Peachy Keen

Today I made peach ice cubes. So refreshing! There is a great recipe on Miss Paula Deen's website here. While Miss Deen is a fabulous cook, I skipped the sugar and lemon and let the peaches do all the work. I simply mashed up two peaches and put them in the ice cube tray, then let them freeze for a couple hours. Two peaches made about ten ice cubes. 

There were ups and downs to these peach ice cubes....

I loved how they smelled and they gave my iced tea a little citrus-y tanginess that was pretty yummy. It also didn't hurt that they were too cute!

The down side is that after a while your iced tea gets all pulpy. Not my fav thing! 

All in all they were super cute and refreshing you just have to drink, drink, drink before your iced tea turns into a pulpy mess! If anyone knows any tips to not end up with pulpy drinks shout them out!!

Girls Weekend

Last weekend all of the girls headed up to Grand Lake for some fun in the sun! 

We laid out, we swam, and we ate like there was no tomorrow... mini cinnamon rolls, cookies, crackers, lasagna, turkey sandwiches and so much more! 

All this glorious fattening food made me crave a good ole fashion Summer salad complete with chopped romaine, organic tomatoes, croutons, parmesan cheese, caribbean jerk marinated chicken and yummy creamy caesar dressing. 

{Sorry for the blurry IPhone photo, but it was spur of the moment!}

Any other Summer Salad lovers out there? Which fresh ingredient makes your mouth water? I can't resist a juicy tomato!

Psss: {I'm so excited because this weekend myself along with all of Shelby's bridesmaids will be hosting a bridal shower in her honor! Tomorrow I'll give you a sneak peek at the color scheme and inspiration, make sure to stop by!}

Bridal Shower Sneak Peek

I'm back today with a sneak peek of the bridal shower that I have been working on for my friend Shelby. The count down is officially on! The bridal shower is this weekend and the wedding is closing in on only a month away! AH! I'm so excited! The bridal party has all been working on this fabulous soiree and I can absolutely not wait until the big day! 

Okay enough exclamation points.... down to business. 

The color scheme was very fun and Summery: Pink, Yellow, and Black and White. 

We drew inspiration from..... You guessed it Pinterest!

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Here is a close up of the sneak peek! Make sure to come back next week to see the full on shower reveal!!

Anyone else plan any showers or parties lately? The Fourth of July is coming up any party decor plans? I'd love to see!! 

French Twist

There is something great about getting your nails done. I always feel polished, primped and pampered afterwards.

French manicures are my all time favorite but I do occasionally shake things up a bit like when I went all out for Valentines day.

This time I went with a French mani but jazzed it up with a touch of sparkle!

Happy Monday Everyone :)

Ruby Red Coffee Table

Lets talk coffee tables! Here is my inspiration...

I love that this coffee table has storage! Also the legs are super cute!!!

A little background info for ya'll:

Trey and I are in college so naturally we have a lot of mismatched hammy down furniture. We had one coffee table in the living room that had a light wood top with green chunky straight legs that wasn't really my style, but very sturdy. Another coffee table was in the garage that was actually almost on its way to the trash because in the process of getting it home from my sister's the bolts to the legs had been misplaced. It had an iron base with swirly scrolls and curvy legs, but had a weird plastic faux marble top that was just too dark for the living room. But, in the effort to use what we have and stay on our low low budget,  I decided by attaching the wooden top and the iron base of the other coffee table and together they would form a new fabulous coffee table. Made easy on the eye with spray paint of course!

So Trey and I got to work! I disassembled both coffee tables and then reattached the wooden top to the iron base. 

Sorry for the grainy phone pic but this is my only before shot... 

After that we used a power sander and lightly sanded the top of the table to rough it up a bit. Next step was to wipe it down and the spray prime it with Zinsser spray primer. After several light coats we attacked it with red spray paint!!! The color is Banner Red by Krylon. It took ten million coats even though we primed and was an all weekend project, but in the end it was totally worth it. Dontcha think?

We love it! (or I love it and he likes it haha) I love how it is so bright against the darkness of the couch! (Aren't throw pillows so annoying!? I love them, but I can never get them to stand up straight/photograph right)

What are you guys up to this weekend? Any furniture painting in the works? Find any inspiration on Pinterest? Anyone join in the fun with Cassie, Sherry, Katie, and Erin in the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition?

Pssst! Pinterest does not sponsor this blog in any way shape or form. You know besides taking up all my spare time and giving me a vast amount of inspiration!  

Hey Now... Just Relax!

Don't we all need a reminder ever once in a while to just relax?

My second project for the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition was to make a banner that is a daily reminder to slow down and just relax. My inspiration for this project is the same shop as the chalkboard labels. I highly recommend Blue Pearls, they make beautifully rustic yet super elegant decor. 

I wanted to challenge myself even more by not spending a dime on this project. So the first thing I did was look at all the crafting stuff/paint I had and assemble a cohesive group of materials. I gathered some burlap, red ribbon, and mixed two paints together to get a bluey green tealish color. 

There aren't any during/process pictures! Shame on me!!

Heres the run down though:

First I cut out a template, then traced five shapes and cut each shape out. (Burlap is tricky tricky business to cut, but just go slow). After everything was cut out I put a piece of paper under each burlap shape and went to work free handing the letters. This is a tricky part also because my R is a teensy bit smaller than my ELAX. But in the world of DIY/crafting nothing is perfect so I just rolled with it. After every letter is dry, string the ribbon through the burlap, but be careful not to make the hole too close to the edge or the burlap will fall apart. I chose not to make holes with a hole punch, I just simply moved the burlap fibers until there was an opening big enough to string the ribbon through. Also, I didn't secure each letter with a knot in the ribbon because they seemed to be staying fine and I wanted to be flexible with the placement later.

Here are some close ups...

... Don't judge my smudges on the mirror, its antique! (mom) haha 

Can't wait for the Pinterest Challenge Spring Edition! 

Pssst in no way did Pinterest sponsor this project or this blog. Just a girl who likes to get crafty with her blog friends!

Chalkboard Labels

I'm late to the game, but for the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition I decided to try my hand at making some really cute chalkboard labels that I saw on... you guessed it... Pinterest. You can buy the originals here. 

I found some packages of chip board recipe cards in the dollar bins at Michael's that were perfect. I highly recommend that you start looking there first if you want to duplicate this project or really anything! The originals are a lot more detailed with brads and perfectly distressed edges. Truly beautiful! 

I needed a quick fix so I decided to whip up my own version.

Step 1: Make a template. I used this shape. Yes, that is a paper towel! haha

Step 2: Trace all the templates on to the chip board.
Step 3: Cute the shapes out.
Step 4: Tape off a square using painter's tape, but be careful to only press down on the inside of the square because if the tape touches the edge of the chip board then it rips the layers apart.
Step 5: Spray paint 3-4 light layers or until solid black. (on some of these the paint bled through)

Step 6: Let dry then rub chalk all over the chalkboard paint to condition.

Step 7. Wipe clean (I wouldn't use a wet cloth, I just used a foam brush) and scribble away!

Aren't they so cute? What makes these chalkboard labels truly amazing is the fact that it only cost me three dollars to make twelve of them! I have to clarify that I used painters tape and some chalkboard spray paint that I already had (Michael's dollar bin chip board recipe cards = 3 dollars). I am going to use them to label the baskets that are above the cabinets in my kitchen. When I finally get that situation under control (I still need to add three more baskets) I'll post some after pics for ya'll!