A Little Pillow Talk

Blogging has provided me with the opportunity to interact with some wonderful people! Many, many thanks to all of my readers and supporters!

Another great thing is some of the true friends that I have met. One in particular is my friend Brandi with Don't Disturb this Groove. A couple weeks ago, Brandi and her super nice husband stopped by my house for a small cookout with family and friends. Brandi being one of the sweetest people I know, was kind enough to bring me a hostess gift that fits perfectly in my girl's cave.

Isn't it the cutest thing?! Oh and did I mention that Brandi makes these by hand! Yes, they are handmade one of a kind adorable pillows and I am in love with it.

It looks so perfect in the space, so enough talking, let's take a looksie...

So thanks so much to my friend Brandi! I am so happy to have met her. I have learned so much from her in such a short time and I am so grateful. When you get a chance, check out her blog! You will loooove it! This girl is so talented and her pictures....OMG...they are perfection!

Excuse me while I TRY to keep it all together!

Ahoy there my fine folks! I know...its been waaay to long. This is me...


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 This is truely how I feel sometimes. Blogging had been put on the backburner because life has been kicking my butt!!! I have been so busy between work, weekend social obligations, my makeup business, maintaining home, and drafting essays for entry into grad school, that I feel like the lady above. I just want to scream! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Okay, thats sooo much better. Thanks for letting me vent. The good news is that my application is complete and submitted, so keeps your fingers and toes crossed for me! Another dose of goodness is that my makeup business has taken off and has been keeping me quite busy. I show alot of before and afters on Instagram so come on over and follow me.

Enough excuses, I have several posts in draft mode, so I will definitely be back real soon. I am also looking for some dining room chairs to makeover, hopefully I will have some good ole' luck with that.

I just wanted to check-in and let you know that I am still out here and doing well. It has just been a crazy last few months.

Love you guys and I will be back later this week with a post! Pinky swear!

Where am I Now? The {30 by 30} Results Are In!

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Well, a big hello there my good folks! I'm feeling really good, as I just celebrated the big 3-0! I am so thankful to have been surrounded by family and friends, and for all of the wonderful lessons that I have learned over these past 30 years. I just can't believe that time flew by like that. Sheesh! I definitely look forward to the next 30:)

In good ole' before and after fashion, you may remember back in November when I posted about 30 things that I would like to complete by my 30th bday. No? Lucky for you I am a good note taker so here ya go...

Home

1)      Makeover at least one guest room
2)      Clear and Organize 4^th bedroom aka dogs room (ummm, yeah...)

3)      Get Home Gutters Cleaned

4)      Kitchen Backsplash
5)      Paint Living Room (ummm, about that...)

6)      Stencil a wall somewhere in my house

7)      Crown Molding for family room and kitchen, at least (does thinking about it count?)
8)      Under cabinet lighting for kitchen (yeah...nope)

9)      Organize hall closet

10)   Purchase and lay new flooring for main floor (post coming soon)

11)   Re-Organize and push makeup business (organizing beauty space at home & site) (mostly done..but not there)

12)   Learn one new recipe per month (4 of 6 completed)

13)   Address lighting in Kitchen and Family room (nope)

Personal/Health

14)   Renew Passport (naw)

15)   Exercise at least 3 days a week for one month straight (hehe!)

16)   Renew Mac Pro Membership

17)   Get a massage

18)   Get three Winter Pedicures (Never even had one during the winter) 2/3 completed

19)   Apply for Grad School (app due in a few weeks so working on it)

20)   Get a facial (does doing one at home count?)

21)   Get cavities filled and bonding on teeth (nope)

22)   Professional Headshot (yikes, I hate taking pics) (nope)

Financial

23)   Pay off 2 household debts (can be mine or Jules) we actually have done 4!

24)   Save $1000  saved over this amount

Social/Relationship Building

25)   Make my blog dashboard more user friendly for me

26)   Increase blog subscribers by at least 50% (target 40 subbies) almost there!

27)   Update my blog 2-3 times per week (with substantial info of course) by pre-planning posts for one month straight- (yeah, I got nothing...)

28)   Find a church home (*crickets*)

29)   Update and rebrand social media outlets (again...*crickets*)

30)   Have date night once a week with husband (big or small) this has been consistent and great!

31)   BONUS: Offer my services to a non-profit organization that helps women (hopefully soon!)

Started November 8, 2012- To be completed by April 8, 2012

I completed about 45% of my list. Yeah, I know thats technically failing when you think about it from a 100% perspective, but at least I accomplished some things, right? I am just happy that I didn't have to report back with nothing. That would have sucked. I will continue to strive to complete my list. Maybe I will check back in with my 30 by 30 1/2 list ;)

Anywho, for those of you who participated, how you doin? (in my Wendy Williams voice)

Let There Be Foyer Light!

When we moved into our home, we noticed that the lights were the traditional, builder grade, cheap-o lights. Though they were not on my immediate to-do list to change out, I always kept my eye out for anything interesting enough to catch my eye. I was fine up until a few weeks ago, when this little beauty caught my eye. It came from the garden section at Marshall's:

Upon seeing it, I immediately thought "ooooh! a foyer light!" yep, just like that. And for only $12.99, I couldn't resist at least trying. So I purchased it, headed to Lowe's for a pendant lighting kit which cost me $19.99, headed home, watched my husband smack his lips just as a "hater" does, and got to work. I placed the lighting kit top in between the smallest hole, screwed it tightly and made sure it was secure. I was left with this:

This is where my husband came in:) I wanted to fixture as flush to the ceiling as possible, so I needed the wire to be cut shorter.

Using some type of electrical wire cutter he was able to cut the cord in half.

He then slightly split the cord to expose the wires to connect in the ceiling. 

* Please note that we disconnected the power to that circuit PRIOR to fiddling around and connecting the new fixture. If we had kept it on, I am pretty sure my husband would have gotten a good shock.


Here is how my foyer looked before the fixture was installed:

Here it is now:

Not too bad for $32 for the garden object and the pendent lighting kit. I am now very happy with my foyer. Even though its not anything grand, its shaping up into something that I adore. Oh, and I have to show you this fixture I came across on line from Shades of Light.

How much you ask? Try $199.99! Ha! So similar and I am very happy with my budget friendly option,.

Do you like my new fixture as much as I do? Have you taken something used for one thing and used it for something totally different? Well, share it in the comments below!

Until next time...

The New {Guest} Room Reveal

I am so happy to show you guys what I have been working on, and why I have been so quiet:) If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen the progress that I have been making on my new multi-purpose "guest room." We currently have a guest room that we use the most of the time for our overnight guests, but the problem is that it would be nice to have a secondary guest room. Something that can serve the purpose of accomodating guests when needed, but most of the time I could use as a my girlie escape. I think I accomplished both!

Prior to my makeover, I would describe this room as a dump all for anything that I have purchased or already have that may not have a "place."

I know, I should be embarrased, but this is how it looked. Sue me...

Anywho, this is how it's looking now!

Big change right? I am so happy with how it turned out. The futon lays flat into a twin bed, so it helps meet my guest room criteria. I also enjoy having a place for my makeup, and a way to keep it all organized. It's just a nice retreat away from all the other chaos at home. Oh, and did I mention...NO BOYS ALLOWED. I have to keep reminding my husband and two dogs of this rule, lol.

Here is a breakdown:

Futon: clearance at Target: $100
Rug: Rugs USA after Christmas sale $60
Leaning Mirror: Target $60
Bookshelf purchased over a year ago: Ikea $25
Chandelier: Ikea $35
desk purchased over a year ago: Ikea $75
chair purchased over a year ago: Ikea $15 or $20
Round Mirror over desk : Ikea 14.99
Makeup Storage Stuff: Purchased from various thrift stores
White Storage Boxes: Ikea $3.00 for two

I hope you enjoyed my room tour! Until next time...

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