Tuesday, June 30, 2009
productive days off :)
I'm pretty sure he's going with black, and he promised me that he's going to teach me how to drive a stick! So overall I'm finally pleased with his decision.
I'm getting ready to finish up laundry and then drive my nanny to Costco. I'll most likely hit the gym later on today or maybe go for a nice run since the weather is awesome! We leave for 4th of July vacation in 2 days :)
Hope it's sunny where you are!
Kate
Monday, June 29, 2009
projects projects projects!
Originally I bought this stain because it was 3.50$ and for my spice rack. It's called Provincial and it's really dark. So since I didn't feel like working on the spice rack :/ I know I'm a procrastinator I decided to dirty up my mirror instead. Here's my final finished product of my redone mirror! Don't mind my reflection I was trying to get the best light :) Oh and don't mind the mess in the background either.. that's just my half-packed kitchen!
So that can finally be put to rest all I did was sand a few warn marks into it with fine sand paper, and then go over certain parts with the dark stain and wipe off quickly so now it looks nice and dirty dirty.
I also started slowly becoming Martha Stewart, besides totally stalking her website lately trying to find things to do I actually started on one project! I'm modifying her rope coasters craft. You can find her version here. I didn't finish them yet but here's my progress so far...
Anyways I'm at work now and I'll be home later to spend some time with Thomas and possibly work on these again!
Hope your Mondays weren't too awful!
Kate
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Another lazy sunday : )
I started packing the kitchen and deep cleaning the kitchen. I have been trying to but that off for way too long now. I have everything out of the cabinets and ready for packing but we ran out of boxes so we'll have to wait to finish that. I'm cleaning out the refrigerator today after Thomas and I return from dinner. I'm thinking about wearing the dress that I found on clearance not to long ago! I'm pretty sure we're doing Italian and I'll post later with pictures in my dress if I wear it!
Have a great rest of the weekend!
Kate
Friday, June 26, 2009
And we're back!
Finally, after a long traffic ridden drive home Kira and I are back home, Yay back to the blog! We had oodles of fun while there, and had some relatively nice weather. Above is a snapshot of us on the end of the Bay Bridge. We went to the beach, we laid out by the pool, visited the boardwalk and partied slightly. ;) We almost saw the sunrise
The roommates are moving out today seeing the apartment semi-empty makes me nervous about how far Thomas and I have until we're even close to ready to move mid-July! We'll have a lot on our plates for the next couple weeks.
Until next time,
Kate
Thursday, June 25, 2009
We're here!
Kate
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
on a sadder note...
You can find more information regarding the accident here.
finally 85 and sunny!
It feels like forever that we've had a real summer day around here! Finally today was beautiful enough that I was able to make it to my cousins' pool.
Well tomorrow just became alot more exciting than it was. I was planning on going to the beach (Ocean City, MD) this week for a few days and Kira was headed down as well and now we're leaving a day early and staying at my grandparents! Since the next two days are going to be amazing weather we're totally syked. Can't wait to have a drink by the pool, or lounge on the beach by the waves!
I haven't decided whether I'm taking my laptop or not. We have one to share between Thomas and I and I may decide to leave it for him. So I may be posting soon, and if not I'll be back Friday with details!
Well my real housewives of new jersey reunion is about to come on! So I'm going to be watching and trying to pack as well, Have a great night all!
Kate
Monday, June 22, 2009
stupid paint can...
Good night,
Kate
Our Bonefish non-father's day dinner!
Kira got Grilled Sea Bass
and I got Grilled Mahi Mahi with spinach & crab on top
Afterward we headed next door to Coldstone for some really good ice cream I had been craving forever!
Today so far has been relaxing, Thomas and I have been lounging in the bed until he had to leave for work. I have to work today as well at three so I probably won't have time to get any fun stuff in. But I'll be sure to keep you updated anyways!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
all work and no play
I was too busy indulging in my guilty pleasure.. the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I did feel bad too because I've already seen the episode they were airing about 3 times. For some reason I just can't help it.
Tonight Thomas and I made it a quick one for dinner at Chipotle, I got my usual
and saved half for lunch tomorrow... if it makes it that long ;)
Other than that like I said before today was pretty boring. Besides being a housewife and completing my daily chores, haha... I did sand down some worn parts on my mirror and sand the spice rack to get that ready for painting.
Still not sure what to paint it but I guess I'll figure that out when it gets closer.
I still have to stain the mirror lightly to give it it's antique feel back. But at least I finished with the cosmetic "damage" part.
No other projects for me today although I did a lot of research on crafts and even browsed the "free" section of craigslist looking for more projects to start :) I am surprised that today was the first day I thought to look there. There are so many old items that just need a little TLC. If I let myself email everyone that I wanted to today I'd have more furniture than I could fit in our apartment!
Now I just need to learn how to reupholster and I'll feel completely accomplished in the DIY department!
Well that's all I have for you tonight folks. Tomorrow I work in the morning and should have a date with the gym as well. Until next time,
Kate
Friday, June 19, 2009
upcoming cute crafts :)
Fabric covered aluminum pen cups, Kira did a version of these as well with scrapbook paper, hopefully when reading this she'll post her pics at raindywednesdaymornings.blogspot.com... hint hint ;)
I like the idea of doing them with fabric, and in this picture I also like the labeled jar. Both of these can be done with recycled aluminum cans and glass spaghetti sauce jars or something of the sort.
And to the right is an example done in sheet
music cardstock. >>>
The one on the left is an example of
the organizing jars from Martha Stewart
<<<
I'm on a huge fabric craft kick and can't wait to get started on fabric art. Here's an example found on womansday.com to the left and the two below were found on apartmenttherapy.com.
It seems really simple to do and personally I can't wait to get started on them. I will have to budget myself when it comes to purchasing fabric for them, so it may be a little while. So I'll ponder on my inspirations until then. Kira wants to create a headboard out of them which also seems like a really cool project to try. If we decided on a bed without a headboard it may also become an option for me :) Other than that I'm having trouble figuring out which room I would like to place them in. When I get started I will post the directions, or you can find them at womansday.com.
Other than that I need to finish up my antique mirror, so that we can pack it for the move. For that I think that I am just going to sand the finished paint so that some of the old finish come through. I may decided to stain it later but for now I think that should suffice.
I also want to get started on refinishing the spice rack. I'll probably just sand it down and get it ready for paint. I won't start painting that until we move into the new kitchen probably.
The last thing I think I need to do is the flower arangement for the cute watering can that I bought last week. Other than that I can't think of anything at the moment that I will be starting soon.
As always if you have any ideas for me to try just leave me a comment!
Have a great saturday!
Kate
...a lazy friday
Good Evening!
After waking up so early for the big iPhone release :) (I know I sound like a silly nerd) we have been so tired all day we really haven't had the energy to do much of anything! We came home and played around with them for a while, finally became hungry enough to outweigh the tiredness and headed to Dave & Buster's at the mall for our weekly lunch out.
I got this really great chicken club sandwich with an interesting avocado sauce and Thomas chose chicken tenders. Oh I love my 5 year old, well it was my treat since he helped me pay for the phone so at least he was a cheap date ; ) We took a nap around 4 and ever since then we've just been relaxing. I've been browsing the web for bedroom sets that I like. I know we're probably going with Ikea but I can't decide between these..
The Hemnes
Or the Malm
I like the Hemnes... alot, but both of us agree that we don't like footboards because we sleep so low on the bed our feet like to dangle.. :)
So we'll debate that until we move in most likely.
Well it will definitely be an early night for me as I do have to work bright and early tomorrow morning, so until tomorrow....
Have a great night and an awesome weekend!
Kate
iPhone frenzy.. or not so much
We picked up our iphones bright and early this morning at 6:30 a.m. We were prepared for a long line full of sleepy and disgruntled people, and we were greeted by no one! We were the first people there! I know, total shock. Overall I'm in love already, it's way faster. The camera is awesome you can focus on certain parts of a picture as you would be able to with a fancy camera. You can voice command you're phone to call, text, by phone number or by name. I can watch youtube, play with pandora and tag songs from the radio with the click of a button. Well, for now I'm off to get some more sleep!
Kate
Thursday, June 18, 2009
and Viola!
Another craft found on womansday.com, here's what I did:
Fabric-Covered Boxes Craft Project
Photo: © Jeff McNamara
Skill Level: Beginner
Materials:
Empty box
Enough fabric to cover the top, sides and bottom of box
Scissors
Mod Podge, or other craft glue
Paintbrush
2-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon
Directions:
1. Center the bottom of the box over the back side of the fabric. Trim the fabric so that there is enough to pull up and cover the sides, plus 1 inch.
2. Apply Mod Podge to the bottom of the box with the paintbrush. Place the box onto the back side of the fabric and smooth out any wrinkles.
3. Apply Mod Podge to one of the longer sides of the box, pull up the fabric to cover the side. Apply glue along the top inner edge of the box, fold over the fabric and press in place. Repeat on the other long side.
4. Apply Mod Podge to short sides of box, fold in the fabric as you would with a giftwrap, pull fabric up to cover the short ends. You may trim away excess at fabric corners and fold in raw edges before applying fabric to create a smoother finish if desired. Fold over and glue the raw edges of the fabric to the inside of the box.
5. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 to cover the lid.
6. Cut a 3-inch piece of ribbon and fold in half to form a loop. Glue the loop to the inside edge of the lid, letting loop extend about an inch. Let dry. Cover box with lid.
And here's mine:
Before
My biggest suggestions would be to pay attention to the amount of glue that you're applying to the box, especially if you're using a thin fabric. Too much and it will seep right through and leave a big nasty stain, as I realized with a small portion of the bottom of my box. I ironed the fabric before I started even though it doesn't say that in the directions. It took a little bit of time to get the last two sides to look pretty folded, because there is extra fabric underneath so I couldn't really find a way to make it totally smooth... but I'm no perfectionist. I also used a hot glue gun to get those sides to stick on the inside because they were thicker.
And I used mine to hold my fabrics :)
Well now I'm off to clean up my mess, and get some zzz's. Tomorrow's friday!
Bye for now,
Kate
today was our lucky day!
It's such a pretty green color and it just pops with her skin :)
We found the perfect shoes to match after a quick bite to eat.
And then we headed to JoAnn's Fabrics to pick up some supplies to start my fabric box craft. I'll post instructions on that as I get going on it!
There was this cute antique/thrift shop next to it called Chesapeake Treasures so of course we had to go inside! I found these antique candle holders for 1$ each...
I love the little details on them!
I have also been saying forever that I have wanted a spice rack for our kitchen, but have never invested in one simply because they are an "investment" in themselves. So overtime I have bought a spice here and there and pretty much have a makeshift collection in a cabinet. So imagine my surprise when I found this wooden spice rack at the antique shop.
I'll most likely paint it to match our new kitchen when that time comes, but for 4$ I couldn't pass it up!
I'm going to make it an early night tonight as me and Thomas will both be waking tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn to beat the lines tomorrow and purchase our new Iphones. Yep, because I totally seem like the type of person who would be into all that kind of stuff. :)
I'm off to figure out how to start my next project!
Thanks for reading,
Kate
getting a definite late start...
Well today my legs are sore from pushing at the gym yesterday, my pulled calf muscle is screaming at me, so I will probably take my off gym day today. I got Thomas breakfast this morning for being so sweet, and later today I am planning on helping Kira find a dress for an upcoming convention. It's pretty rainy and crappy outside right now, so another dreary day in Maryland to look forward to. :)
I'll let you know later how our day went!
Kate
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
My finished bottle project
Pictured with them are my little project that was originally found on womansday.com, cute enamel bottles. I used leftover San Pellegrino bottles to make them. Mine didn't turn out quite as good as the ones they pictured, mostly because I ran out of enamel paint and had to mix it with water :/ But I still think they're cute!
Here are the instructions:
Craft Project: Make Enameled Bottles
Photo: © Iain Bagwell
1. Buy dishwasher-safe enamel paint and surface conditioner (like Delta brand; $3.14 each at crafts stores).
2. Prime the glass by pouring a bit of conditioner into clean, dry bottles to coat the inside.
3. Pour out any excess. Once completely dry, coat the inside of the bottles with enamel, then then prop them each upside down in a jar or on a paper towel to catch drips.
4. Check periodically for the first hour, wiping any excess from the lips. Allow to dry completely for about 48 hours.
Enjoy!
Kate
Happy Hump Day!
Well that day for me and my friend Kira is Wednesday. We started with a brisk walk around Ellicott City while browsing in a view stores, and then we headed to lunch at our weekly joint Panera Bread. :) After lunch we made it a light day at the gym, we warmed up with 20 minutes on the treadmill, about 10 running, 10 walking. We did abs and arms and stretched about called it a day there. We decided we were just in the mood to browse so we stopped at thrift stores, good wills, and little antique shops until we were both dead tired! I managed to find a few things I liked and purchased...
I should actually be getting some laundry in before Thomas comes home so we can relax together, but I was too anxious to share my day, so off I go!
Happy Hump Day!
Kate
PS. Yep, in the background of the pic you guessed it is a finished picture of the mirror, well for now. That is until I get the guts to ruin the paint job!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The end to a long day..
After that I made it to my Aunt's in time for dinner, to my uncle's in time for his birthday party and at the gym at 9, so not exactly as early as I planned but alas it worked out. I did 40 minutes on the elliptical and realized my calf muscle was starting to ache. So I've been stretching it and icing and soaking it and hopefully I have not pulled the muscle! Because I have a gym date with Kira in the morning!
Have a good night!
Kate
some bad news today...
Well on a lighter note, the quarter auction was a whole lot of fun!! We didn't win anything! Which stunk, because we definitely went through about 30 dollars in quarters for each of us! But it all went to charity so I don't feel too bad about writing that off in the back account. They had about 6 different vendors, from Pampered Chef, Home Interiors and such and the bids were generally around 50 cents. There were a few things I had my eye on, but alas no win for me. We had fun either way, and it all went to a good friend of our family's scholarship fund in memory of their grandaughter.
Today will be another busy day, last night my manager called and asked if I was able to make it into work this morning at 7 and I was happy to pick up the hours and it only modified my schedule slightly. Once I get off I will head to my Aunt's house to visit with my Nanny and take a trip to see my Aunt Juls in the nursing home. Then we're shopping for my uncle's birthday, totally last minute since his party is right after that! And hopefully that won't end too late so I can make it to the gym before 9. Thomas worked a double shift today so that his partner could have off so he won't be off until 9 so maybe I'll have a chance to comfort him when I get back from the gym!
PS. The antique mirror project totally took longer than I expected, the painter's tape apparently didn't cover everything somehow, or the mirror shifted and paint dried all over some of the edges of the mirror. So I'm still working at carefully chipping that off, and then I'll post the final product!
Have a happy Tuesday!
Kate
Monday, June 15, 2009
oh how i LOVE summer break
As always, thanks for reading!
Kate
Sunday, June 14, 2009
my antique mirror project...
So I decided I was going to redo it, and started my project yesterday afternoon. I did a little sanding to get most of the old paint off which was now a shade of dirt gray and some of the dings out. Today I started painting, and I'm pretty sure once the paint dries I will try and distress it some to make it still look antiquey :)
Here's my progress so far..
Allow me to introduce myself!
I have a really awesome family, with 2 sisters and 2 brothers, and practically four parents. My mom means the world to me, being a single mother and putting herself through nursing school while in recovery from an addiction, I could not possibly have a better role model in my life. I also have the best grandparents a girl could ask for, they would do anything for their baby and I love them more than the world. I have the best friend a friend could ask for, Kira. I would do anything for her! We have lunch once and week, travel, shop and talk at least once a day. We are the definition of best friends forever.
I am on somewhat of a healthy lifestyle journey I guess you could call it. I recently lost give or take 47 pounds or so, simply by cutting out most fast food (except for Chick-fil-A of course!), soda and most processed snacks and working out somewhat . I am by no means perfect however, I am still overweight and I do not eat well everyday or go to the gym every time I'm supposed to ;) but I'm still working on it!
Well I guess more about my hobbies and such, besides school and work of course I love to shop. I love a good bargain, so of course favorite stores are probably TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Old Navy and Target. I love old classic books, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scarlet Letter, Pride and Prejudice and so on. I could go on forever about books. I love Twilight and I don't know really care what you think about it! :P No really, definitely my favorite series. I know most people think it's just book for teens but it's much more than that! I love the sun, tanning is one of my favorite pastimes. My grandparents have a house in Ocean City, MD so I try to visit for a few days at least twice a month in the summertime. I do love to work out, though I don't as often as I should, there's just something about the adrenaline rush from your tenners on the pavement. I love little projects and purchasing cool things for our apartment. I love cooking, and trying to make old recipes more healthy.
This blog will basically be about my life, college, work, and random cool things: diy projects, recipes i find, my upcoming move in date for our new apartment. Pictures of things I come by on my way through life!
Thanks for Reading!
Kate