Monday, September 30, 2013

Bathroom Reveal

I am finally done with our bathroom and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. If you haven't already noticed, I like the colors blue and yellow.....they make me think bright and cheery! It's hard when you are renting a house and you can't paint the walls or woodwork. It drives me crazy because I really want to get my hands on these walls and woodwork. The walls are very different in this bathroom. It is almost like a blue wooden paneling. I originally wanted to do blue and burnt orange in this bathroom, but I found a shower curtain I loved and ran with the yellow.
 
Here is what it looked like before I moved in.
BEFORE:
 
 
 
And here is what it looks like now.
AFTER:
 I was originally going to do some old drawer shelving above the yellow shelf, but I found a ton of really cheap embroidery hoops at a flea market so I went with that idea instead.
 I had all the fabric on hand so the project cost me about $8.
 I wasn't sure how it would look, but I love the way it turned out.
 It's hard to tell what the blue fabric looks like but they have little polka dots and stripes on them.
 This was a wine rack that I bought at a garage sale. I spray painted it and used it as a hand towel holder.
 All I have left to do is find some curtains, or learn how to sew them.
 Our above the toilet storage space for towels.
 
 
Our A & Q towel hooks.
 We bought a curved shower rod. I like the look of the curved rods and the extra space it provides. Instead of buying an actual shower curtain, we bought two curtain panels. I wanted to be able to hang the curtain higher and to open it up in the middle.
We got the rug at TJMAXX. I'm impressed it has managed to stay pretty white.
 
Happy Monday....hope you have a great week!!!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Monogram Wall Decor

 
We needed something to go over our bed and I love all things monogrammed so I decided to order one of those initial monograms from Etsy. I didn't just want the monogram hanging with ribbon on the wall, so I glued some fabric to the inside of a frame and hot glued the monogram to the fabric. Here is the end result:
 
Much better than the blank white wall we were working with before.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Here's What's Happening in our Neck of the Woods

 
Things are different when you move from a town with a population of 113,273 to a town with a population of 977. The scenery is different and people are different, but it is a good different. I've always been a firm believer that change is good. Right now, I'm loving the change in scenery and the change in pace. It is a much slower pace of life here and I like it. I never feel rushed, I've never sat in traffic, and it only takes me .2 seconds to get somewhere in town. It's kind of glorious. Don't get me wrong, I do miss all my friends and family back home and shopping is a lot easier to do there. It might be a good thing that I'm so far away from places to shop. Strategic planning is a huge plus here when you have to go shopping and I'm not sure I've figured that out very well yet, but I know I'll learn sooner or later.
 
I wanted to share a few pictures of the change in scenery around here....these are things I never would have seen or experienced in the city, but you can see them almost on a regular basis here.
 
Lets begin with my favorite one. I ran into these people on my daily walk. If you look closely, the man is holding a snake in one hand and an alligator on a leash in the other. The woman has a massive boa constrictor around her neck. That made for an exciting walk that day.
 
 
 
 
The next day we went walking and I thought I'd take my camera with me to take pictures of all the scenery and look what we saw. About 4-5 different snakes in the creek by our neighbors yard. YUCK!
 You will always find a few cute baby ducks swimming in the spring
 And you might find the cutest little tree frog hanging out on a fence post and he will pose perfectly for your picture
And then you might go frog giggin' and kill a poor, innocent frog with a pitch fork. Yes, this really did happen and yes I took my camera to get proof....poor frog!
You will find deer in your yard almost every evening and morning. They can tell I'm from the city because every time I see one I scream and get so excited and I run for my camera, hah.
 We go on a lot of walks with Samson
And he loves every minute of it!
 I went on adventure one day with one of my friends to see her parent's beautiful house and land. It was a lot of fun.
 They have a cave on their land which is totally cool. We got to go inside and explore. We saw a few of these little lizards.
 And another one.
 The inside of the cave.
 There's the opening where we came in from. We were way far in the back.
 This was a huge Sycamore tree that had been uprooted in a flood, I believe.
 Can you spot the teeny tiny frog? So cute and little.
 Then she took me to a pretty spring with a waterfall.
The water was freezing cold.
 
So there you have it. You definitely wouldn't find those things in my hometown. I love exploring this new place and we have so many things to still do and places to see.
 
Both Aaron and I have been playing on softball leagues. We've both enjoyed doing that. I found a job that I really love and I've also started a booth at a craft/antique mall. I'm also doing some hair and photography on the side. In our free time and on the weekends, you can find us watching Razorback football, at a cookout, or hunting (Aaron).
 
We've had four visitors so far. My mom, grandpa, aunt, and Aaron's older brother have all come to visit since we've been married. We love having visitors and showing them around the area.
 
So....that's what's happening....in our neck of the woods :)
 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Fall Bucket List

 
We decided this year to make a fall bucket list of all the fun things we want to do this fall. I thought up 5 things I wanted to do and Aaron thought up 5. I bet you can't guess which ones are Aaron's.
 
Our Fall Bucket List:
1. Carve pumpkins
2. Have a fall photo shoot in the leaves
-We've done this one before and we got some pretty pictures and had a lot of fun doing it.
 
3. Make a fun fall treat (caramel apples, pumpkin pie, etc.)
4. Rake the thousands of leaves in our front and back yard
5. Attend a costume party and dress up
6. Kill a big deer (hmmm....I wonder who's idea this was?)
7. Take a fall foliage drive to Blanchard Springs and hike/sight see
8. Go camping
9. Go to a college football game
10. Go look at the ducks in the Arkansas Delta (Aaron tells me this is a sight to see since there are so many ducks out there)
 
This Saturday is the opening day of deer season in Arkansas. I'm a little bit sad, because I will probably be seeing a lot less of Aaron in the mornings and evenings and on the weekends. Therefore, in our downtime, when he's not hunting, I want to make it a point to go and do fun things together. I've heard the saying, "We interrupt this marriage to bring you hunting season." We actually have a sign that says that hanging in our house, but this year I'm actually going to get to experience the real deal. Wish me luck.
 
Speaking of fall.....here are a few of my favorite things this fall.
Source for all pics:Pinterest
How cute is this caramel apple turkey tray. An easy party dish.
 
I love these chocolate dipped Oreo pumpkins.
I want to be this for Halloween. So cute.
Whoever thought of this is a genius. Easy, cheap, and really cute.
I want to make one of these wine glasses.
 
I love this cute Halloween party invitation with the bat ribbon.
I love the over sized cardigan with ankle boots look!
I also love leather leggings and leather jackets. Not quite sure I could pull the leggings off though.
For some reason, I am in love with flannel and plaid shirts this fall.
 
 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

A Recipe: Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

 
This recipe is really easy and super tasty and the best part is.....there are only 4 ingredients. However, it is not healthy.
 
The Ingredients:
 
- 8-10 Fajita size flour tortillas
- 2 (15oz) cans of chili with beans
- 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
-1 package beef hot dogs
 
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
 
Step 2:
Spread 1 can of chili in a 9x13 baking dish.
 
Step 3:
Roll the hot dogs up inside the tortillas and lay on top of the chili, seam side down.
 
Step 4:
Cover tortillas with remaining can of chili and sprinkle with cheese.
I accidentally misread the recipe and instead of sprinkling the cheese, I put the entire bag on the top. I was worried it would be way too cheesy, but it was delicious!

Voila, you're done. Super easy and unhealthy right?
 
We served ours with crispy tator tots. It was very yummy!