Monday: DIY Project

Sing it with me now, "Everybody who's a slacker raise your hand, woo woo, everybody who's a slacker raise your hand!" I know, I know... I've been very neglectful of the good ol' blog lately... but I will try to do better, starting with today's post about my most recent (I say that like I do things like this a lot) DIY project! Yay!!!!

I was inspired recently by something that was being sold on etsy.com (if you don't know what this is, go there IMMEDIATELY). It was a cork board covered in fabric and framed by an antique painted frame. Needless to say, it had my name written alllll over it. The more I thought about though, as uncrafty as I am, I figured I could try to make it myself. And that's exactly what I did (with a little help of course).

So, here's the supplies we used:


1. An old frame
2. Off-white spray paint in a satin finish
3. Burlap, which we bought at Hobby Lobby (Beware: this is a dangerous store when you are in a DIY mood). You could also use other fabrics if you wanted a different look.
4. A somewhat heavy duty stapler
5. Cork board.... or cardboard will do really as we quickly discovered that all cork board is nowadays is cardboard covered up with a thin sticky sheet of cork board look-a-like (ahh, what is this world coming to??)

Not pictured: X-acto knife, scissors, marker, some sort of measuring device, little nails, a hammer, and pretty push pins :)

So, basically, it was a fairly simple project (I say this because my partner in crime quite honestly did most of the work). So anyways, we spray painted the old frame earlier on and let it dry. Then we took the frame off the "cork board" and cut it to size. Next we cut a piece of burlap the size of the cork board with about an extra two inches each way.


Then, we laid down the burlap on a table with the cork board over it (upside down) and pulled the fabric taught, one edge at a time, and stapled the burlap to the back of the board (being careful to make sure we weren't stapling into the table, haha). Finally, we laid the board, which was now covered in burlap, into the back of the frame and used 4 small nails to nail it into place in the corners. All that was left to do then was to nail a small nail into the wall in the desired location and hang that bad boy.

And, voila!!


It's a great addition to my new "office" area in the living room.

Friday: Song of the Week

My favorite girl...



Missy Higgins, Scar

Happy Friday :)

Friday: Song of the Week

Great lyrics...

Wednesday: Mid-Week Inspiration

I recently read a book after my beautiful and amazing friend Suzie recommended it to me... A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by the ever-so-talented Donald Miller. I literally read the majority of the book over the course of two days (during which I was mostly stuck in my bed due to a not-so-fun bout with the chills/fever/sore throat/weakness/sore muscles/headache sort of the flu this past weekend).


This book.... whew... it's one of those "Oh my goodness... oh my goodness... this stuff is going to change my life" sort of reads. Incredible. The book focuses a lot on the idea of "story" and what makes a good story and what makes OUR lives good stories and why good stories are worth pursuing.

Anyways.... I may just be hosting a book club this summer (and maybe beyond that, who knows) and this book will no doubt be the first book we read (I'm the founder of the club, I get to make these sorts of decisions, you see).

Today I'll share just a few of my favorite passages from the book with you, my friends.

"I've said before, the main way we learn story is not through movies or books; it's through each other. Your become like the people you interact with. And if your friends are living boring stories, you probably will too. We teach our children good or bad stories, what is worth living for and what is worth dying for, what is worth pursuing, and the dignity with which a character engages his own narrative." p.160

"I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants." p. 59

"The ambitions we have will become the stories we live. If you want to know what a person's story is about, just ask them what they want. If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories, and if we want a Roomba vacuum cleaner, we are living stupid stories. If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life." p. 125

"... I realized how much of our lives are spent trying to avoid conflict. Half the commercials on television are selling us something that will make life easier. Part of me wonders if our stories aren't being stolen by the easy life." p.186

"People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain." p.100

Until next time...

Saturday: Je ne sais quoi

My mom and I made a pilgrimage to glorious IKEA this past week in order to fill my new home with some awesome design and essentials at some not-so-steep prices. And honestly, I wish you all could have seen us... my mom broke her ankle not too long ago so she is in a wheel chair. Imagine... woman in a wheelchair + shopping cart + more stuff than fits in a shopping chart + 3 floors of goodies + lots of elevator rides + lots of strange looks from other shoppers = lots of laughs on our part even though we looked a bit like a circus.

Here are just some of the goodies we came home with:

Gislev rug, $19.99

365+ 18-piece Dinnerware Set, $24.99PS Svarva Floor Lamp, on sale $49.99

Hemnes Bed Frame, $199.99

I really would have preferred to get the white version of this bed, but it cost an extra $80! Nothing a little paint can't fix at some point down the road.

Hemnes Nightstand, $59.99

Svalka Wine Glasses (Red and White), $4.99 for six

Thursday: Wishful Thinking

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: ROCKFORD NEEDS AND WOULD SUPPORT A TRADER JOE'S!!!!!

I cannot tell you how many times I have wished that Rockford had more in the way of specialty grocery stores. I believe that if a Trader Joe's were to invest (it is not a franchise) and open up a store in or around the River District in Rockford that a few things would happen: 1) It would be massively successful, 2) it would do wonders for the area's redevelopment and 3) it would create jobs for the area... oh and 4) I would be a very happy lady.

And for those of you who have not had the pleasure of shopping at a TJ's, let me fill you in. On their website they answer the question, "How is shopping at Trader Joe's different from what you may be used to in a supermarket?" this way:

"At Trader Joe's, you won't find a lot of branded items. Instead, you'll find unconventional and interesting products in the Trader Joe's label as well as everyday basics. We buy products we think are winners and that'll find a following among our customers. Sometimes it's a product we intend to stock as long as it sells well; and sometimes we buy a product which is in limited supply, sell through it, and you won't find it again. It's all part of the shopping adventure at Trader Joe's."

What do you think?

Sunday: House Announcement

Well, it's almost official... I will be a homeowner this week at about 10 am on Wednesday! It's been a whirlwind of a process and I'm so excited about what lies ahead.

My house was built in 1920, so it's got amazing character and charm, but it's been very nicely updated. I can't wait to blog updates along the way as I decorate and make it my own. More to come!


Oh and here's a cutie of me and the fam' in my living room from this weekend. These people mean the world to me! Spending time with them in the Dells this weekend was amazing!