Tag Archives: DIY

07.09.13

Our Fourth of July BBQ....

Posted by Christina // 29 Replies

Tim and I love to entertain.

I kind of want to make it my job, but I feel like my habit of procrastinating would really be working against me. For instance, when people showed up to our Fourth of July backyard bash I was in my swimsuit…still cooking and panicked that I had not set up the food table or taken pictures for the blog. Tisk, tisk.

Then it hit me. As much as I would love to be the blogger that had her Fourth of July tutorials up two weeks before the holiday, giving you all inspiration and praying for pins….it is just not me. I tip my hat to you ladies, and inside my guts are jealous. I unfortunately embrace chaos, and work best under pressure.

In the midst of yelling at Tim to take as many photos as possible while cutting out watermelon stars, and screaming at everyone not to touch any of the food, I had an epiphany. I had to stop trying to be something I am not.

I started this blog as a creative outlet for my analytical mind. I wanted to document our lives together and be inspired to live more beautifully. I wanted to enjoy life more, and make new friends.

Let me tell you something, telling people not to touch the food until you get “the shot” is not going to make you friends.

Hi my name is Christina, and I fell victim to blog pressure.

Trying to keep up with the newest social medium, joining every creative network, and spending hours criticizing our projects. That has been life for the last couple weeks. Tim doesn’t approve, and in that moment of hangry girl madness….I changed my ‘tude.

I decided to kick back. Enjoy the day, and not guilt myself for taking the next two days off. Hope you all can understand and please forgive me, I know not what I do.

Are these pictures the greatest Fourth of July party photos ever, nope.
But that’s not what is important….whats important is the fun that was had and the margaritas that were consumed. Which was a lot.

Without any further rambling, this is a bit of our backyard BBQ. What did you do for the Fourth?
Have you ever been overcome with pressure to do things you don’t want to?
Ever tried to make Rice Krispie treats blue….yea about that.

07.02.13

Fourth of July mantle....

Posted by Christina // 15 Replies

While I do heart anything patriotic…but I am generally not a fan of Independence Day.

Gasp! A holiday Christina doesn’t like.

Not sure if Will Smith scarred me for life, or if it just my disdain for loud noises. It could also have something to do with the fact that for the first 25 years of my life I “thought” I didn’t like BBQ sauce. I am not sure why, but other than decking myself out in red, white, and blue and enjoying the day off I usually don’t do too much for this holiday.

Now please don’t come at me with “I hate ‘Merica” bashing. The Star Spangled Banner makes me cry, we fly our flag high, and I am eternally grateful for the freedom our soldiers fight for every single day. I just don’t like things that go boom and shake the house mmkay.

This year, that is all changing.

We decided that 2013 would be the year we would host a Fourth of July BBQ.
So this year, our home is decked out in stars & stripes. My mantle makes me happy. What is your least favorite holiday?
Any good Fourth recipes I should know about?
Know of any “quiet” firework shows?

06.27.13

Bathroom Update: Our rookie mistake.....

Posted by Christina // 20 Replies

Did you know we were smack dab in the middle of a bathroom remodel? We tore into it on a whim one night, and excitedly tackled the rebuild. Then we reminded you that we hadn’t given up and now I am here to tell you why.

Tile. Tile is why our progress has stalled.

At first we couldn’t agree on tile, and then we couldn’t afford it.

Then we decided to focus our attention on the outside of our house while we saved our pennies. We are still saving by the way, but at least there is a clear winner in the tile department and that gives us a goal to shoot for. We are now taking donations, kidding of course…but if you know Mr. Trump maybe send him this link.

At least we have learned from our rookie mistake. Set a budget BEFORE you start a project and don’t start it until you know you got those materials on lock down.

Luckily, T’s dad keeps us motivated when he surprises us by swinging by and Red Guarding our shower. Now we really are just waiting on that tile. Any day now. I promise.

Have you ever had a project stall out?
Do you have expensive tile taste?
Wanna come tile a bathroom with us?

06.25.13

A little guessing game.....

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

If you are a homie of Homemade Ocean then you know that the last few Fridays I have alluded to a “big project” that we are working on. Then on Mondays you read all about how the rain ruined our plans…again.

As much as I would love to grab some white cheddar popcorn, snuggle up to my new fiancé and tune into a SVU marathon…T says we still have work to do. We have managed to recruit some amazing help (hi dad) for our “big project” and have been able to make a pretty big dent in it, but during the monsoon weather we started some minor projects. None of them are done, but I couldn’t help giving my homies a sneak peek into the madness. Thank goodness for rain-proof garages, big leafy tree covering, and slickers. Does anyone say slickers anymore? How about high-wadders, anyone say that? Keep me hip y’all. Word.

So can you tell what we are up to?
Do you spot the “big project”?
What have you been up to lately?

‘Scuze me while I ice my blisters.

06.13.13

Bring on summer...mantles

Posted by Christina // 9 Replies

I love decorating our mantle for the holidays and seasons, mainly because it’s small enough to not feel overwhelmed but in a spot that makes the whole house feel festive. In other words, it’s my lazy way of decking the halls.

Thanks to Danielle’s Craft with What Ya Got Challenge, I was challenged and inspired to make lots of bright DIY’s with the help of paint chips and this tutorial.

Now my mantel looks like our own little lemonade stand! My favorite is the little quote that says, “If life hands you lemons make lemonade, if that doesn’t work add vodka”. I think I will make that my summer mantra. Just like every time I do a mantle post I have to apologize for our crazy fish tank lighting and awesome shadows. One day my photography skills will be good enough to compensate, I promise.

Have you been doing any summer decorating?
Have you made any fun paint chip crafts?
Want some tasty lemonade? With vodka?

05.30.13

DIY some feisty bedroom art....

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

Earlier this week, Danielle from Framed Frosting invited us to take part in her Craft With What Ya Got Challenge.

A challenge where I don’t have to buy any new supplies, absolutely. The theme this week is craft paints. I have an arsenal of paint, count me in.

I had seen these painted quote canvases all over the web and Pinterest (if you have made one yourself, link to it in the comments) and I was dying to make one of my own. If you don’t remember our DIY jars, I will remind you that Tim and I are a little feisty. We like sarcasm, and funny puns, and downright inappropriateness. So instead of a sweet “I love you to the moon and back” or “you had me at hello” we wound up with this little flirtmeister. There are lots of tutorials to show you a step by step. Try here, here, and here. I will just give you the basics, like what you need to succeed… and a syllabi for crafting class…. …as well as a golden nugget of advice. Use tweezers to pull the letters off, and be patient because they are gonna rip. Remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, those imperfections are called charm.

What have you made with craft paints?
Are you a fan of flirty art?
Are you craving watermelon like I am?