled into bed and woke up again at 8am. And still, no power.

Long story short, were without power for the next 33 hours! All the food in our fridge is destroyed and we were going insane with nothing to do. Miss K and I spent ALL day outside playing and picking up sticks from fallen trees. Our neighbors were outside too and people were having BBQ's.

Everything is back in order now and I hit up the grocery store to get us through the long weekend. But man, it was crazy!

SO, if you've emailed me and I haven't responded, please don't take it personally. I'm playing catch up!

XOXO

Crayon Roll

2011-05-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

One of Miss K's favorite past time activities is coloring. She could color for hours!

We had a huge box of crayons and coloring books that we stashed in our junk drawer....

As you can see, it was getting quite, um, messy?

So when I saw my bloggy BFF, Bonnie, of Pink Stitches make a crayon roll for her son, I decided to enlist her to help!!

Remember awhile back I posted about how talented she is? Well, she saved my junk drawer and helped me get organized with this sweet crayon roll for Miss K!

I told her I looooved the pink ABC print she used for her niece's and that maybe an aqua liner would fit well with it! So, after talking it out this is what she came up with!!!!

We are throwing around custom apron ideas as well for when I do hair.... and a backpack for Kylie when she starts school in the fall. She doesn't know about that project yet. So, Bonnie, you up for it?! hehe

This adorable little crayon roll fits 17 of the mini crayola twistable crayons. You could use any crayons really. Seriously though, talk to Bonnie, she is uh-mazing! And if you are interested, she even has a CARS themed one in her shopt RIGHT NOW :)

Monday when the mail came, Miss K was sooo excited to see her name on the package! And I even got a sweet little owl coin purse for helping redsign Bonnie's Blog! Thanks girl!

Oh the excitement!

Such a time saver and great way to orgnaize!

Thanks again Bonnie!! And head over to check out Bonnie's shop. She has great goodies there!

xoxo

Who am I really? {Part 2}

2011-05-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

I want to thank all of you who left me sweet comments on my last post!

I guess I never really knew that people would want to hear my story or get to know the real me. I guess I just figured the crafts and other random stuff was enough. But, as it turns out, it's not. Who knew?!

Anyway, previously I talked about getting whisked away to Germany after getting married, having my sweet Miss K, and enduring a 15 month deployment.

Now let's talk about the good times we shared. The times where I had friends to help get me through and the times where Missle Man was actually home.

Our first trip outside of Germany was to Paris! My In-laws came over for a month and were able to go with us. It was a spur of the moment thing and honestly, it was awful! Everyone was cranky and tired and hungry! The highlight was eating KFC. Yep kentucky fried chicken... in Paris, France!!

Here is me at the TOP of the Eiffel Tower!

Will deployed and I was left with my two besties.

Here I am at the hospital in labor. Early into it anyway. My Doctor actually told me to get something to eat and keep walking around. I didn't object so McDonald's it was!

And my two BFF's waiting for me to come out of recovery.

We had lots of BBQ's and fun times at the park.

We went around for Halloween and I dressed up both of my littles. Zeus was such a baby and so gentle. He will forever be missed.

I've always LOVED Tinkerbell so I knew it was exactly what Miss K was going to be for Halloween.

We all had Thanksgiving Dinner as a big family. Just the wives and our kids. We missed our husbands terribly but it was so nice having an extended family of friends who were going through it with you!

Amsterdam. VERY cold but beautiful!

I just had my wisdom teeth pulled the day before. My cheeks were still so puffy!

And Nurenburg. Also beautiful!

We each lit candles for our soldier.

We had birthday parties and block parties. There was always something going on in our little community!

I've done a lot of growing up since then. I look back at how I used to be and how motherhood has softened me as a person. Not that I was mean but let's just say, if you messed with someone I loved or cared about, you would regret it ;) Just ask my sisters ex-boyfriend!

We bonded and kept each other strong. We were able to over come this LONG deployment. Our soldiers came home safe. We had more BBQ's and a few short months later, the place we called home would close down operations and send everyone back to the states. Where will we go? Stay tuned!

to be continued......

xoxo

7 Years

2011-05-24T00:24:00.000-05:00

Seven years ago today, I married the man I love. My best friend. My confidant.

Here's to many, many more years of love, laughter, and friendship....

xoxo

Grapefruit and Lemon Salt Scrub

2011-05-23T22:45:00.001-05:00

Since summer is about to rear it's beautiful head, I figured it was time to start getting my skin ready!

I love sugar and salt scrubs. ESPECIALLY when they are homeade ;)

Today I have a super easy recipe that will leave your skin silky smooth and ready to show it off for summer!

First I want to tell you a little bit about the difference between sugar and salt scrubs. Which one is better? Neither! It's totally your preference! I prefer sugar scrubs in the winter months and I add vanilla or almond extract to it to make it more warm and wintery feeling. Then, in the summer, I use sea salt {or epsom salt} with fruity fragrances! You can really make it according to whatever you like! It's easy and will work just as good as any store bought brands!

Now on to the recipe! Here are the ingredients:

Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, Plain sugar or my personal fav, Sugar in the Raw! Love it!

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice or Real Lemons

Fragrance Oil {I used grapefruit blush}

For this particular recipe I used Epsom salt. I prefer sea salt but it was the only thing I had on hand!

Next add a little EVOO. Or if you have body oil on hand you can use that too! I love olive oil for the skin. It makes it feel SO smooth!

Now you can add some lemon juice or real lemons. Again, it's up to you. There is no exact science to this! Just have fun!

And my personal secret weapon? This amazing grapefruit blush fragrance oil!! LOVE LOVE!

I didn't measure any of the ingredients either. This just shows you how easy it really is ;)

I just started with the salt, added some olive oil and lemon juice unilt I got the consitency I was looking for. Then I added in my fragrance. It should look something like this....

And there you have it people! Your very own homeade salt scrub!

Just look at that! It almost looks so good you could eat it. Almost.

I hope you've enjoyed this! It is a great way to prepare your skin for self tanners... more to come on that!

I will be linking up here!

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

Monday FUNday 5/23

2011-05-23T11:49:00.000-05:00

Did you all have a great weekend? I hope so!

Even though today is Monday, I am inspired by so many things around me and all the beauty they hold. I have been living out my mason jar obsession through my little sister who is getting married. I spent the weekend painting some jars and making some jewelry for myself. More to come on that this week!

I also planted some more flowers and spent some time outside with Miss K. I didn't get photos though because I'm forgetful like that!

So today, I want to share some words of inspiration via pinterest! Every time I go to my home page I let out a sigh of happiness. Hopefully these will inspire you {or make you giggle} and get you off to a great week!

Source: louboosandshoes.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: joyshope.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: simplyseleta.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: skinnyfit-thebestyou.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: None via Laura on Pinterest

Source: ilovehoneylace.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.lg1x8z.simplecdn.net via Laura on Pinterest

Source: x1b.xanga.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jen on Pinterest

Source: fc08.deviantart.net via Sandra on Pinterest

Source: designspiration.net via Holly on Pinterest

Source: mallorylucille.tumblr.com via Ali on Pinterest

haha get it, mustache... must-dash?! Have a great week!!

xoxo

Upcycled picture frame

2011-05-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

Have you ever gone to a thrift store?

I hadn't until a few weeks ago. I thought I'd check it out since a LOT of people in the blog community get some pretty awesome stuff.

I didn't really find much that screamed out to me except for this little picture frame.

I'm not sure why but for $2 I couldn't pass it up!

My original plan was to put it somewhere in my entryway and make a welcome sign. Then I decided it would look better if painted and put in Miss K's room instead. So here's what I did:

This is what it looks like originally

I loved the brushed metal! Too bad I am going to cover it up!

I took out the glass and backing and started to paint. I used regular acrylic white paint.

And because you know I love me some distressed edges, I took sandpaper to it and roughed it up.

Then I tied on some cute ribbon that matched the colors in Miss K's room!

And here is the final result! LOVE

Have a great weekend! Got any plans?!

I will be linking up to these fab sites!

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

New obsession

2011-05-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

I'm sure by now most of you have heard of pinterest. If you haven't, go check it out. There is a TON of inspiration and ideas there for you to browse.

It is my NEW obsession and for weeks now I haven't been able to stop pinning things to my boards! It's a great way to keep track of all your favorite things like clothes, crafts, jewelry, DIY, photography, weddings, food/drinks, and pretty much anything in between!

I love that I can click on ANYTHING from the web and pin it to one of my boards. That way, if I ever think I might need that recipe for rainbow cupcakes, boom! I go to my pinterest page and click on the image and it will take me back to the website I got the image from! SUPER fun and so addicting!

If you do know of pinterest and you have an account already, come follow me! I would love to see what you've got too!

Until then, happy pinning!!

xoxo

P.S. You can also follow me or check out my pinterest page by clicking the little aqua pin up at the right hand side of the page.

Who am I really?

2011-05-18T23:57:00.000-05:00

It has become apparent to me that I need to share more with you about the real me. Who I am behind all the craftiness and scrapbooking. With the encouragement of a sweet friend in the blogging world, I am going to let you all in.

Let you in on the real side of ME.

Not only who I am, but the problems and fears I have been dealing with for the last several months. I can't get it all out in one post otherwise you will seriously be overwhelmed and probably NOT follow me anymore! So, I will keep these posts short. Starting from the beginning and leading up to where I am at today.

So here goes!

The one thing I rarely talk about is the military wife side. Not because I am scared or because I don't want people knowing. It's just because I have become immune to it. I am an army wife and with it comes great responsibility. But to add to that, I am much more than that.

I am a mother,

daughter,

sister,

wife,

friend,

crafter,

scrapbook lover,

artist,

hairdresser,

blog addict,

and so, so much more.

I am PROUD to be an Army wife. I love my husband and {sometimes} his job. I think he is incredible and what he has been through is much more amazing than anyone can fathom.

I try so hard to keep a line between Army life and civilian life. My husband works 12+ hours a DAY. I don't get to see him much and honestly, when he comes home he's usually in a bad mood. On top of that, we have been through 3 deployments, multiple field problems {months spent training away from home}, all while trying to raise our daughter and keep a semi-normal life.

The first two tours were in Iraq and were 15 months long. YES FIFTEEN. The 3rd was in Afghanistan. But I will get to all that later on :)

We spent our first deployment during our tour in Germany. After the hubs got out of basic training, we married and 10 days later I was sending him off to another country where I would follow shortly after.

Our duty station was Giessen, Germany. But, we lived in a little town called Butzbach. I brought over our new pup Zeus and we were a happy little trio. We spent lots of our weekends walking to the downtown market, shopping, or traveling to different Army and Air Force Bases including Ramstein. With the autobahn, we could make it there in 2 hours and we loved going since they had a CHILI'S restaurant!!

For the 3 years we were there, it was absolutely amazing. It was beautiful and we both had a lot of friends, weekend BBQ's, and just enjoyed life to the fullest. Well, about 4 months before my husband was to deploy for the first time ever, I found out I was pregnant! SO, imagine, you are in a foreign country, with no family, your husband is going to deploy in 4 months and you will have to go through it ALL ALONE.

Yes, scary! I was able to move a little bit closer to another housing area where all of my friends lived. It made the whole pregnancy thing easier! It was inevitable though that my soldier was going to leave. I was going to have this baby weather he was here or not. So I did what all military wives do, sucked it up, shed lots of tears, held my kicking baby belly and kissed him goodbye. I watched as he marched in formation to the buses that would haul him off to a 3rd world country. Not knowing if it would be the last time I saw him. Not knowing if my daughter would ever get to meet her Daddy.

That was a scary time. It all worked out though. My sweet mother in law flew all the way to Germany to be with me. She spent a good month with us and she helped me get through this rough time. I delivered Kylie via emergency cesarean {after 16 hours of labor!} and my soldier came home 6 days after! He was able to see her for a very short 2 weeks and then he went back to finish off his deployment.

Miss K was 9 months old when he returned.

Not all of it was bad though. While Will was gone, friends and I got to travel, with Miss K in tow, to some amazing places! We went to Amsterdam and walked through Anne Frank's house. And I got to shop at the wonderful Christmas Markets they have.

To be continued......

xoxo

What I Wore {5/18}

2011-05-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

So this week since the weather was nice, I decided to bust out my tank tops!

I am not a fan of them though because of my {linebacker} shoulders. However, I do like this outfit. It's light and breezy with a touch of lace underneath :)

I can't believe I'm admitting this but these capris are actually not capris. They are my favorite jeans in the whole wide world {for now} and I just rolled them up for a causal look.

I always have a hard time finding capris or crops that fit me well. I have a booty and hips so those two together = not very many options.

This is what I wore to do some grocery shopping and mail off some packages. Very comforable!

Jeans: Old Navy, Lace Tank: Old Navy, Pink Ruffle Tank: Target, Jewelry: Charlotte Russe

Have we ever talked about my owl obsession? Well, we will one day. This is one of my favorite owl necklaces!!

Next week, I think I'm going to try out a *gasp* Dress!

I will be linking up to these great sites!

xoxo

DIY Ottoman Tray

2011-05-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

Ever since we bought our couches a few years ago, I've wanted an ottoman tray.

Something to put our drinks/remotes or magazines on. I could never find anything that quite went with what our theme was. Plus they were too dang expensive!

Well, I came across this tutorial by Young and Crafty. I found her through my link parties.

That's the great thing about linky parties! You get to go and see what others are making and get inspiration to make your own.

After reading her post, I was amazed at how beautiful and easy this was to make.

So, I made my own!

Here is a mini tutorial on how I made mine. I had to improvise with the scrap wood that I had in the garage.

Materials needed:

2-1x2 boards {for the outer tray}

1- 1x4 board {for the inners}

sandpaper

stain {I used red mahogany}

paint {I used white satin}

Krylon matte sealer

jute or twine

To get started, figure out about how big you want your tray to be.

Mine ended up being smaller than the one in her tutorial.

I started with the frame. The outside is 18inches and the inside is 14inches.

Then the inner boards were cut to 18 inches as well. So my tray ended up being 18x14.

I used two different woods so the frame was nice and smooth but the inner boards were a wreck! So many splinters and jagged edges. I sanded them down until smooth.

Run your hand along the grain to make sure it's smoothed out enough. And be careful!

Once it's sanded, it's time to assemble! I used nails and hammered them in until it was real sturdy. I also made two drill holes on each side to put handles on it later. After it was put together I wanted it to look aged so I started whacking at it with the hammer! Lots of dents and dings. Trust me, it sounds crazy but it will be beautiful in the end!

I apologize for not have pictures of these steps!

Now that it's assembled, I stained it. I used Red Mahogany because I knew I was going to paint a light color over top.

Once it's dry, you can start to paint! I put a few coats of white satin latex paint over it.

{and I do recommend having gingerale and water. they are staples in making this project!}

Let it dry

See the dings and knicks?

Now get your sandpaper and start sanding away at the places it would see a lot of wear and tear. I did the edges really well and then the inside boards.

Almost finished. Now it needs some handles!

I had jute twine on hand so that's what I made the handles out of. I took three stands and braided them like the tutorial at Young and Crafty. Mine are smaller only because I used smaller twine.

Thread them through and tie a knot on the inside.

I did this extra step because I knew I would be putting drinks and possibly food on it so I wanted to make sure it was sealed. My favorite sealer that I use for almost everything is Krylon Matte Finish.

LOVE it!

This is what the finished result looks like! I am so happy with it!

This pretty daisy is from my backyard!

I hope you've enjoyed this! I am in love with it!
I will be linking up at these awesome sites!
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
xoxo

Mondy FUNday {5/16}

2011-05-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

WOW I can't believe it's Monday already!

If you don't know what Monday FUNday is, you can catch up on it here.

I am actually really excited about this week! I don't think I mentioned this before BUT I have some great news. My little sister Julz {Julianne} is getting MARRIED!!!!!

She was proposed to on Mother's Day weekend and since then we have been on the phone non-stop about wedding ideas and decorations!

Believe it or not, we pretty much have everything finished! I am in charge of making the invitations, and table decorations, as well as being her Matron of Honor :)

And we are doing some amazing things for decorations.....

Source: google.com via Laura on Pinterest

So all this wedding stuff is keeping me from getting the MONDAY blues! I am so excited for her!
It is going to be beautiful! I will share more as I begin to get the decorations and party favors made!

Are you looking forward to anything this week?

xoxo

{Paper} Flower Bouquet

2011-05-12T10:35:00.002-05:00

In case you missed me on the glitter blog, here is the tutorial I blogged about! So fun!
_________________________________________________________

Today I will be showing you the easiest flowers you will EVER care for. They don't need any water, light or pruning. That's because they are made out of paper!

You can display them anywhere in your home and not even think twice after you {plant} them!

The supplies you will need are:

hand drawn flowers {6 total for layering}
2 sheets pinwheel flowers {this is free at gingerscraps right now!}
little tin pail to arrange flowers in
foam block
wooden dowels
mod podge
distress ink
glue gun/ glue stick
shredded paper or green moss
ribbon
buttons
paint brush

*As I mentioned earlier in this post I do a lot of digital scrapbooking. For this project, I will be using the pinwheel flower and hand drawn flower templates by Creations by Julie. The kits I used to design the flowers are Spring's Renewal by Kathy Winters Designs and Spring is my thing by Connie Prince. I created my digital elements in photoshop but you can use virtually any photo editing program! Just print on cardstock and you're ready to go! Or if you prefer, just find some great paper you have on hand and trace it out. It doesn't have to be perfect!*

First take your foam block and cut it down to size so that it will fit into the pail.

Now it's time to cut out your pretty flowers! You will also need to mod podge them. You can do this before or after you cut them out. I wasn't thinking since I had a 4 year old running a muck and I forgot. SO I did mine after I cut them out :)

It really doesn't matter when you do it. As long as you mod podge to protect them, you'll be fine!

This is what they look like after being cut and mod podged. Purty huh?

Set them aside to dry and get your pinwheel flowers ready.

Take your two sheets of pinwheel flowers and mod podge those. See, I remembered this time to do it BEFORE I cute them out! Victory!

Now, set those aside so they can dry.

Grab those flowers again because it's time to assemble them! I distressed mine a bit by folding the edges down and roughing it up a bit.

This is totally optional as well but I like to ink the edges for a more rustic look!

Now take your flowers and leaves and assemble them any way you want. After all, this is YOUR project and you can do whatever you want!

They're looking good but they still need something.......

aaaah, that's better. I added buttons and ribbon in the middle.

Your flowers are assembled and ready to go! Set them aside and go ahead and grab your pinwheel flowers. It's time to get those suckers put together!

Cut out the strips. You will have 2 sheets of 3 designs. Making a total of 6 strips.

Ink the edges

And now it's time for your hand to get a serious workout! Accordion fold all 6 strips. My hand started cramping up on #2. NO joke!

Take your matching 2 strips and glue them together.

They should look like this when finished folding and gluing them all!

Pinch one side together and pull the underside out so it will lay flat.

Use your glue gun and put a generous drop of glue in the center. Hold until it is dry.

They look good but they also need something......

MUCH better! This is totally optional. You can use whatever you want or nothing at all!

This part is also optional. I wanted to wrap the dowels in ribbon to give them a real flower feel. If you choose to do this step it's easy. Just glue one end of ribbon to the end of the dowel and wrap around.

Also, you can keep the dowels all one length but I chose to cut mine to different lengths so they would be staggered a bit.

Once you have wrapped your dowels grab your flowers and start gluing!

Go ahead and start arranging the flowers in the pail. Stick them into the foam block and move them around until just right :)

Now that you have the placement down pat, it's time for the {dirt}. I used fun shredded packing paper! I also thought about using faux moss. But this is way more fun looking!

Wall-AH! You're finished!

How cute are these?!

I decided to put them on my hutch next to my watering can and house card. They go perfectly together!

So, are you still with me? Did I lose anyone along the way? I'm sorry for the picture overload but I like to be very precise so that no one gets lost!

I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it sparked some creative ideas! The options are endless with this project. It would be great for any holiday or even for a sweet little gift to someone.

XOXO

Keepin' it Real

2011-05-11T20:20:00.002-05:00

My girl Julie has this fun little party going on over at her blog.

It's called Keep It Real. Lets face it, we all have these great projects and crafts that we do, most of us have kids or even 4 legged friends running around.

We have beautiful picutres of our creations and things we've got going on. But what about behind the scenes?

I know on most days I have things that are not in their correct place. Or laundry in a pile somewhere. My craft bins are always out because I'm always working on something.

Well, today instead of showing you the cute stuff I've made, I'm going to show you a behind the scenes of my house. {Family visit Edition}.

That's right! I am the oldest of 6 children and when they and my Mom come to visit, it's CHAOS! So much fun but serioulsy. I don't have enough dishes.

On a typical day when family visits. This is what the kitchen sink would look like

But it's worth it because there are more important things to do.

Like this...

If you are brave enough. Head over to Julie's blog and enter! Show us what you got!

xoxo

Ruffled Onesie {Tutorial}

2011-05-11T11:21:00.001-05:00

I mentioned previously that I went to a baby shower last weekend.

Right after I went flower shopping!

I had been planning on making some cute little onesies that were personalized and no one could duplicate. I hate that.

I decided to make my friends little girl two onesies. One with an iron on patch and her name, the other with an oval Torii with ruffles behind it. And no, she is not Japanese.

What is a Torii, you ask? Well, it's mainly used to mark the entrance of a sacred place.

Why Am I putting this on a onesie for a little girl? The answer to that is because our husbands are in the same unit. 3-187 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. 187th are known as the Iron Rakkasans.

This nickname is derived from the Japanese word for parachute. The name was given to the 187th during its tour in occupied Japan following World War II. When a translator dealing with local Japanese dignitaries was trying to explain what their unit was trained to do (and not knowing the Japanese word for "airborne soldiers") he used the phrase "falling down umbrella men", or rakkasan. Amused by the clumsy word, the locals began to call the troopers by that nickname; it soon stuck and became a point of pride for the unit.

source

My husbands job is SO cool! The Rakkasans adopted the Torii and it is now the symbol of 187th. Everyone on post knows who we are and we {as a unit} stick together.

*********************************

Moving on.

Today I will teach you a cute little tutorial on how to make an iron on onesie with ruffles!

First the supplies you will need are:

Onesie

Stretchable Fabric Transfers

Fleece

Tulle

Needle and coordinating thread

Iron

First I made my image to be printed in photoshop. Then I reversed the image so it was backwards so when I iron it on, it will be facing the right side. Cut out your image.

Now take your fleece. This is what we are going to iron the image onto. Carefully trace around the image onto the felt, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edge.

Roughly cut out the fleece. Don't worry if it's not perfect. We will fix that soon.

Flip over your image and center it onto the fleece.

On the cotton setting, iron the image to the fleece pressing firmly for about 20 seconds.

Peel off the backing. Now trim the edges of the fleece to clean it up a bit.

Now it's time to make the ruffles! Grab your tulle. Layer about 4 layers of tulle on top of each other. We will be cutting about 1x7 inch strips.

Cut out your strips of tulle. Make sure they are layered and somewhat still together.

Now, sew a little stitch to keep them together. It helps so they don't fall apart. Tulle is very tricky to sew with!

Now, Take the tulle and start bunching it up to make it look like a ruffle behind your fleece.

Once you have it where you want it, make short little stitches to hold the ruffles in place.

Do this about 5 times or however many you need to fit behind the image.

Now we gotta sew them on! Lets hope you have a steady hand :)

I stiched mine on leaving space inbetween each stich to I could then go back in with white thread to sew the patch onto the onesie.

This is what it should look like after you are finished

Now it's time to sew it onto the onesie!

Place some pins or needles if you are like me and don't have any ;)

Make a few stitches on the 4 corners of the patch. This will keep your patch in place while you go back in and sew the whole thing on.

Now go ahead and make stitches inbetween the pink ones you have. Make sure the patch is secured and iron it out once finished.

And there you have it! A cute personalized onesie!

Here are the two I made for baby Annabelle. They were a HUGE hit and they got passed around at the baby shower!

Very easy and this project probaby only took me an hour. Well worth it!

Thanks for joining me today. I will be linking up here :)

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/

xoxo

How I spent Mother's Day

2011-05-10T23:58:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I have been DYING to plant my flowers and start making my house look beautiful again! Well, for Mother's Day, that's exactly what I did :)

I slept in and around noon, decided it was time to go plant some flowers! I picked them up on Saturday before going to a baby shower. I must have stopped at 3 different places before deciding to purchase what I got.

Miss K helped too. She got bored halfway through and left me for our 4 legged friend. I guess he entertains her better. It was a nice, relaxing day. And my deck and front porch look awesome! Not to mention I got a little bit of sun!

You see, I had this whole plan.

Mapped out.

A blueprint if you will.

I seriously made it in photoshop, printed it out, and gave it to the Hubs to let him know EXACTLY what I wanted, and where. It also came with a price list of approximate cost for each. I'll share that with you at a later time. But, lets just say, I did NOT go according to my own plan. I saw all these pretty flowers and had to have them. I went way over the price range/budget too. But it was worth it!

Next weekend we are doing the flower beds. So long as the weather holds up! {and our budget for those too!}

When all is said and done, I'll share pictures with you......

xoxo

Guest Blogging

2011-05-10T10:08:00.003-05:00

Hey friends!

Today I'm guest bloggin' for a fellow Army wife while she is in the process of moving.

I know exactly what she's going through and it's crazy hectic!

Head over to A Glimpse Inside to see my tutorial on how to make this....

And pretty please say hi! I will love you forever :)

xoxo

WINNER!

2011-05-09T14:47:00.000-05:00

I am super excited to announce the winner of my first giveaway!!

Random.org picked #2 which is Jayna Rae!!

CONGRATS Jayna Rae! You are now the proud owner of this cute necklace!

Email me at laurabicks@gmail.com to claim your prize :)

And for those of you who didn't win, don't worry! I have a another super great giveaway coming SOON!

xoxo

Mother's Day {2011}

2011-05-08T02:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day

to all you beautiful Momma's out there!

I hope your day is restful and you are appreciated for all you do. Because this is what it's all about.....

Don't forget to enter for the Nautical Necklace giveaway!!! Enter while you can and I'll announce the winner Monday!

xoxo

I'm Featured!

2011-05-07T07:00:00.003-05:00

I am seriously so excited right now I just might pee my pants!

One of my favorite websites is featuring yours truly :)

Knock Off Decor
{because immitation is the highest form of flattery}

They feature all kinds of knockoff projects from amazing stores like Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Ballard, and Pier 1. Amazing projects all over the net all rolled into one amazing website!!

And I am over there today showcasing my sweet little Pottery Barn Kids knockoff Butterfly wall decor.

xoxo