RBP Kickoff Giveaway

Mornin' Sunshines!

Yesterday, my friend Rachel launched a giveaway on her photography blog, Rachel Brenke Photography! She is giving away some amazing stuff, and has some really great vendors I haven't seen in other giveaways! Head over here to see the giveaway and leave her some love! Rachel is an Army wife in the middle of the newest deployment (of many)... and I really mean the middle, her husband is nearing the end of midtour right now! She has two adorable little ones, J and O, and... she was one of my first roommates in college! So send her some love and see if you might win something fabulous!

Fill In the Blank Friday

It's Fill in the Blank Friday! Join me over at Lauren's blog for a fun little linky party!

1.   The best deal I've ever gotten is  our car! Not what you were expecting I know! But when my little PT Cruiser broke down we needed a car like *now*! We found a car on Craig's List and the guy was nice enough to give it to us for $1k + my broken down car. We figured we'd have it for a few months until we could save up, but we've been in the car for a year now and I AM IN LOVE! It's a little Alero, it's not pretty, it vibrates a bit, but it is mine all mine! Best purchase I've ever made!

2.  If I were hosting a dinner party and could invite people from my fantasy guest list it would include  ok I thought about this one a lot... but I realy can't think of anyone. I think the "fantasy" for me would just be to have a dinner party. I NEVER do. So my fantasy guest list would really be any of my friends that I'm able to pluck up the courage to invite.

3.  Something that inspires me is  the wonderful blogs I read. I can't name just one, but all of these women are so crafty and it really inspires me to do things around the house. Sure I'll make mistakes, but things will get done just the same. And way more so than if I just sat on the couch and thought about it!

4.  If I could only choose to eat one flavor of food for the rest of eternity (sweet, salty, spicy, bitter....) I would have to go with   unami. Or however you spell it. The stuff that's in soy sauce... so that means I can just have sushi for the rest of my life. :)

5.  I dream about   weird things. Like seriously, sometimes they're creepy, sometimes they're just random. But I dream about some weird shiznip!

7.  If I could only  watch one movie or TV show for the rest of my life, it would be  CSI. The original from Las Vegas.

6.  My weekend will be spent  with my family. I want to go to Trader's Village but my husband doesn't seem to be with me on that. We'll probably do a little painting around the house and hang out with the little man!

Weekend To-Do: 3/18-3/20

To-Do for the weekend:
Ok this is a little different than my normal weekend... it's only 2 days! *gasp* I know right?! But I knew two weeks ago that I would have to work a half day tomorrow... what I found out today is that I get to work ALL DAY tomorrow. *sigh* At least it's just an 8 hour day, right? So anyway, my super-glorious-super-busy-get-stuff-done-while-the-family-is-away day has been condensed into one hour. Hmm...

Things I want to do:clean out the fridge
dress shopping for the wedding I'm in in September (more of a need than a want)
vacuum
dust
sweep/mop
paint master bathroom trim
deep clean guest bathroom (so little man can go in there)
family filing
cook a good meal
meal plan for next week
swing by Michael's and finally use my gift card
cook that ground beef that's going to go bad if I don't cook it soon! gah!
organize the office (yea right!)

Let's prioritize, shall we?

Time Sensative:#1 dress shopping. This has already been set up, so I don't really have an option.
#2 cook the ground beef. This will go bad like Saturday morning (it's been frozen, thawed again, and now I'm just pushing it).

Ick Factor + Baby Safety:#3 vacuum. My little man needs a clean floor to play on.
#4 sweep/mop. I'd really like to allow my little man into the kitchen/bathrooms...
#5 deep clean the guest bathroom
#6 sweep/mop. the master bathroom

Ick Factor:#7 dust. It's gettin a little ridiculous around here.
#8 clean out the fridge (if I had a choice this would be #1

Other: (aka stuff that will probably not happen)paint master bathroom trim. So it's all pretty!
family filing. The office is trashed.
cook a good meal (don't judge me... but if I'm going to be gone dress shopping, I won't be able to cook a gourmet meal... they will still eat!
meal plan for next week. Got to stick to this budget!
swing by Michael's and finally use my gift card. Cause I want to! haha!
organize the office.



So first things first. I need to call my friend and find out what time we're going tomorrow! 6pm! So I'll be home from work about 4:30 and have an hour until I need to leave again. (yes you were just involved in my internal conversation).

Things I can do tonight:cook the ground beef. ugh! I know! I don't want to! But it must be done.
Clean the fridge (while the beef is cooking).

Then tomorrow I can vacuum real quick and possibly vacuum before I have to leave. Ooo! And I could leave early so that I'm for sure there on time (big thing with me).

Saturday I can probably manage to dust and make a menu plan for next week at some point.

So what does that leave me with?
#4 mop. the kitchen
#5 deep clean guest bathroom
#6 sweep/mop. the master bathroom
paint master bathroom trim. So it's all pretty!
family filing. The office is trashed. :(
cook a good meal (don't judge me... but if I'm going to be gone dress shopping, I won't be able to cook a gourmet meal... they will still eat!
swing by Michael's and finally use my gift card. Cause I want to! haha!
organize the office.




Ok so finally, the entire point of this post:

To-Do Thursday:Cook the ground beef and freeze
Clean fridge while that's cooking

To-Do Friday:vacuum
sweep floors
dress shopping

To-Do Saturday:Quick dust
meal plan for next week

I feel much better.

Verse of the Week

Genesis 1:1

This verse speaks to me because I have recently begun (yet another attempt) to read the bible. I'm following the E Word Today plan to read the bible in a year. I chose to go from cover to cover... although since I don't own a bible in a version I like to read, it's more like "line to line" as I scroll down the iPhone. But I digress...

I actually started this yesterday, and so this is a verse I have read quite recently. It is such a simple verse. There's not a lot to read in to it. Not a lot to decipher. But WOW. I mean, it pretty much sums everything up.

In the beginning {ok, so this is the first thing that happened, got it!}
God created {God did it! 'Nuff said!}
the heavens and the earth. {so umm... everything!}

So ok, The first thing that happened is God made everything! How profound is that?! It all started with God.

And this reminds me, that whether things are great or not going so hot, I need to start with God. Give thanks, ask for help, but always turn to Him. He created everything, and he's available, so why WOULDN'T I go to him?

Want to join me? Click the link below and check out Lindsay's site!

Also, check out my girl Cristin's site over at Mom.Nonstop! She's the one who introduced me to this great little linky party!

Quick Update

I'm still here! And I am painting, painting, PAINTING!

Today the little man went to his Nana's so we have been painting all of the pretty baseboards we got, and the back door, and the office shelves. So busy! I also need to make a smash cake today because my little man's 1st birthday party is tomorrow! So basically my life has been revolving around party planning... but don't give up on us! More home transformations are coming!

House Wish List

I have a book I carry around with me with my “house wish list.” These are things I want to do to pretty up the place. Each room has a page, and each page is full of ideas. Some are things to do immediately (like I have the stuffs… just do it already!). Some are things to do asap. And some are just hope-to-do-one-days. I want to share my list with y’all, since my blog will mostly be checking off the list anyway. So here goes! And don’t’ be alarmed, this isn’t a “today” list, or even a “this year” list! I know this is going to take a while but you gotta have dreams, amiright?!

Kitchen:
Paint cabinets
Clean sink
New countertops
New backsplash
Clean stove
Clean oven
Clean hood
Clean inside cabinets
Clean out drawers
Clean all vertical surfaces (cabinet/drawer faces, front of fridge, etc)
Paint
New cabinet/drawer pulls
Clean inside fridge
New window sill (ours is the same gorgeous fake butcher block laminate that is on the counters AND backsplash)
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Window treatment
Clean the floor
More shelves for the pantry
New (white) baseboards
Paint the pantry door/frame white

Dining room:
Window treatments
Paint
Paint & finish my gorgeous hutch!
Paint window sills
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)

Living Room:
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Paint back door
Touch up wall paint
Finish mantle
Wall art
Can lights
New fan
Crown molding
Sell oversized arm chairs
Get small storage/seating bench
Window treatment for door
Carpet re-stretched (1/21/11)

Entry:
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Crown molding
Door window treatment
Paint mirror
Paint door frame (white)
Clean floors

Hallway:
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Crown molding
Touch up wall paint
Paint cabinets
Put up cabinet frame (taken down the last time the plumbers were out to tear up the floor)
Fix carpet (1/21/11)

Hall Bath:
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Clean bath tub
New tile (shower & floor)
New sink/counter
Paint vanity white
New knobs
Clean faucets
Paint door/frame

PlayRoom/Office:
New (white) baseboards
New switch/plug covers (white!)
Paint door/frame
Drop router cable @ outside wall
Move router to shelf
Move table to corner
Wall art
Window treatment
Closet door drapes
Organize closet
Memo board
Braden’s chalk board
Mail station
Paint window sill
Desk cord covers (Velcro fabric to back wall)
Cord wraps for cords to upper shelves

Master Bedroom:
Baseboards
Crown
Paint doors/frames
New plug/switch plate covers
Window treatment
Paint
Paint windowsill
Wall art
Bed! (we sleep with our mattress & box spring on the ground)

Master Bath:
Paint vanity
Paint window sill
Base boards
Tile borders (where the tile hits the vanity and the carpet there are gaps! Ick!)
Clean the shower
Clean shower door
Tighten fixtures (my TP holder doesn’t hold TP!)
Plug switch plates
Window treatment
New sink/vanity
Clean faucets

Baby’s room
Paint windowsill
Paint doors/frames
Baseboards
Wall art (it fell when we put the shelves in the office/playroom)
New plug/switch plates
Clean in general! Ugh! So much stuff!
organize closet

Front porch/yard
paint front door (don’t remember if we’re done or not)
sweep
new light (or patch the hole in the base of our old light)
plants
door mat

Back porch/yard:
Sweep
Grass
Plants
Furniture?
Fix plexiglass on cords
Paint doors
Fix chimney

Laundry Room
Paint?
New white baseboards
Paint door frame
New (white) garage door
Décor (something small but cute for me!)


So there you have it! Unless my dear husband adds more to the list!

And lest you think I'm over-exerting myself already...
1) we already have the baseboards for the living room, hallway, entry and master bath. They just need to be painted
2) we have the can lights for the living room
3) we have the cable to drop in the office, just a matter of doing it
4) we have the paint for the back door
5) the cleaning just needs to be done (no excuses... nothing to buy)
6) we have the new knobs for all the cabinets, but to be honest I might wait until we paint to put them on the get the big (ta da! effect).
7) we have the paint to get the window sills
8) we have touch up paint for the walls in the living room and hallway
9) we have the ability to put up the cabinet frame in the hallway... just haven't done it
10) we have the ability to tighten the knobs in the master bath... just haven't done it.

So that's more than 10 things on the list (ie. cleaning is on the master list like 30x) that could be done right this second if I had the time. So it's not so bad!

Decorating for Valentine's Day

I'm not one to go overboard. I'm not a huge fan of giant red, pink & white balloons and garland. If that's you, great! But it's not for me. So I usually do not decorate for Valentines day.

This year is different. This year I came across an absolutely adorable idea over at Craftily Ever After! I'm a big fan of subway art (although I don't have any in my home), and this piece is just adorable! It's sweet, it's romantic, it's Valentines, and... IT'S ME!








Don't you just love it?