Birthday spankins

It's my 27th birthday in a couple days. It's weird saying that because 27 used to be "you're so old you fart dust" old. To me anyways. I'm still a kid at heart though. Obviously...  I still talk about farting.

Luckily for me I get to spend the day tomorrow with good friends over at the flea market at Merchant Square. Last time I went I met a couple of really fun gals who read my blog. I thought at first they were looking at me because I was trying to shove two antique doors into my car 8 months pregnant. Turns out they read my blog and came over to say hi and that they couldn't wait to see what I was doing with those doors.

Speaking of my readers, I love it when people say hi to me that read my blog. It makes me feel like these past few years of blogging have actually been enjoyed by someone, somewhere. I need this outlet. It's for enjoyable conversations with other big people. Conversations that don't consist of the phrases "for the love of all that it holy, stop licking the sidewalk" or "Someone get the scissors away from that running infant."

I guess what I'm saying is thanks. Thanks for reading and commenting and probably sometimes mocking. I'm sure I would make fun of me too if I was there. Anyways, maybe I'll see some of you tomorrow in Chandler. If so, I call dibs on anything with chipping paint on it.

And because I can't do a blog post without a picture I thought I'd leave you with this gem. (Sorry for the crappy iphone picture)

This is the chevron pin board I made a while ago. And then I promptly decided I wanted to go a different direction in my guest bedroom. That's just how life goes at my house, I suppose. I want to give it to someone who's having a little girl for their nursery. Know anyone?

Chevron Frames

I've been getting tons of e-mails regarding the chevron frames I used to make. Well, I'm pleased to announce that my friend Jenna from Paddington Way will be selling them out of her etsy shop.

Here's the link to her shop Paddington Way

I taught her the ways of my awesomeness so they're exactly like mine. So hop on by and order one for yourself! Thanks for all the interest!

Open shelving for the kitchen

I found a picture of my kitchen on my blog from right before we moved in. It was nice but not really me.

My friend Jenna was over and we were thumbing through the spring Country Home magazine. A kitchen with open shelving really caught my eye. She said "If I owned our house I would so have open shelving." I was like "Me too. Wait a hot minute... I DO!" So I did it. That same day.

I have to say, it's come a long way! I love the space now. And apart from adding a skylight and installing wood flooring it is DONE! When I told people what I did, the majority told me I was nuts for ripping out thousands of dollars in upper cabinets. Well I am nuts, so niener niener.

Besides, it's not like I burned them so I could eat smores. That would be crazy. Smores are gross. I just moved them into my laundry room. More on that to come.

So, to answer your questions before you knew you had them...

All the stuff I think is ugly like kids plastic dishes and pots and pans are on the bottom.
I actually use my white dishes so they probably won't get dusty between uses.
I only have a few small kitchen appliances. Toaster, crock pot, etc. I don't even have a waffle maker because I prefer a turkey sandwich for breakfast and so do my kids.
Even if I did though, I still have an entire cabinet that's empty on the bottom to put them in.

When I asked my husband how he felt about open shelving he said and I quote "My initial reaction isn't negative". So I ran with it. When he was helping me rip them out (which took about 15 minutes by the way) I could tell he was a bit apprehensive. But he loves it now that it's finished. Plus he always says "Happy Wife= Happy Life". And I am HAPPY so he is too! I love that man.

Now for the specs...

The color on top is (what else would I use) Swiss Coffee.
The color on bottom is Wexford Fog
The total price to install shelving and paint was around $200
The pulls are from Hobby Lobby (I got knobs there too but they didn't have enough)
The white dishes with the beading are from Walmart. They are super inexpensive and look just like Pottery barns. Here's the link.

If you have any other questions, feel free to comment here and I'll comment back so everyone can see the answers. I hope you like it because I LOVE it now. It feels so much more open and light. If you're thinking about installing open shelving, DO IT! You'll love it too.
         

Kitchen peek

I am so excited to show you guys my new kitchen I made over! So excited, in fact, that I snapped one picture before it gets too dark. If you guessed from my last post that I installed open shelving, you were right! Like I said, there is horrible lighting right now but I was dying to show you and couldn't wait!

Come back tomorrow to see the whole space!

Winner

Alright readers, we have a winner.....

Sara, who would give her left.... uh... eye for one of these.

You made me laugh. So you get one of my pillows. Shoot me a quick e-mail with your address and I'll send it off asap!

Also, if you're wondering why I've been absent for a while, it's because I've been working on something. Something a little crazy. Something that my mother almost disowned be for doing. Well, not really but almost. I'll give you a hint...

Look on my pinterest account and see what I've been pinning the last couple of days. First one to guess gets an imaginary high five.

I'm almost done with the details and I'll post pictures. I'm really excited to show you guys this one!

600 Follower giveaway

I figure since I hit 600 followers today I may as well do a fun give away. Remember when I made these red cross pillow covers? Well, lucky for you guys, I made an extra one on the off chance I would have the need to give one away some day. This felt like the right occasion.

So leave a comment and one of these babies is yours. If you're not already a follower become one. Everybody is doing it. I'll pick the winner in a couple days.

More family pictures

I just can't get enough of my family pictures Jenna took for me. Here are my favorite shots...

This is the one I used for my dining room. Half of my kids are looking away but what can you do...

My daughter Paysen. She's 6 and super obedient. Like REALLY obedient. Like she was probably switched at birth for that baby that cried non stop in the nursery. Suckers. She is also very girly which is about the opposite of me as you could get when I was little. I remember being so pissed that my mom would make me brush my hair and wear a dress on Sundays. 

Porter's the next in line. He's 4 and a professional Mario Brother player. He wants me to play all the time and then picks up my character and throws me into the lava just because he can. Yep, that one's for sure mine.

And then there's Pierce. He is the only one who looks like my husbands side of the family. I love his dark features and sweet personality. Porter just taught him how to tease so I'll randomly get whacked in the butt and then hear na na na boo boo as he runs away. Let's hope he grows out of that one before he's old enough to date.

And lastly, Paxton. He's almost 2 and wants to be a big kid. But he can't really talk yet so he pretty much just yells and points all day. Like a cavebaby.

Here's my husband and I. He flies blackhawks for the army and I cook and clean in an apron and heels all day. Bah ha ha. Just kidding. But my project I'm doing later today is a frame for this picture. I blew it up at Sams club and Modge Podged it onto a board. I'll post pictures when it's done.

I also bought some really awesome things at the barn sale this weekend. I'm telling you, it was my kind of sale. People are FINALLY getting the industrial, rusty, metal design I've been going ga ga over for a while. I'll put pictures up of my new night stands, metal crates and bed I bought too. For those of you who came by, thanks! It was nice seeing you, sorry again for the long wait to check out again. There was just too much awesome stuff to buy!

p.s. If you want Jenna to take pictures for you and you live in Gilbert/ Queen Creek, you can contact her through her blog, Paddington Way.