Eucalyptus Wreath Rework

I was looking for a winter wreath.  Do I even need to say I wanted it to be simple, classic and cheap?   Well that wreath doesn't exist.  Or at least, not anywhere I looked.  

So I went off to the Michael's sale section to find an okay looking wreath that I could rework.  

I found this messy eucalyptus wreath for 80% off.

Then I went looking for some simple green and white foliage.  

I removed the bow and wretched flowers from the wreath then started to add the green foliage to the wreath attaching the pieces using a hot glue gun. 

Two words I kept in mind while adding the foliage were restraint and symmetry.  This eucalyptus wreath was actually really beautiful on it's own so I didn't want to add foliage pieces that were too bulky, also for a more classic looking wreath I wanted it to be fairly symmetric. 

This wreath ended up costing just under $25 and took me only a few minutes to rework.  We get tons of compliments on it and it smells wonderful. 

Welcome Winter! 
~D & H
 

Truss Bench

My folks used to have a bench at our dining table on which D and I were absolutely NOT allowed to sit next to each other.  On a completely unrelated note, I really wanted a bench for our massive farmhouse table. 

D made this beautiful truss bench using plans from this collaboration by Shanty 2 Chic and Ana White.   The only modification he made was not adding the breadboard ends.  He stained the top and painted the bottom, I just love how it turned out. 

He used Glidden's Pale Pistachio and Varathane's Dark Walnut Semi-Gloss Stain.

This bench gets a TON of use, our daughter uses it as a table for coloring, we've crammed friends and family on there for gatherings and our (very bad!) dog uses it as a easy way to access the table!  This bad boy is as sturdy as it looks thanks to those massive 4x4's.

 If you're looking for a great DIY bench, this is the one to make!

 
Cheers to sitting next to each other and many more great conversations around the table! 
~D & H



 

DIY Laundry Room Shelf Using Old Curtain Rod

We took a little time this weekend to clean, simplify & add functionality to our laundry room.  

 

D and I made a little shelf from an old curtain rod and some scrap wood from the garage.  

Now I have a place to keep lost socks, collect loose coins in his Grandpa's old change jar and hang items that need to skip the dryer. 

Here's what we used to make the shelf:

Tools:

Drills

Square

Level

Screws

Counter Sink

Drill bits

Saw

Pencil

Material:

Shelf: Scrap piece of plywood - 21x6 in  (you could also use MDF for this if you have it)

Side Support: Scrap 1x4 MDF trim pieces - 2 pieces cut 6in long

Back Support: Scrap 1x4 MDF trim piece - 1 piece cut to 20in long

Here is how we did it:

 

Step 1

D pre-drilled out the holes to connect the side support pieces to the back support piece of trim

Step 2
Next he marked the location for the holes to hold the curtain rod, these were 2 inches from the bottom of the trim.  

The trick to this step was to keep the rod from going all the way through the trim, he achieved this by only drilling half way through the side support pieces.  

He marked how far he wanted to drill the hole using painters tape 1/2 inch up from the tip of the bit. 

 Then he drilled the holes, stopping when the tape hit the trim.  Brilliant. 

Step 3
Paint.  I used Glidden's Dusty Miller paint color.  

Step 4
Cut the shower rod (20 1/4 inches) 

Step 5
Assemble the supporting pieces - D used 2 screws to attach the first side piece to the back support piece.  Next position the rod, add the hooks and fit the second side piece onto the rod.   He used a mallet to get the rod snugly into the pre-drilled holes. 

Use two screws to attach the second side piece to the back support piece. 

Step 6
Attach the shelf to the support pieces, for us this involved a LOT of banging and finagling. 

Step 7 
Touch up the paint.  For me this included painting a few sides I totally missed.  Whoops. 

I also painted two little signs for the shelf on some scrap wood.

Step 8
Hang the shelf using (long) screws.  

I love how this little shelf turned out, I know it is going to get a lot of use & we always love finding things to build with material we find around our place.  

D also hung curtains for me & we cleaned out some clutter, feels so fresh in our little laundry room - what a great little project to start the new year! 
~ D & H 

 

DIY Lip Polish

Okay, let's chat about lipstick, kids & husbands.  They don't mix.  Good chat, good chat. 

Now let's chat about that lipstick junkyard you have stashed in your bathroom.  I know, I know, that color was the perfect winter red. I get it.  Even though I like to keep it simple when it comes to makeup,  I have to admit that I have a lipstick junkyard too.  Well, not anymore!  I decided to clean it out and use my old lipsticks to create a lip polish - a non-sticky, super moisturizing, delicious smelling, idiot proof application, gentle pop of color.  

I am very particular about colors and textures so creating my own lip polish lets me get colors that are just right for my skin tone and that are not sticky or goopy.

All you need to create your own is 15 minutes and a few items you can probably scavenge from around your house. 

Scavenger Hunt:
Aquaphor (Vaseline, Bag Balm or A & D Ointment are alternatives)
Chapstick
Baby Wipes
Makeup Brush
Lipstick
Empty Makeup Container 
A small bowl (I didn't use one to mix everything and totally should have)

For mine I used the Candy Cane Chapstick which I absolutely love (it smells delicious!) and I used a Bare Minerals container that previously held face powder.

Start by mashing half of the Chapstick tube into the bowl, then mixing a 1/4 inch chunk of your chosen lipstick color.  Mix together until there are no clumps of Chapstick.

Now add roughly 1/8 teaspoon of the Aquaphor and mix well.  This gives the lip polish a deeper moisture and just a hint of shine. 

This lipstick was a little too brown for me so I used a dollop of a Wet 'N Wild lipstick I had (which happens to have an adorable name) to shift the tone a little closer towards red.  

Mix it until it is smooth.  If you mixed it in a bowl, transfer it to your chosen container and clean the edge of the container with a baby wipe.  Wonderful.  

This little DIY is very forgiving (and ideally it is free), so don't be afraid to mess up or remix the color if it isn't just right, just add more Chapstick or add another lipstick tone until you get a color that works for you.  

A little dab is all you need for moisturized, totally kissable lips. Yay! 

This one below was actually the first one I made, I have no idea what color this is by NARS but my sister gave it to me and I was obsessed with it, but while I was sharpening it one day it broke and I just could not let the broken piece go to waste!  I used that piece for the lip polish below using the same recipe as above, except here the only color I used was this NARS color.  I absolutely love it!  FYI the container is a L'oreal blush cream container.

The color looks intense in the jar but it is really just a gentle tint went applied. 

So easy, even I could do it! 

This is absolutely my new favorite makeup item!

Now I have one for my purse and one for my car and it didn't cost anything...well, I'm sure it will cost a few kisses! 

Muah! 
~ D & H

"Sweet Little One" Birthday Party

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating our sweet little girl's first birthday with family & friends!

I don't have words for the wonderful challenge that this year has been, without a doubt this has been the best year of my life & surrounded by the people we love on her birthday, watching her giggle & play, I couldn't have felt more blessed.

One of the crafts I made for her birthday were these super cute (& easy!) cake stands, so I thought I'd share the details.

I bought glass plates, cups & bowls from Goodwill. I chose patterned glasses & this ended up showing off the paint beautifully.

I bought copper & silver Krylon spray paint from Michaels, as well as the glue shown below.  (This glue is worth buying. I've already used it on so many random projects around the house.)

I traced the bottom rim of the cup with glue, then spun that on the bottom of the plate, so I had the correct outline, then added more glue to both & I let them dry overnight.

Buying spray paint is an exercise in self control for me since I start painting everything in sight. I still have leftover paint so I'll call that a win. 

See, super easy. 

The days are long, but the weeks go by quick, enjoy every second!

~H & D 

current favorite baby books

Reading to our daughter every night before bed just might be my favorite thing to do with her right now.  I love our bedtime routine, being home for it is just non-negotiable for me.

For the last five months she can turn the pages on her own & I just love how engaged she is in reading these books.  Even if it isn't reading time with me, she loves her books.  I'd call it a win if she liked to sit there & chew on them (since she doesn't talk yet) so when I see her sit with a book, turn the pages & babble - it makes me so happy. 

Playing with Mommy's Favorite Book

Side note: my mother-in-law encouraged me to read the names of the authors & illustrators each time we read the book, since they all worked so hard on them, & I think that is a worthwhile habit.

Below are a few of my favorites to read to her right now.

Hello Ninja
Adorable, rhyming read that is perfect for naptime.  If she gets to pick the book, she always picks this one. 

Go to Sleep, Little Farm

Sweet, simple & has the perfect cadence 

Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey 

A beautiful, creative & inspiring perspective on dreams

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You
A Dr. Seuss classic & just so much fun to read, can't pass up the opportunity to go MOO MOO

Little Owl's Night  & Little Owl's Day
Captivating because of their sweetness & simplicity - the author paints a lovely picture with her words.   

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

Our daughter loves turning the partial pages in this book & poking at the holes, I love how the author sneaks in learning the days of the week & counting too, clever! 

Rosie Revere Engineer
I have a lot of thoughts on this book.  I love it, I really do.  I love the message. I love the illustrations.  I love the historical appendix that the authors include. But I hate it because I can't read this book to her without tearing up.  Each time I read the words that are intended to encourage her, they are at that moment undoubtedly the very words that I myself, as an ever learning & experimenting engineer, need to hear.  It is challenging to read a story of fearlessness & resilience, lay her down to bed & and set out to be exactly those things.  So this book gets to me, D has to read it to her because I literally can't even.

I am so thankful for each night that I get to come home with our baby girl, sit with her & enjoy reading about the exciting world around us. 
D&H

good news for bad moms.

In Luke 2 Mary and her family accidentally leave 12 year old Jesus behind on the way home from the feast of the passover in Jerusalem.  Her and Joseph return to Jerusalem to find Jesus three days later hanging out in the middle of the doctors in the church, talking with them and "astonishing them" with his understanding.  Mary, like any mom, scolds him for scaring her half to death, and he responds by asking her if she knows that he is there on his Father's business.  Jesus' response to her goes right over her head. 

So what happened there? And why is this story in the Bible?  I mean, poor Mary leaves her kid behind ONE TIME and people read about it for two thousand years.  Not the proud moment any mom would want to have, let alone to have generation after generation reading about it.  Also, why does Mary not understand what Jesus was talking about when she finds him? 

I think this story is in the Bible because Mary is just like any of us.  She heard the word of God spoken about her family by an angel, shepherds and prophets.  But she, like us, was caught up in the daily challenges and routines of everyday life.  Two separate times in Luke 2 it says "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart".  Mary knew God had a plan for her family, she had heard the words spoken over her family's life, but she was also human and her focus could be distracted from what God had promised.  

I love this because we are reminded to keep what God has said to us in our heart, to ponder it and reflect on His words, and I love that God doesn't hide Mary's imperfections from us.  He doesn't make her out to be a saint by any means, she is basically a frazzled mom who lost her freakin kid on the way home from Christmas Eve service!

Ladies, this is phenomenal Bible reading for us.  It really is.  We get to have our dingbat moments and God still includes us in his plan. I mean, that is legit savior business happening here!   

I read this and am reminded that God's promise for our families is valid whether or not we are perfect at every single moment.  I am reminded that even though we know God has a purpose for us, we don't always understand it in the moment, and for this very reason we need to keep His word in our heart, we need to meditate on His promises, we need to think on the faithfulness of His words and ponder them until we understand that God's plan is perfect so we don't have to be.  Here's what is even better: He openly, lovingly and intentionally weaves our imperfections into his perfect plan.  

Imperfect as it gets. 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
~D&H