Makeover Madness

Another small project down, but at this point in my crazy life I am celebrating ANY victory... no matter how small! I found this adorable foot stool at a local thrift store in Boulder. She was all worn out... I could relate! See:



After a little spray paint, glazing and sanding she started to come to life again!  I have been sticking to very safe colors lately so I thought I would spice it up a little.  The fabric is very pink and SO much fun.

So I staple, staple, stapled, and added some pretty lace and this little lady's makeover was complete!

I am very happy with how girly and sweet this came out.  Hope you enjoyed this small makeover:)  

I'm linking to:

CH-CH-CH-Changes!

Where do I even begin? Warning: this post will be sort of long but stick with me.

Lets start at the beginning, makes sense I guess. A month or so ago I decided I was DONE with the insurance world. I love my bosses but oh my gosh I wanted out.  Do you know how boring insurance is???  My husband always says "it is what it is."  I HATE this saying, what a terrible defeatist attitude!  So instead of just letting "it" be and going along with the flow, I decided to grab the bull by the horns, or is it balls?  I emailed an estate sales company I have been eyeing and asked if they wanted help.  It was that simple.  They emailed me back a few weeks later and the answer was YES!  Holy guacamole I almost weeeed in my pants!  So, I put in my 2 weeks (which is actually getting drawn out longer because this girl is a softy and can't say no) at the insurance office. 

So, do you think I was going to stop there???  NOPE!  The truth is I was satisfied with this change and really looking forward to a fresh new career digging through other people's crap.  But, as I was still rolling on the high of this career change I asked myself, "self... what do you REALLY want to be when you grow up."  And myself replied, "You want to own a store in The Barn."

To all of you non-Colorado peeps out there The Barn is my own personal heaven.  It is absolutely FANFRIGGENTASTIC!  Words cannot possibly describe it's awesomeness but I will do my best.  It is an old barn... shocking I know... and it is HUGE.  It is sectioned off into a bunch of different "stores" and each vendor has their own space.  They sell furniture, handmade goods, home decor, clothes, you name it, they have it... and it is better then anything else you could find in a regular old store.  If you want to check it out, hop over to their website... it doesn't do it justice though.  http://www.thebarncastlerock.com/.  They have been mentioned in Colorado's 5280 magazine as well as in Flea Market Magazine as one of Colorado's top market places!  Needless to say, they are kind of a big deal. 

Well, I contacted the owner and set up a business meeting (talk about grabbing that bull by the balls!).  I called up my partner in crime and artistic idol Rachelle and we gathered up the best representation of our products... a.k.a. furniture, paintings, and handmade goods... Then we were off.  I felt like I was 16 again getting ready for my dance try outs, so nervous/giddy with excitement.  The owner of THE BARN was about to decide if we were good enough to grace the store with our presence.  We met up, showed off our crap, and bam... we were IN!  (guess we nailed this tryout)

So, I am now here to announce that starting December 1st, Rachelle and I will be the proud owners of our very own store: The Dented Lampshade!  So there ya have it.  In a matter of weeks I am going from a boring office job that makes me want to pull my hair out to 2, count them, 2 brand new shiny careers!  You will all have to forgive me if I am unavailable or acting crazy for the next few months... you see, I will be very VERY busy:)

So, the moral of the story is... GRAB THAT BULL!  "it is NOT what it is".  If you don't like your situation, then change it.  I'm not saying I will succeed at this, I am not saying I will even be good at it, but at least I am trying.  A little prayer and A LOT of hard work can really go a long way.

And here is our future space: (the lady in it now has some FANTASTIC stuff!  Those are some big shoes to fill.)

Wish us luck!

Another AH HA! Moment

This is not a tutorial.  This is probably not even that exciting for most of you out there, but for me this was one of those AH HA! moments that makes you do a little happy dance, kind of like my napkins to pillows idea you can read about here. 

This fall I decided I wanted some new scarves.  I didn't want those boring old regular scarves though.  Nope, I wanted an infinity scarf.  You know the kind that never end... Did anyone start singing a girl scout's song like I did??  "A circle's round, it has no end, that's how long I want to be your friend!" 

ANY WHO... back to the scarf.  With our limited budget these days shopping trips for me are strictly food based (at least until the house is done).  This is just no fun.  But then the light bulb above my head went off, it may be dull but it is there!  I have TONS of scarves I never actually wear.  They are way too cute not to be utilized, so I ventured into the depths of my closet and pulled out these two beauties.

The goodwill tag was still on one of them haha!  These scarves are cute just as they are, but now they are going to actually find a life outside of my closet as INFINITY SCARVES.  I just got out my sewing machine, sewed together the ends and VIOLA... my new scarves.

(I am aware these pictures are not great... sorry for that.)

Hope you enjoyed this little peak into the crazy inside of my mind... and you made it out alive!

 

Pin It

Patchin it up

A few weeks ago we took a trip to our old stomping grounds in Buena Vista, CO. I LOVE this town. We lived there for almost 4 years and just recently moved back to "the city." I miss being a mountain woman... hairy legs, wool socks with sandals, you know what I'm talking about!

Every time we go back to visit I get a little sad that we don't get to live there any more. Don't get me wrong, I love where we live now but the simple life of a small town is where my heart will probably always be.

While we were there we visited the spot where Kyle proposed to me, hopped in the river for a little play time, and went to my favorite place ever... the pumpkin patch! Here are a few pics of the awesome time we had.

My sister-in-law Sara and I playing in the river... don't worry she is a trained professional!

The bridge that Kyle proposed to me on 4 years ago... insert head tilt and "AAWWWEEE" here.

Fishing with Daddy and Uncle David. 

And the main event... the Pumpkin Patch!!  Luci wanted to pick it up SOOO bad.



It was an amazing time, in an amazing place.  I hope we get to visit again soon! 

P.S.  I did not edit ANY of these pictures... that is just how beautiful it really is.  I know your jaws just dropped!

I Heart Lamps

I bet you all thought I was slacking lately, that I had put down the hot glue gun and gotten lazy on you.  Nope nope.  Sure haven't.  I have just taken on a few projects that are taking FOREVER.  Well, one of these projects is my new superfantistic lamp!!  I thought this bad boy would take me a few hours and be done.  Oh how wrong I was.  I worked on this freaking thing almost every night for the last month.  To be honest it was kind of relaxing.  You know how knitters can just sit in front of the TV and whip out a scarf or hat or kilt... maybe not a kilt but you get the idea.  For the past month or so I have plopped my butt down in front of the TV after Luci has gone to bed and Rosetted... kind of like knitted only with rosettes.  I have more hot glue burns than a zebra has stripes but the end result was SO worth it!  Plus, I am now fully addicted to about 3 new shows... "Up All Night"... Yes please.

It is just your ordinary goodwill lamp.  I think it cost me like $5 a few years ago. 

I went and got "fabric"... and by fabric I mean I bought white curtains from goodwill for $2 and cut them up to make rosettes.  This process is what took SOOOO long.  Then I stuck that shade right on there, and patted myself on the back for a job well done. 
Look how perdy she is.

I used some solid white curtains and some sheer white curtains to give it a little bit of texture.  (it turns out that hot gluing the sheer fabric is WAY harder.  The glue ran through the material so much faster and my poor thumbs paid the price.)

Hope you all enjoy my new lamp as much as I do :)




Pin It

Dirty 30

The hubster turned 30... he says 30 is the new 18... I say 30 is 30 :)

I decided I would throw him a surprise party to celebrate the passing of an era.  I had his friend Dave take him out fishing for the day, got all his friends in the house... dressed up like crazy people... and pulled it off without Kyle expecting a thing.  If you know my husband, you know this was probably incredibly easy since he is one of the least observant people I know.  I probably could have told him about the party and he would have forgotten an hour later and still been surprised.  None the less, I was proud of myself.  Here are a few pictures of this insane event (no judgement please).

Waiting to yell "SURPRISE!"  Complete with a cat and mouse, new parents, the unabomber, big bird, a pirate, officer Dangle, and an astronaut.  Quite the characters here.

Still holding all his fishing gear and completely surprised.

Kyle was a tree hugger and I was a tree.

Oh Officer Dangle... you're so naughty.

The Unabomber showed up with a package...

And inside the package were "treats."

The boys examining the package to see if it was safe.

But when you pull out a "treat"... BOOOM!

Oh Officer Dangle... fooled again!

I think we helped Kyle ease into his 30s quite nicely don't you?

Tim says it best:

"I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age

The ending of an era and the turning of a page

Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here

Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun

Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done

Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears

And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores

Cry a little less, laugh a little more

Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear

Figure out just what I’m doing here

In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight

Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late

Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers

Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life

Raise a little family and hang out with my wife

Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear

Make up for lost time here ,In my next thirty years"

Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams.

May your 30s be as partyrific as your 20s.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet...

Luci's first Halloween went off without a hitch!  (technically this was her second but when you are only 2 weeks old you don't really stay awake long enough to participate.)

I dressed her as an elephant.  Why you ask?  No idea, just liked it!  She kinda looked like a boy, but she was the cutest darn elephant I have ever seen.  Enjoy the eye candy to come... I know I sure do:)

I tried to get some good pictures of the trick or treaters before we headed out...(check out AJ to the far left... not sure what he is doing but it cracks me up!)

and tried...

and tried...

This is the best I got and it is blurry... apparently these children had other things on their mind then good photography haha.

Here is a good one of all the boys, aka Luci's cousins.  She is the only girl, and spoiled rotten:)

She insisted on walking the ENTIRE time.

Are you on cuteness overload yet???  Don't you just want to SQUEEZE her?!