First Anniversary!

Ladies and Gents, today marks our first wedding anniversary!

I can't believe how fast it went!  It feels like that day just happened and we should be headed back to Maui! :(  I planned a fun day full of surprises for my Mister on Saturday!

First, he has been wanting a telescope and told him he would basically never ever get it because it was too expensive and a ridiculous idea.  Well, we went to pick it up on Saturday morning! And we took it out for a star party with some friends last night and saw SATURN!!! {So cool, btw!}

Pretty cool, huh?!

Later in the day on Saturday, I surprised him with an Anniversary Photo Shoot! It was so much fun and he loved it! Here are a few from the day! Can't wait to see the rest!

My fave so far! {I found the idea on Pinterest!}

Tonight we are going out to eat and then just hanging out together! 

This weekend is his surprise weekend.  We are going home to the Burgh and that's all I know...I'm a little nervous but super excited for what he might have planned!

Look for that post sometime next week!

~Ami~

Reorganization: One of my favorite words!

This weekend, it was rainy and yucky and kind of chilly (nice break from the heat these last couple of weeks).  So I took full advantage of the inclement weather and decided to

REORGANIZE!

I love to do it and it comes naturally to me!

I started with the kitchen and moved some stuff around; my craft corner, the table and the mess under the sink got revamped.

The living room was easy because there isn't much there.  But right now there is a heap of stuff that needs donated and thrown out.  Kind of excited about junk piles!

My pride and joy is my hall closet!  I totally cleaned it out, moved some stuff to other closets and even threw a bunch of stuff out.  Here are some before shots:

Pretty bad, huh?  That's what a messy loving husband and two dogs will do to your closet.

If you remember in a previous post, I said I was thinking about some storage bins and trying to decide what to use.  Well, Target's dollar section came to the rescue!  I got these cuties for $2.50 a piece and did my own little bit of hocus pocus on them to fit my decor.  I love them and they are the perfect fit for my shelves.  

I am still working on covering up my other bins and debating whether or not to spend the $29.99 on the amazing wire basket at Marshall's for my hair dryer/irons.  The cardboard box would go up in flames after one hair-do!

Those towels are not purple...yuk...they are brown; but my phone is stupid and takes really bad pictures.

The left side of the closet is waiting for a privacy curtain to go up.  Just need to find the right fabric/curtain!

How do you like?  Do you randomly reorganize too?  What kind of weekend mischief did you get into?

~Ami~

Linking up to TheShabbyNest: Frugal Friday

Bathroom Showcase

I'm linking up today over at Thrifty Decor Chick and her "Show Us Your House: Bathroom Edition" party!

Mr. F did a nice panorama on his iPhone...thanks hunny! (click on me to see closer details)

I've done a little bit of DIY in our bathroom...just a little bit.  But I plan to do more once we have our own home and more bathrooms.  When we registered for our wedding, my dearest hubby we chose brown and red {a little too country for my taste, but he insisted}.  So right now, our "master" and only bathroom is in red, brown and ivory.  We've had the shower curtain for some time and the rug is so old that the ivory is turning pink from so many washes! So that will be upgraded soon enough...

The "friends" plaque was a gift from a dear friend a few years back.

I DIY'd the "bath" plaques.  I love Michael's wood section.  They had adorable plain, ready to paint frames for only a buck and I grabbed four.  I had paint, twine and floral wire on hand and just kind of went at it and came up with the cute {country-esque} plaques.

{Needless to say, this will probably become our guest bathroom in our own home or maybe even just scraped...but it works for us for now!}

Thanks for stopping by!

~Ami~

Brainstorming Storage...

I've been all over Pinterest and the world wide web looking for a super duper free cheap way to either buy or make some storage bins for various areas of our little box we like to call "home".  

I don't have kids so the famous diaper box bins may not be feasible unless I go a) dumpster diving or b) raid my fellow teachers' classrooms for leftovers.  I thought about just biting the bullet and going to Ikea or Target and just buying some and revamping them to match our decor but I just can't bring myself to pay more money than I have to for storage options.  

So I've been collecting some ideas.  Hopefully, I'll pick one and stick with it before my overflowing closets get the best of me!

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Here are some other options that would be feasible for decorative storage that would hold "out-in-the-open-for-the-world-to-see" junk.  Thinking about it...

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And last, but certainly not least...if I could afford these puppies, you better believe I would buy out Anthro and they would ALL be mine!! I love me some chevron!

Source: Anthropologie shout out!

Hopefully, I'll make a decision soon and be able to share my results or perhaps a tutorial on my own twist on homemade storage options!

Stay tuned, readers!

~Ami~

 

Pinterest Challenge Party!

I'm linking up to Centsational Girls's "Pinterest Challenge Party" today! I am so excited because it is my first real blog post onto another blog!!

I chose my Ballard Designs knock-off project I found from Mrs. DIY and the Tennis Guy.  

 Ballard Designs Knock-Off

I wanted to add some more pillows to our bed so I thought these would be perfect.  Mrs. DIY gave a great tutorial for how to stencil the letters onto her burlap.  Below is my tutorial on using drop cloth and stamps.  Enjoy and go check out Centsational Girl's Blog Party!

I started off with two pillow forms I got from Ikea a long long time ago and my 4X5 foot piece of drop cloth from Lowe's.  (I love that stuff by the way!)  Put that together with my handy dandy tape measure and scissors and pencil and we're ready to go!

Since my pillow forms were 13 inches by 13 inches, I measured my drop cloth at 16 by 16 for some extra room. I cut a total of four pieces, two for each pillow.

Next I ironed my pieces so they were nice and flat and smooth.

I haven't invested in a sewing machine yet, so I pulled out the most awesome stuff: Stitch witchery!  Love it and it works for so much.  Since these are decorative pillows, I figured it would suffice.

After each pillow was fused, I flipped them inside out to paint.

Then came the fun part: printing!  I used my super cheap stamps from Joann's to paint with acrylics and then just stamp onto drop cloth.

Here's what they looked like after a quick stamp.  Then I filled them in by hand painting them with a small brush.

And now, the final project! All in all, these took me about 2 hours.  It would have been less if I had a sewing machine, but well worth it and I love that they match our bed set.

Try it if you like it!

"4' x 15' Canvas Drop Cloth 58908"

A Crafting We will Go!

Holy Lordy! IT IS HOT!!! So I've been inside crafting all week and all day today! Look what I made!

A Ballard Designs Knock-Off..Ruler Growth Chart

Another Ballard Designs Knock-Off...Mr. and Mrs. pillows (look for a tutorial and Blog Party post on Thursday!)

My own creation! I totally love this! Out of 1X2's, 1X1's, some great stain and hooks!

I had so much fun and was a busy lady!

Happy 4th of July!

Corn should be knee high by now...sparklers going off everywhere...tasty hot dogs and hamburgers right off the grill...ice cold lemonade...parades with marching bands and firetrucks!

Happy 4th everyone!