She’s mighty, mighty, just letting it all hang out.

Ok, now that I’ll have that song stuck in my head all day long, I’ll move on. As I mentioned in my previous post, Daniel and I are in full-blown house mode. White picket fences, purdy kitchens, and wood flooring house mode. We did a lot of driving this weekend since we took a trip up to San Antonio for the weekend, and it’s all we talked about. Ironically, we were in San Antonio this weekend to visit with friends who just bought a house. I’m not jealous. I’m happy for them.

Alright, that’s crap. I am super jealous, and I loved their house. Sue me.

They bought a lovely, 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in a super nice part of San Antonio. It’s right by my most favorite mall. I love it. They have high ceilings, a gorgeous kitchen, a cozy covered patio, and new furniture. It’s fab. Super fab. Staying at their house for the weekend was great because I think it set our eyes on the prize. It’s a nice prize.

Being at their house made us look as what we wanted in our future home. We figured a few things out:

1.) Daniel wants 1-story, I want 2-story. People say 2-story homes create higher energy costs, but Leslie (homeowner friend/Matron of Honor) has a 1-story home and she says it’s high in energy costs because it’s an older home and because it has vaulted ceilings. So, I vote for new home with good insulation that is 2-stories tall. Daniel is still on the opposite team.

2.) We want a “landing”. I notice many homes, especially the new/cookie cutter homes, have you literally step into the living room when you open the front door. We don’t like that. Here’s an example:

Here are some examples of what we DO like:

Nice room off to the side(s).

A hallway type thing and a higher ceiling.

A nice little small area that acts as a buffer.

We don’t really have a reason for why we don’t like the whole “step right into the living room” thing, but we don’t.

3.) Must have a 2-car garage. No, we will not use the garage as storage, hence why both our cars need to fit in there.

4.) The master bedroom must have a shower and tub. Not a combo, but separate. This is my weird request.

5.) Daniel wants a large kitchen that either has an island or has room for one.

6.) I want high ceilings in the living room.

7.) A nice backyard that is not TOO big.

Will we find a house with all of the above? Who knows. But if we can get close, that’s good enough for us! What things/features did you look for in your homes?

Sorry for my brief hiatus, but something grabbed a hold of every spare second of time I had last week. I couldn’t stop thinking about it- I dream about it, worry about it, and talk about it incessantly (my poor husband).

What am I talking about?

This:

 

A house.

It just seems like the next logical step, you know? Meet on Match.com, date long distance for 3-years, get engaged, Monica moves to a small town to be with Daniel, they marry, and buy a house and live happily ever after. It just makes sense. And this logical progression makes it even MORE difficult to realize that it’s not going to happen right now. It’s not going to happen in a year either. It’ll be 2. Two LONG years. Yeah, two years will probably fly by, but it’s still 24 months, 730 days, and a lot of hours, minutes, and seconds. It hurts my heart to wait. Really it does. Owww.

Or it could be that I am in literal pain from falling down yesterday. In heels. In front of a few college students. More on that later, I am sure you’re dying to know.

I tell all this to Daniel who proceeds to look at me with the saddest face ever because he knows we can’t buy a house right now. Mainly being that we want to live in San Antonio, Texas (Go Spurs!) and we live/work in Beeville, Texas. Can’t exactly pick up and buy a house in San Antonio without a job in San Antonio, right? The other issue is credit card debt. We need to get it completely eliminated. I won’t discuss our super intimate financial details in this blog, but let’s just say it’s something we got to get rid of.

I know Dave Ramsey is super popular over on The Nest’s Money Matters board, so we did more research on it, and we’re doing a modified plan. Then I went to Google and I found an amazing, free credit card debt reduction Excel sheet. We plugged in all of the credit cards, store credit cards, and even the car loan. The spreadsheet then calculates how much you need to pay per month in order to get it paid off depending on your budget. We set aside a LARGE portion of our salary for this because we want to get this DONE with. The spreadsheet created a 22-month pay-off plan for us, and we’re thrilled. All debts will be paid off by May 2011 leaving us with only student loan debt when we search for a house that summer.

We did have to decide whether to do a snowball approach or an avalanche approach. A snowball approach is basically paying off your smaller debts first. We’re guessing this method is popular because it’s instant gratification- you get stuff paid off and it feels good. The avalanche approach is paying off higher interest rates first. We’re going this route. All my credit cards have no interest, while Daniel’s have high balances at a 20% interest rate, so it makes sense for us.

I’m excited and scared all at the same time because I realize the next 22-month are going to be really rough on us. No more frivolous purchases, no more eating out every meal, no more extravagant Christmas gifts. It’s going to require some sacrifices, but 22-months will go by fast…right?

 

Happy Birthday Gabe!

I LOVE this picture of him getting down at our wedding last month.

 

Doesn’t it sort of remind you of someone…? Perhaps this man below:

Good thing Gabe doesn’t have a clue what a blog is because if he did he’d probably come sit and fart on me. His farts smell like boiled eggs. <insert frowny face>

Here’s all of us at the rehearsal dinner. Gabe is quite the silly boy, isn’t he?

 

I love you Gabe! Smooches.

Your Sister-In-Law,

Monica

Let’s all wish my little bro some love on his special day as he turns 10!

Wow. I am actually posting about Goodwill Tuesday on a Tuesday. Go figure.

I went to GW today with the husband after our monthiversary lunch. Yes, we’ve been married for 1-month folks. WAHOO! It’s been awesome. I didn’t think being married to Daniel would feel different, but it really does…in a good way. Love ya schmoopy poo! (Major points to whomever can tell me where “schmoopy poo” comes from!)

I found LOTS of great stuff, and I bought none of it. We don’t have room or use for it. :o( I did, however, see a massive old desk which would have been perfect for a DIY makeover. It was a dark brown color, but I envisioned sanding the hell out of it, painting it white, getting cute new feet for it, adorning with foo-foo drawer pulls, and topping it off with a custom cut piece of glass to make the most fabulous desk/workspace EVER. I didn’t take a picture of the desk though. I know, I know, then why even bother mentioning it. It was perfect though, and for $59.00 I am sure someone bought it as soon as I left. I didn’t purchase it purely because it was WAY too big, and I already have a desk.

But I sure did want it. No pressure Daniel. None. I love you. <insert pouty face here>

Here are a few things that caught my DIY eye:

A cute bicycle thing with foam in the back. I guess it was used for silk flowers before? A votive holder could easily fit into that space (and you could put a candle or a single flower stem) and it’d be fab for a bathroom or a little girls room if you spray painted it a pretty pink. I would pick Ballet Slipper by Krylon. It was $2.00 (See husband in the background? What a sport!)

A nice chair. This chair totally reminds of this chair and wonderful DIY makeover at the Project Pretty blog. I think it was $15.00 or so. I wanted to buy it for the living room, but to be honest with you all, we don’t need it, so I let it go.

There were 4 of these little shelf thingies, and they’re not my style at all. However, they remind me of the ever-so-popular adirondack chairs. For someone who isn’t stuck in a prison apartment like we are, these would be great to use outside. Just spray paint, hang, and enjoy. $2.00 each

Another item I “justified” as being usable in the living room, and Daniel used his veto power. I just need to stop dragging him along. Right? Party pooper. It’s a telephone stand, but I envision using it for a nice vase (maybe this one we received off our registry) and storing a few magazines on the bottom. I would probably paint this black if I did purchase it, or maybe an earthy red color to match the living room decor. $14.99

Recognize this? It’s a cassette tape holder. Or it WAS a cassette tape holder. NOW it could be a nifty way to store rubber stamps vertically. See what I mean? Pure genius- it would hold 16 stamps. $3.99

What the heck am I trying to focus on here…oh yeah, the heart shelf in the center. I love the way Centsational Girl decorated her daughter’s room, and this would fit in perfectly (after painting it of course, must paint). Or it would be nice in a craft room to hold thread, a bathroom to show off little figurines, or a kitchen to hold spices. $4.99

Lots of great stuff today, too bad I couldn’t use any of it. Correction- I could have used all of it eventually, but at the present time we have no more room and I want to keep the hubby happy. Giant, beautiful, unphotographed desk…please get out of my head. I love you, I do. It’s me, not you. I have no room. Please understand.

Naomi is from The Knot San Antonio board, which seems to be how I meet most people nowadays…The Knot. I am not ashamed of that because the girls are amazingly sweet and nice. <insert awww>

Anyway, back to the point of the post, Naomi is the Queen of Common Sense, whereas I am the Queen of Make It Difficult.

Example A- This all started from my status message on Facebook (feel free to friend me by clicking on the link).

Monica: question for the Texas folks- as we all know, its hotter than hell outside. Does getting your car windows tinted help any in regards to not burning my butt everytime I get into my car or am I just screwed? Thoughts?

Naomi do you use a sun visor for your windshield?

Monica Naomi, I don't resort to such obvious solutions. :-P

Naomi  LOL...I use one and I seriously thinks that helps, i mean as you know it gets hotter than hell, so it won't work 100%, but it does help

Naomi  *think, I can't type today

Monica I will try the sun visor. It's weird I didn't think of that. I thought of the following solutions: tinted windows, remote start installation, and a personal slave to cool off my car and drive it to me.
Sun visor? Not on the list.

Naomi  think of the simple things in life :D

Monica Now I look bad for thinking of hiring a personal slave. Thanks Naomi. ;)

Naomi  LMAO! I don't even have a good comeback I'm laughing so hard

Monica LOL! I'm a dork, I know. *sigh*

Example B- She left a comment on my heirloom white spray paint post.

Naomi: “http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176MX24
Just buy it there. It's much better than you looking all over town for it. lol”

And then I had to harass talk to her about it via GMail Chat.

 me:  Ok, enough of the common sense stuff...first the sun visor and now Amazon.
Naomi:  LOL
I'm just trying to help a sister out
me:  Daniel was like, "order it from freaking Amazon and let it go." 
Naomi:  dude I couldn't do the store to store thing like you
me:  but the retail value is only $3.99, so Amazon has hiked up the price, but when I factor in gas and annoying my husband, I guess Amazon is the way to go
I love the store to store thing!
Naomi:  well what i would do cuz it's a super saver shipping item I would just spend $25 dollars so I got free shipping cuz I'm a goof like that
me:  It's the thrill of the chase.
I would do that, too, and they have other colors I want.
Naomi:  Ya well you get some pretty good steals, you need to teach me your makeover ways
me:  Oh it's so fun!
I thought it'd be hard, but it's pretty easy once you plan it out.
wait until you see the tacky gold shelf makeover
Naomi:  ya i guess planning it out is my problem, i just want it already planned so i can do
me:  yeah, I hear ya. Pre-wedding I couldn't do it, but now that I am married, I have my brain back.

It’s good to have my brain back. Common sense will come later, I guess. I can’t have it all.

Taken with my iPhone as I walked by this morning.

I can’t wait until my office is DONE!

I finally found Krylon's Blue Ocean Breeze at Wal-Mart. Our local butt-
plug town Wal-Mart didn't have it, but the one 40 miles away did. Oh
well, whatever it takes in the name of DIY!

We also went to Home Depot, and they only have Rustoelum products, no
Krylon. No heirloom white spray paint to be found. I also didn't find
lime green spray paint. Nowhere. Where can I find lime green spray
paint? Anyone? I may try Lowes next weekend when I go to San Antonio,
and I may swing by Hobby Lobby, too.

At Home Depot I bought a level, black paint, primer, and new drill
bits for our drill. So excited to start my products now that I am
mostly set. I did forget to buy a mitre saw, but hopefully our local
McCoy's will have that. I puffy heart Home Depot. The husband was
bored and hated it. I guess I am on my own when it comes to home
projects.

As long as he makes me food, it's all good. :)

Of home decor projects.

Home Depot! Yay! I hope to find the Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze spray
paint I have been drooling over for 2 months. I found the Watermelon
color at Wal-Mart, but no luck with blue ocean breeze.

I also hope to find the heirloom white spray paint that is used all
over blog world. I bought the 94-cent Wal-Mart white gloss spray
paint... Not good. Not buying that again.

I have been wanting to go to Home Depot forever, so I am happy to be
going today. I will be mobile blogging from my iPhone (like I am right
now) so I will be back soon after lunch.

-mon :)

I am still hunting for a lampshade for my Goodwill/Target reject shabby chic lamp that I mentioned in this post.

It has a crack all around the bottom part, which I will show you in a bit. My plan was to cover it with the spackle stuff that comes in the giant tube for like a buck at Wal-Mart, but I am lazy and I like bows. This morning I had an epiphany and remembered I had 2 fabulous, free items laying around. The first is a long white satin ribbon that was wrapped around a Macy’s gift we got for our wedding (love satin ribbon…swoon) and the sparkly brooch that was on our unity candle:

Armed with 2 of my favorite things (sparkles and satin) I decided instead of fixing/filling in the crack, I was going to cover it up.

Picture of the crack.

Trimmed the ribbon.

Made the bow have pretty “bow” ends, and there you have it. A 2-minute lamp makeover that was FREE. My secret to making perfect pretty bows is to tie them using the bunny ears method as opposed to the loop-and-swoop. Very scientific, I know.

Sometimes it’s the random stuff you already have that can add a bit of pizzazz to a new item.

Now if I could just find a lampshade.

I went over to Embellished Bayou’s blog and then that led me to go to the Project Pretty blog to enter the giveaway for a free item from Embellished Bayou. Make sense? Did I lose you?

So, I just wanted to let all of you know about the giveaway because she makes fabulous items in her Etsy store and you could win one!

My fave item that I covet for my office makeover?

These GORGEOUS frames. I am simply obsessed with the blue one, and I may buy it even if I don’t win it because it would look fab on my desk with a nice wedding picture. I want!

Anyway, go on over to Project Pretty and enter for your chance at an item from Embellished Bayou.

Holy poop, I am posting a lot today, and it feels good. I hope all 7 of you followers enjoy my posts! Yes, SEVEN followers. One is my husband and 1 joined to get a discount on my Etsy store merchandise. I have no shame, I coerce people to read my blog as punishment.

I will, again, admit my shallow and naive roots in saying I used to hate garage sales. I think it’s because one time when I was in elementary school I remember being at a garage sale with my grandma. She walked to the school to pick me up, and we’d walk home together. One day on our walk home, she saw a garage sale and we swung by. Well, lots of kids happened to be walking home so I got double made fun of for being with my grandma and for being at a garage sale. After that I always felt ashamed to be at one. I do remember what my grandma bought at that garage sale though; she purchased a like-new white lampshade that she later added a pretty floral print to and totally revamped it. Go granny! She had the right idea about garage sales, and now I do, too. Though my granny is gone to a better place, I still love her and miss her, and I cannot thank her enough for all she did for me. Miss you granny.

The past 2 weekends I have gone to garage sales here in Beeville, and I noticed a few things. Mostly that you never know what you’re going to find- in a good or bad way. My advice? Just get out there! Rhoda from Southern Hospitality wrote a great blog post about this topic, you should read it. I haven’t had to haggle yet, and honestly after wedding planning I have NO energy left to argue, so basically if the price was unreasonable, I just didn’t bother.

The first weekend I got all this:

The 3 lace-y placemats cost me $1.00, the glass candle holder was 25-cents, the 2 brass candlesticks were $1.00 for the pair, the picture frame is brand new and was $1.00 ($10+ at Wal-Mart!), and the wooden thingy that’s between the candlesticks was 50-cents. Daniel gave me the craziest look when I got back into the car with the wooden thingy, but I knew exactly what to do with it when I saw it. Just wait! I also got a cute heart ornament, but it’s in the car and it’s just a porcelain heart. Nothing amazing, but it was 25-cents. Total spent= $4.00 and about 1.5 hours of my time. (Thanks love for driving me around! Smooches!)

I think I would normally have overlooked the candlesticks, but I was on the hunt for brass after this post. I would love to meet up with Centsational Girl, Eddie Ross, and Rhoda all at the same time. It’s like my home decor wet dream.

TMI? Oh well, we’re close here at Monica Wants It. *hugs*

I’ll show pics of how it’s all used after I use it.

And I also went garage sale-ing last weekend, sans husband. I must say it was more fun being driven around, but I actually had a good time. I knocked out 5 garage sales in like 1 hour AND I even made a taco run in there for some fuel. Can’t shop on an empty stomach people! I only bought one thing and it cost me $5.00 and I found it at the first sale I went to, so I guess in hindsight I could have just stopped there and gone home, but I didn’t. That’s too easy. Monica doesn’t do easy. Now brace yourselves, because this purchase is freakin’ fabulous. You’re going to be even more smitten once I tell you what I plan to use it for… if I do tell you, that is.

Here it is in it’s tacky gold glory:

Gorgeous. It had cobwebs, dust, and other sorts of nastiness, so I immediately wiped it down before bringing it inside. People- if you have a yard sale, please dust the items before hand. Thanks. I wanted a cute, scrolly, ornate, and spacious shelf, and I didn’t want to pay lots of money. I tend to see something in a blog that I love, and then I obsess about it. I have been obsessing over this:

Picture from Centsational Girl

See that cute pink mirrored hutch? Well, I love that it’s scrolly and ornate. I wanted something just like it, and I think my tacky gold shelf fits the bill.

Any guesses as to what I am going to do with it? I’ll give you 3 hints: heirloom white, dowel, crafts.

Better late than never.

Featured Item #1
Mouse Pad- Abstract Art in Pink Black Blue Green Yellow Artistic Mod Hip
$8.00 plus shipping

The mouse pad I was using POM (pre-office makeover) was a nice mouse pad, it served it’s purpose. But the beautiful roses of Oregon just didn’t jive with my new look. I found a cute replacement, but this one also caught my attention. From Etsy Seller 3zart They also make really awesome light switch covers for very cheap. Check it out!

Featured Item #2
Keep Calm & Carry On- 12x18 print
$14.98 plus shipping

This poster/print/saying has been ALL over the blog world. All of you Google Reader addicts know exactly what I am talking about. I know you do. Nonetheless, I freakin’ love it. From By Order of The Crown

And even more so I love the spin-offs of this saying, like this one for instance:

Hilarious! I love it. From Etsy Seller dippylulu

Featured Item #3
5 rolls of cute mini deco tape with dispenser
$4.00 plus shipping

I love tape. I didn’t really think or care about it much until I began running my Etsy store, and I realized that packaging counts…a lot. I got a package from Target today, and Target could care less about cute packaging, which is cool. It’s Target. However, I do care because customers expect a certain flair factor with their Etsy orders. I am the damask diva, so of course I have damask packing tape from organize.com, but if I didn’t, I would totally buy these cute tape thingies. From Etsy Seller Purple Sparkle Crafts

I am going to see Britney Spears! I was beyond bummed when she didn’t come to San Antonio on the first leg of her Circus tour, so I decided to hold out and pray she’d do a second leg to the tour and come to SA.

I was wrong. She did decide to do a second leg, but she went back to Houston and Dallas, but added El Paso. Yes, El Paso. WTH? I don’t understand. I decided in a moment of insanity to just take off that day (September 16) and go to the Houston show. I have no one to go with (ie: Daniel doesn’t want to go), so I posted on Facebook an open invitation to be my date to the show, and a great person responded. I can’t reveal who because she’s a closet Britney fan, but she’s great and I know we will have a fabulous time. Little does she know that I will have Britney’s greatest hits playing all the way from SA to H-town. Maybe I’ll even make us tacky t-shirts from VistaPrint.com

I am super psyched to see Miss Spears because I have always loved her. Seriously. I know people talk shit about her all the time, but I don’t see why. She’s not perfect, no one is, and though she’s made some weird decisions, it’s none of our business. But, I will say, I totally loved her with Justin and I’ll never get over the fact they broke up. Yeah, it was almost like 10 years ago, and I am still upset.

And while I am on that subject, am I the only one praying for an NSYNC reunion?

Probably so.

I’m going to shut up now before I further embarrass myself and my love of teeny bopper artists. Off to listen to the Spice Girls.

I didn’t get to go to Goodwill this past Tuesday, but I did go LAST Tuesday, and I didn’t find anything to buy. I don’t want to become all compulsive and buy things all the time, so I have tried to tell myself I can only buy more stuff when I have projects done. And we want to buy a house in 2 years, so I am also trying to save money instead of spending and spending.

Anyway, while I was there last week, I did come upon the cutest little table. Pre-married/blogging/Nesting/Martha Stewart days, I would have thought it was a piece of crap and moved on while thinking about why anyone would possibly want that heinous piece of furniture. So glad I got over myself and have learned that some TLC + a bit of money + time= WOW.

Take this piece of furniture:

It’s got stains and scratches and who knows what else, but you knew what drew my eye to this sucker? The shape! It’s damn cute. I love funky shapes, and I think it’s eye catching and different. It’s good to be different right? And I love the 2 doors that open up the front of it- it’s just unique! Inside the cabinet is a single shelf dividing it up into 2 places to store stuff. Perfect for a scrapbooking room, but if I would have bought it, I think I would have made it into a cute table for a bathroom. Imagine painting it a pretty creamy white color, getting some new knobs/pulls, and it’d be a great bath side table for magazines, books, etc. Love it! Or you could also use it in a living room as a nice resting place for a lamp and a small mason jar full of flowers. Possibilities are endless. Here are some of the things I’d put on this table:

Jewelry tree from Red Envelope

 

Flowers found via Google Image search.

Candle sticks I have been lusting over from CB2. They’re actually really cheap, I just can’t bear to pay the shipping.

All good ideas to put on the cute hexagon table. I believe this table was $10-$15ish, so not bad at all. I should have bought it. I always do this to myself, right Lauren?

See that brass headboard frame in the background? It was ONLY $5.00. $5!!! You could easily spray paint that almost any color and it’d be great for a guest bedroom. Did I mention it was only $5. I did? It bears repeating, sorry.

Have you found anything at Goodwill lately? I think I may swing by tomorrow since it’s 50% off day and my husband is working.

I totally forgot about Goodwill Tuesdays and Etsy Thursdays. I blame Farm Town on Facebook, because I am totally addicted and I love it. Great way to kill time at work at home. Thanks Jackie!

But even more so, I still haven’t started my wedding recap, and I think it’s because I wonder if anyone cares…? My co-workers all asked, “How was the wedding?” type of stuff, but most of my friends haven’t (the ones that weren’t at the wedding). Thank God I have the Knot, but it’s not the same. Maybe it’s because a wedding is a wedding and why is mine any different or more exciting to hear about? And I don’t want to be all self-absorbed and constantly bring it up, but I would kind of like to talk about it to share in the crazy excitement of that day.

On the other hand, doing a wedding recap means it’s over. Really. I am married, there are pictures to prove it, and it’s over and done with. Not that I feel a huge sadness come over me now that I have no wedding planning to do, but it is a sweet melancholy to know that all my hours, months, and years of planning for 1 day have come and gone. I also feel weird because I am not gushing about my day. Brides say, “It was the best day EVER!” and “It was the happiest day of my life!” and while I loved my wedding and I LOVE my husband, I am not all gushy like that. Not even close. This worries me because if I post, “That witch wore a white dress, ugh,” I’d probably get a comment from some 2015 bride with a full Knot bio up and done saying how I totally missed the point of my wedding day. Dear 2015 bride with a full bio, you’ll understand one day. Until then, back off and go to Wedding Bee.

But even with all the gibberish I just said, I think I need closure and will be doing a full wedding recap in a day-by-day fashion. If you want mushy and gushy, not the recap for you.

Back to my regularly scheduled non-wedding shenanigans.

I have started the office makeover. Okay, that’s a lie. We (me and the hubster) started the office makeover, and here’s a slight sneak peek.

Some things (desk and bookshelf) ended up in opposite places of where I thought I wanted them, but that’s okay. I think I actually like it better this way. Now I am really motivated to finish my darn table and cabinet. I hope to knock them out this weekend. And just WAIT until you see what I decided to do with my favorite wedding pictures, such as this one:

It’s going to be fabulous darling! I really do love this picture because I think it’s “us”.

Back later with Goodwill Tuesday and  Etsy Thursday on this special edition called –“I forgot!” Friday. ;-)

Love,

Mon

I haven’t posted a wedding recap yet. I am resizing images to make them “blog” friendly and I will post part one today.

Tip Junkie is celebrating their launch into the Dot Com world by having a bunch of giveaways. Why the change to Dot Com? To celebrate Tip Junkie's 2nd Birthday!

Go to her website and check it out!

tipjunkie.com

Christy from Embellished Bayou has bestowed upon me the “One Lovely Blog” Award:

So, to accept the award I am supposed to blog about 15 blogs that I love and enjoy, so here it goes! (In no particular order…)

1.) A Good Build- Laurel is great! I met her as a fellow Knottie, and I greatly admire her graphic design work and I love reading about her Hobby Lobby addiction (I have one too!).

2.) Barefoot Foodie- She’s my birth control. She. is. hilarious.

3.) Centsational Girl- I thought I was thrifty until I read her blog. She can turn trash into something fabulous. I have learned so much from her blog.

4.) Crafty Nest- Another blog that inspires me to think outside the box- her stuff is beautiful.

5.) Design Sponge- She updates a lot, and I am happy to read every single post.

6.) Dollar Store Crafts- Dollar Tree lovers unite.

7.) Eden’s Echo- My dear friend and my wedding florist. Her work is beautiful.

8.) Everything Turquoise- I once hated blue/blue colors, and now its my new obsession.

9.) House of Turquoise- Read #8

10.) Living With Lindsay- Lindsay’s blog is filled with great tutorials and such.

11.) Southern Hospitality- I love Rhoda. That’s all I can say. Go see for yourself.

12.) Thrifty Decor Chick- Thrift store fanatics unite!

13.) Copy Cat Chic- The look, for less. Love.

14.) The Luci Chronicles- Cool friend, cute baby.

15.) Parasitic Monkey Tales- See #14

I love blogs.

I decided to try out this new Windows Live Writer because the Blogger software sucks at the whole inserting pictures thing and I get tired of typing out HTML code over and over.

So, this is my first post on the Windows Live Writer software, and if this is successful you’ll see some wedding pics below, which can mean only one thing…

Wedding recap starts on Sunday. Get a bottle of wine, and relive my purdy princess day again with me. Won’t ya? You know you wanna.

Did it work? *crosses fingers*

I want to begin sewing. No, I don't have aspirations of ending up on Project Runway. Why?

Heidi Klum isn't human and I can't be near her. Isn't it odd that she pops out kid after kid and never looks fat. What the f@!* is my excuse? Ugh.

But I digress.

I want to learn how to sew basic stuff like cool pillow covers, curtains, etc.

What do I need to do besides get a sewing machine? What kind should I get?

This one caught my eye (ok, maybe I do wish I could be on Project Runway or at least look like Heidi):


It's $130 at Wal-Mart.

Or this one:

It's $80 at Wal-Mart.

I know many of you all (all 5 of you anyway) would probably recommend I take classes. I would love to if I lived in a city that offered them. I live in a town. We just got a Super Wal-Mart and Chili's 2 years ago people, be kind.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I am going to google some "sewing for dummies" type stuff, but I wanted to ask you all for advice, too.

Happy Friday! I am going to try and finish sanding my Goodwill cabinet today. Wish me luck, its freakin' hot outside. Oy.

Jenny rocks my socks.

Here's reply to my convo about getting the oh-so-cute-I-could-puke tea kettle magazine rack:

"Hi Monica! Thanks so much for blogging about us. Right now, I am just finishing up a black kettle mag rack and plan on posting it over the weekend. If you are interested, I can make a custom listing for you in whatever color you’d like (I would honor the same $32 price and free shipping). Hot pink is a great idea! Turquoise too!

We are currently working on a funky robot-shaped wine rack, and a cute retro-camera-shaped tissue box cover. I do have some more magazine rack ideas (like an old-fashioned phone shape and gramophone shape) but they are not ready quite yet. I have a sketch book chock full of cool modern decor ideas that we will be rolling out over the summer as quickly as we can!

Thanks again for the encouragement, it really means a lot!
Jenny"

In other words, she's nice, talented, and I will spend lots of my paycheck on her products. I hope she hits it big on Etsy, her stuff is fab.

I get sad when I see that basically no one except like 3 people (and that includes me in the 3) read my blog, so imagine my total excitement to see myself listed in someone's blog post today.

I know I haven't done much to promote myself/my blog, so I can't whine too much, but being featured on the following blog made my day.

So thanks Embellished Bayou for including me in your list of 15 blogs! Check out her fabulous blog and Etsy store- she's got some great stuff.

I am so excited to finally be getting back into the swing of things, and I must fully admit that getting back to "normal" has proved to be more difficult than I EVER imagined. I want to be on my honeymoon forever. And ever. And ever.

But alas, I cannot be, and neither can my wonderful husband, so back to my blog, work, and general shenanigans I go.

Featured Item #1
Set of 6 Black White and Hot Pink Handpainted Crystal Jeweled Drawer Pulls
$51.00 plus shipping

I have been on the hunt for cute knobs for my Goodwill cabinet/printer stand/sanding is going to kill me project. These knobs are a bit expensive, but I love them anyhow. Maybe it's because they match the color scheme for my fabulous new website that I will be debuting soon. Back on topic though, you can buy these from Etsy Seller Lisa Everett Designs.

Featured Item #2
Magazine Rack/Apple Green Tea Kettle
$32.00 plus shipping (which seems to be free in June because of their grand opening...Buy it NOW folks!)

I have a normal, wrought iron type of magazine rack that I received for Christmas 2 years ago, and while I love it, I don't think it fits into my office motif. This definitely does...if it were hot pink. I am going to contact the seller and see what I can find out. But at $32, I seriously feel this is a major bargain. From Etsy Seller Paperdoll Woodshop.

Featured Item #3
Chandelier Hangy
$6.00 plus shipping

This is one of those things you don't really need, but you sure do want it. I picture myself either using this in a few different ways- ceiling fan pull, on top of a big tassel, or in a shadow box. I love it because it's simple and yet striking. From Etsy Seller Shambee & Jak.

And there ya have it folks. It's good to be back.

I love this mirror from SmakParlour.com but at $112.00, I'll pass. I really do think I can make this one day...I know I can do it! How would you go about doing this? I need to find a bird cage that I can take apart since I only need a portion of it, and then I need a mirror. My wheels are turning...

Not too shabby huh?