All posts filed under: Projects

A Peach and Mint Shower

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I’ve been so blessed to have my best friend from college living in Anchorage at the same time as me! It’s been really special for us to be together this year as she recently got married and is planning for a lot of changes in life. Since she and her husband had a small elopement, it worked out better to have her wedding shower after the event itself. (I labeled it a “Wedding Shower/House Warming” on the invites.) Speaking of invites, I picked those out at Target– my favorite one-stop-shop for putting together a party– and they set the theme for the afternoon. Peach, mint, and navy! The shower was on a Sunday afternoon, and I spent all Saturday setting up the decorations for the shower with the other shower host and a church friend. It was a beautiful space and really provided an awesome backdrop for the few decoration we made using crepe paper, tissue paper, and lots of fresh flowers.     The day of the shower, I got there early to help facilitate and finish arranging as …

Galentine’s Party Garland + a tutorial

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I posted about my Galentine’s Day party yesterday, and I mentioned in my post that I crafted all the decorations needed to get the house looking festive and feminine. Of course, since this was a party for girls, there was a lot of pink and white and gold. And of course, that meant there was also a Pinterest presence. I’d been seeing these fun tassel garlands all over the internet the past couple of years, and I thought this was the perfect chance to make some of my own. They were surprisingly affordable since all you really need are tissue paper, twine/string/ribbon, and some glue. They added just the right touch of flair, and can be customized to really fit any party scheme. The following is a quick tutorial so you too can have these fun tassels hanging in your home or office!

Inspiring iPhone Wallpaper

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I was one of those hardcore anti-smartphone advocates who held off on purchasing a more advanced piece of phone technology until well after it had become an accepted part of American life. I can remember some of my ridiculous reasoning, but it’s not worth rehashing here. Yes, I still think the smartphone is a little excessive. But no, I don’t want to deny myself that luxury anymore. (And I blame Tyler for dragging me into this particular addiction!) One of the bonuses that I’ve loved in my smartphone is the ability to have information at the tip of my fingers. I don’t have the best memory, so my trusty iphone is available to keep track of appointments, names I want to remember for future babies (#obsessive #sorrynotsorry), ideas for blog posts, scheduled social events, and more.

Autumn Moodboard

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I love autumn.. it’s my favorite season. Although it’s felt like autumn for a few weeks now here in Anchorage, the official beginning of the season was this past Sunday. Autumn seems like both a refreshing and a comforting time. The cool air and snappy wind, the fresh smell of earth as the leaves begin to change and fall. The dropping temps seem to signal a hibernating instinct in us to break out the warmer clothes and pack on the layers… sometimes with scarves and sometimes with a few extra apple donuts or salted caramel mochas :) It’s the best time of year… you’re sunned and satisfied from a warm summer and now in full on anticipation of the joys of the Christmas season. Most of the time, I hate the in-between seasons of life, but for some reason I just love this yearly experience. So cheers to autumn! I’m raising my apple cider mug to you. Hope you are enjoying this new start to the season as well! photos: 1/2/3/4/5/6

Arm Chair Restoration: Part Three

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This project is finally complete! I’ve certainly taken my time, but I am so pleased with the result. Which is significant, since I just commented to Tyler the other day that none of my other projects were “true successes”. But you live and learn, I suppose. I’ve certainly perfected the staining, and upgraded on some things like sanding.

Arm Chair Restoration: Part Two

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Spring in the Midwest surprises me every year. I am irrationally nervous that it’s not even coming, and then all of a sudden a frothy green curtain of baby leaves covers the trees in our neighborhood. This year, I was so excited that I begged Tyler to go out and purchase flowers at the first sign of a frost-free night. We may have put them in a little early, but I think they’ve all survived. During the first couple of weeks of truly hot weather, it was soul-refreshing to garden and do outdoor projects after such a dismally long and cold winter. One of the projects that I happily sweated away doing (TMI? :)) was finishing my arm chair. And I’m 99.9% done! Here is a shot from partway through– sanded and being stained!  

Arm Chair Restoration: Part One

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I mentioned in the February update that I was working on a thrilling new project. So thrilling in fact, that I’ve had to take several breaks from working on it in order to contain my excitement. Kidding. I’m merely dawdling my way through this project as usual, keeping up my renovation MO. I do think it’s a little thrilling though! This chair has been dragged with me through seven moves in the last four years, sitting lonely since it landed in its last spot– our spare room– last summer. But as cumbersome as this thing was, I refused to ever leave it behind. Solely because it’s The Perfect Arm Chair.

Souvenir Shelf: Part Two

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So the shelf itself was pretty much complete in the last post, but the main attraction– taking center stage– was yet to be finished. All the bowls we have collected are special, reminding us of the adventures we’ve had and the blessing it is to travel.  However, the largest bowl we have (as of yet) came from our wedding– the start of the biggest adventure of our lives– and it is incredibly special.  We used it as one of three guest book alternatives, to remember our wedding attendees.

Souvenir Shelf: Part One

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Project throwback!! There’s no hiding it this time.. this project took several months to reach completion. We are now in January, and this post shows our start back in the summer. (Man, I wish I could still work out on the back deck!) The goal for this project was to create an attractive and functional way to display our souvenir bowls. We collect these bowls in all of the places we live or major places we visit. We wanted to be able to see and enjoy them as the collection grows.

Gallery Wall 2.0

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It’s been a journey but here we are. A finished gallery wall. My Pinterest board has stayed hoppin’ these past five– 5?!– months as I’ve been dawdling my way through this project, and it’s fun to scroll through and see how ideas evolved. Tyler is relieved to have the mess out of the way, and I for one can’t disagree. Especially when we’ve come so far.