It's March.

How is it that it's already March? I sure hope Colorado gets the memo that the month is March and therefore it should stop snowing immediately! haha.

So this past weekend, Marcos and I did something pretty fun. We doggysat! So without further delay I'd like you to meet Peace.

He's a little over a year old and is miniature pinscher mixed with a billion other things. He's such a sweet dog and Stella LOVES him! They had a ton of fun playing and after every play time, Stella would take a l-o-n-g nap, which was a plus for me!

Peace was really good at sitting and letting me take a picture, but Stella was always going crazy so here are some of best pictures I was able to get. 

 

Peace & Stella playing in the snow.

 

Walking.

 

 You see how it's blurry? It's because Stella is CRAZY.

Poor Peace, he just wanted to play with his toy but Stella kept trying to get it away from him.

I felt sorry for the ppl underneath the apartment because they were jumping and running so much!

Peace lives in the building across from us, so every time I take Stella outside, she runs to where Peace lives because she wants to play! Haha.

Basically I spent all weekend with the dogs, but other than that just did some bowling with some friends. Needless to say, professional bowling is not in my future.

I don't know if I'll be making any St.Patrick's Day wreaths, but I'll think about it this week and let you all know if I do!

I'll leave you with a quick look at one of my favorite walls in our living room.

It's my "L" wall! I starting collecting different "L's" and the black and white one and polka dot L's are both just plain white letters and I mod podged scrapbook paper on them. The top left silver one is from Anthropolgie as is big outline wire one. The gold bottom left is from Hobby Lobby, the green one and the little wire one are from Urban Outfitters, and the fabric covered one in the upper right hand side is from Anthropologie. I actually have another red one that is up there too, but I took this picture before I put it up. I got that one at my favorite antique store in downtown Littleton.

I was actually a little bummed when I decided to collect these because the letter L is so boring! It doesn't have a good shape, like an M or S, or even an O. But oh well, I've learned to live with it.  :o)

So here's to a happy Monday for everyone! My husband is actually flying out to Arkansas for work tonight so I've been able to enjoy him at home for much longer than I'm used to. Maybe I should help him pack his clothes?.....or maybe not.  lol

Finally!

Hello everyone!

I can't believe I haven't posted in such a long time. My Mom and Grandma came to visit and then my husband spent extra time at home so I've been busy and haven't really sat down to get online. But alas, I'm here! I'm from the wonderfully sunny city of El Paso, Texas so when Mom and Grannie came, of course it snowed! They were excited and even brought their snow boots!

We did lots of eating (ugh!) and shopping (yay!) One of my favorite places to go antique shopping is downtown Littleton, Colorado. Main Street has just the cutest stores filled with anything you could want. (I bought several things that need to be put together, so I'll post pictures soon)

Before my Mom came into town, I of course cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, and I knew that I had to fix my mantle.There's this guy who works for Marcos' company that paints landscapes that have to deal with the company. So for Christmas last year, Marcos' department each received a HUGE framed print. And though it's lovely, it always seemed more "den-ish" then hanging over the mantle-ish. But, alas there it hung for a year. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I had enough. I took it down and started my quest for a new mantle. First, when I saw THIS I knew I had to make one! Since I love books and I love to read, I knew that this wreath would be perfect for over my mantle.

And this is my final product! All I did was take a wreath form that I got at Joanns and an old paperback I had in my closet and set to tearing out the pages and rolling them up and gluing. Word to the wise, you WILL burn the flesh right off your fingers with the hot glue if you don't use something ( a pencil or pen works great) to help you glue the cones of paper to the wreath. I don't think I have a picture of my before mantle, but here's the final product so far.

And yes, it's a horrible picture! Sorry, my camera needs to be charged and I just took this half-heartedly with my phone. But, I hope you get the gist.  Starting from the far left, that is, I guess a key holder? It's a dark wood and has an old key on the front. You can then open the front and there's about 6 hooks inside. I really just liked the look of it and I got it a thrift store here in Denver for 5 dollars! Can't beat that. Next, is my fabulous, giant "L" that I'm in love with. It's a big paper maiche letter that you can buy at Joanns and all I did was paint it with a deep red and a mustard color. Those will run you about 9 dollars, but I had a 50% off coupon so another score for just under 5 dollars! Next, we have a frame that I had bought even before I was married and it has an engagement photo in it. Then last, I have 3 moss covered cones. I was happy with my other cones I made with twine, but for my mantle I needed something that was taller. So I bought 3 tall cones and some moss from the dollar store and went to gluing.

I'm sure at some point (maybe when and if we move soon) I'll change up the mantle again, but for now I really like the way it looks. And as for the book wreath, it may just be my favorite wreath yet! I have big plans for making more of those.

On a Stella update, she's doing so good at puppy classes! Besides being the class favorite ( I mean, look how adorable she is!) she's very smart and can now sit, lay down, and we're working on short leash walking. I'llleave you with a "Stella in the snow" picture .

I'm glad I finally updated, I promise I'll do better!

Valentine's Wreath

Happy February everyone!

I can't believe it's already February. Time really does go by quickly. This week I've been busy organizing my mantle and making more wreaths! I think I'm a little obsessed with wreaths. :o)

So this wreath idea came from here.

It was so easy. I bought 1/2 yard of red felt and a heart shaped foam wreath and then just cut out about 100 circles. You then just fold the circles twice and pin them to the wreath.

 

I wanted to put it on the outside of our front door, but since it's supposed to snow this weekend and it's been windy, I just put it on the inside. And, you know what? It makes me smile when I look up at it.

After 3 back and forth trips from Hobby Lobby to Michaels and back again (and again) I should be able to start one final wreath tonight. I'm so indecisive that I kept driving back and forth trying to figure out what I wanted to buy! It's not going to be a Valentine's wreath, but one that I hope to hang on top of my mantle.

On a Stella update, tonight is her very first puppy training class! I'm so excited and I hope she does well. It's kind of a bummer to be the owner of the dog that's the loser in the class. Haha! So I'll hopefully update tomorrow and let you all know how she did. 

Farmer's Market

Yesterday, I read a post on Heather's Blog about a Farmer's Market downtown Denver that was open during the Winter. I really wanted to check it out so I was actually able to wake Marcos up before Noon (they closed at 2pm) to go check it out. I've been really trying to buy organic and locally grown so I loved that I discovered this place.

What I loved about this was that everything was grown in Colorado and they had some great things. From fresh milk to fresh eggs to homemade apple butter and applesauce with no sugar, homemade pasta, spices, and cheese.

We knew that we were going to go eat lunch afterward so I wasn't able to buy any fresh milk or cheese, but hopefully will soon. We did however buy some delicious, fresh baked bread.

First, I bought a whole-grain roll (didn't buy the whole loaf since I didn't think I could eat it all myself this week) and it was so soft and delicious. It's covered with different seeds on top and was very good.



Then we found foccacia bread. Oh boy did I have to buy it when I noticed it. It smelled delicious and had melted cheese, olive, and jalapenos on top. I ate just a piece to try it out and I'm getting ready to make sandwiches with it today for lunch. Yum!



Also, Heather found out about this Farmer's Market from Ashley's post. Go and check it out! She posted some great pictures and recipes!

Honey brought me some Honey

So for the past couple of weeks Marcos has been working in Nebraska. This week he came home with a surprise for me. He noticed that there were some cute shops around town (and he knows I love some cute shops!) and he noticed one that was selling fresh honey. He bought me 2 different varieties of honey.

The first is a regular honey in the very typical "bear" container except for one thing. This bear is HUGE. I can't find my ruler so I'll just say that he's taller than my hand and I can't even put my hand around him.



The next one is a lighter honey and in the bottom of the jar it still contains some of the honeycomb.





(On the far left you can see one of my Valentine's crafts I made that I haven't posted yet, so stay tuned!)

Both of these are form Anselmo, NE and are from the Chandler's Sandhill Honey & Bottling Co. Oh, and one more great thing. Marcos did not have cash (we're super bad at carrying around actual money) and they didn't accept credit cards so they told him to go ahead and take the honey and to just send them a check later! Can you believe it? So as I type this, I'm getting their payment ready and will deliver it to the post office so they can receive it asap. Who knew there were still such trusting folks out there? Well, thank you Chandler Family for the fabulous honey! And thank you Honey, for the honey.  :o)

Gotta love that Dollar Store

I've seen many designs with a set of cones that look like they're made out of twine or covered in moss. I really like the way it looks so I went to the dollar store and sure enough, they sell Styrofoam cones there. They only sold ones that were all the same size, so I decided to also buy another piece of Styrofoam and just glue it to the bottom to make one taller and just cut another one to make it the smaller size. I had previously gone to Michael's to find a thick twine but I couldn't really find anything I liked and most were averaging 6-8 dollars. Luckily, whilst perusing the Dollar Tree I found some twine that I thought would look good.

So easy enough, I just wrapped the cones in the twine, hot glued the ends, and added a little bow in the center.

I think I'd like a thicker twine, but for a total of 4 dollars, I think they're really cute and they'll definitely have a place in my mantle once I figure out how I want to decorate it! I may also go back and bye more and cover them with moss to see how those would look too.

On a side note, my Husband, who is the most amazing guy, thinks the absolute world of me and he's constantly telling me I can do anything and everything. (Which I cannot!) So, one Saturday we went looking for some art for our mantle and when we didn't find anything he suggested that I just buy a canvas and paint something myself though I have no painting skills whatsoever. Well, this past weekend we found ourselves at Hobby Lobby and we bought 2 canvases, paint, brushes, and he even insisted on buying me an easel! Well, I painted both and though I like the way they came out I'm not sure about them. I'll post pictures tomorrow, but you just have to remember that this was my first try! (Oh, and I told him he needs to paint some too then when my Mom comes to visit next week she can judge them! Haha)

Fun Goodwill Find!

I decided that I wanted to decorate our mantle in a way that would incorporate empty picture frames. So, I took a trip to Goodwill to see what I could find.

Though I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, I wandered into the book section and found these wonderful books.

They're the Reader's Digest Best Loved Books for young readers collection. They were published in 1968 and each book contains 4 novels, for example "Wuthering Heights", "The Last of the Mohicans", "The Odyessy", and "The Pearl."  Each one is numbered and these are 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14. So, I'm not sure how many were actually in this collection but I just loved the colors and the design on the covers.

Hopefully I'll find them a wonderful new home in our place!

Valentine's Wreath

While Stella slept at my feet, I was finally able to complete one of the crafts I've been wanting to finish.

Jen at Tatertots and Jello is amazing and I'm so glad I read her blog. She gives a tutorial on how to complete this wreath Here.

I started with an 8 inch foam wreath that I got at Dollar Tree and Valentine's Day cupcake liners that I got at Hobby Lobby. I bought 2 packs (a total of 100) because I wasn't really sure how many I would need.



Then you just bunch them up and hot glue them around. Easy Peasy!

Here's my finished wreath.




I think it's so adorable and I love how easy and cheap it was. You gotta love that Dollar Tree.

I've also been trying to figure out a new way to decorate my mantle, so I'll post pictures this week on the before and after. I did buy a couple more items at Dollar Tree to help me fix it up and I'm almost done with that so pictures to come soon.

Book Club

In about 2 hours I'll be going to my first meeting with the book club. I'm excited to meet everyone and I just wanted to share the first book we read. It's "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay.

In July of 1942, thousands of Jewish families in France were rounded up and forcibly kept in the Velodrome d'Hiver then sent to concentration camps. The book goes back and forth between 1942 where a little girl and her family are among the thousands rounded up from Paris and 2002 where an American journalist living in Paris learns about these events and starts investigating. It's a great book, so go pick it up if you have a chance!

On a side note, hopefully this weekend I'll be able to start my Valentine's Day wreath so I'll keep you posted.

2010

Even though I started this blog a little later than the official beginning of the New Year, I've decided to go ahead and make a "resolutions" post anyway.

First, I have to say that I've never really set new year's resolutions before aside from the very ordinary, "I want to eat healthier and loose some weight." So this year I've decided that I want to compile a list of things that I want to accomplish or at least attempt this year.

Here we go...

1. I want to read 100 books.
*Disclaimer: I am an avid reader. And by avid I mean I check out books from the library almost every single day. BUT, I've never listed the books I've read so I'm interested to see just how many I read in a year. So hopefully, I'll figure out a way to start posting the books titles on here to keep a running tally.

2. Meet new people.
The Husband and I moved to the suburbs of Denver, CO in August of 2008, two days after our wedding. Unfortunately, he got a new position a couple of months into our move and now he travels M-F every single week of every single month! Since I haven't worked since we moved here, I really don't find a ton of opportunities to meet new people and make new friends SO this is where the "meet new people" thing comes in. Luckily, I've joined a book club and we have our first meeting this Thursday, so I should be meeting this goal pretty soon!

3. Learn to sew & make wonderful and fabulous *things*.
I actually do know how to sew (thank you Mrs. Yasger, my high school technical theatre teacher) but it's been a while. Luckily, my wonderful parents bought me a brand new Singer for Christmas this year, so now I have no excuses!

4. Be super crafty. (and decorate more with my wonderful creations)
Days go by when all I do is read the blogs of these wonderful women who create some of the most wonderful things I've ever seen with their glue guns, paint, and fabric. And gosh darnit, I want to be one of them! With Valentine's day around the corner, I'm already gathering materials to start the decorating! Hopefully I can post weekly on crafty ideas, projects, and decorating updates.

5. Get a puppy.
Done and Done! See, I'm already kicking these "resolutions" in the butt! :o) I've been wanting a puppy since we got married and finally this January 2, the Husband and I picked out the newest addition to the family, Stella! (insert "A Streetcar Named Desire" shout HERE) As all the puppy books so lovinly put it, she is a "mongrel" :o( so we really don't know how big she gets, but I'm excited to finally be jumping in on the everyone in Colorado has a dog bandwagon.

6. Be more organized.
I'm fairly organized, but once again the wonderful blogs of these women who are crafty are also pretty darn organized. They inspire me daily and I've already cleaned out our huge storage area and labeled all our bins. Again, thanks to my folks for getting me a labelmaker for Christmas!

7. Set and stay with a budget.
This goes along with trying to set a budget for the weekend and eating out. When husband comes home, we kind of go crazy and buy whatever and eat out for every meal. Hello, we have a Wetzels Pretzels frequent buyer card and it has about 15 punches already!

8. Exercise more often.
I live in an apartment complex that has a workout room, so really how lazy am I not to go?

9. Learn how to ride a bike/swim.
Ah, the two shames in my life. Perhaps I'll share the lovely stories as to why I can't do either of these things in a post to come, but for now just know that I can't do either, I've tried to learn for years, and blah, blah, blah I really should just suck it up and learn. *Disclaimer: If I'm going to fail on one thing in this list, you better believe it's going to be this one!

and finally the one that's going to make my Mom jump for joy and my Husband cringe...

10. Have a baby in my belly!
I don't think it was until college that I knew that being a Mom was something that I absolutely could not wait to do. (well, wait until marriage for sure) I want to have a family and I don't want to wait a hundred years. C'mon husband, all I'm asking is to have something growing inside of me by the end of 2010! :o) With this comes a lot of planning and getting my body ready. So I'm sure they'll be more updates on this as the year goes by.

There you have it. 10 things I hope to accomplish. Should we give it a "Whoo-hoo!"

WHOO-HOO!!

Success

I realize that no one knows about this blog yet, but I just wanted to put it out there in the internet world that I've been trying to "fix up" this blog for the past 2 days and by golly, I've done it!

I love the new fonts and the backgrounds!

Background is compliments of Shabby Blogs and I found the fabulous font that is my signature and header at the wonder that is Amanda So go check them out!

Hello, Internet!

So here we go!

I've probably talked about blogging for years now and have yet to actually do it. I think I'm finally doing it because I find myself constantly reading blogs. I especially love blogs about decorating, fashion, and organization. Geeky, no?

So alas, I shall start in the world of blogging.