Headboard DIY

School is officially back in session and it is crazy to believe we are already into September! October is around the corner which means we should basically be planning for Christmas and New Years. With summer ending so do most of our DIY projects around here. But before summer officially closes I wanted to share our latest and in my opinion greatest DIY project to date.....

A HEADBOARD!

I have been telling Andrew I wanted a headboard since we updated from our queen to king bed but it always got put aside when we made larger purchases. I had come across a couple DIY's on Pinterest and had been actively pinning but never committing to building one until now. One day I had come across a DIY video on Facebook and thought it looked so easy I finally decided to commit.

In early August Andrew went on a vacation out to Virginia Beach to visit family and I stayed back. While he was gone I had two full weekends I had to fill and this became the project of choice. So off to Home Depot I went...

According to the video you will need the following:

-5 pine 1x8 cut to the width of the bed

-2 pine 1x4 cut to desired headboard height

-Plus two more for support

-Sand paper

-Stain

-1.5in/4cm wood screws

Since I was alone and we don't own very many power tools I went and picked out my wood and came with my measurements to have the wood pre-cut at Home Depot. In total the supplies ended up being approximately $60. 

After heading home I sanded the boards down and stained front and back unlike the video. I also decided I didn't need the lights on the headboard. As you can see in the last photo below we have bed side lamps that serve that purpose already. 

I did about two coats of stain and let them sit for over a week to ensure the smell of stain didn't come into the house. Plus, things picked up and I didn't have time to fully put the headboard together until the past weekend. Andrew obviously was no longer on vacation so he got to help put this beauty together! 

The photo above was pre-finishing. When the sheets were in the wash and we were seeing how secure our boards were. There is something about a headboard that makes a bedroom more homey to me! I haven't gone and taken a "final" photo because if we're being honest our bed is never neatly made and that would be the only difference in the two photos #honesty. 

Any suggestions for our next project?!

Magnolia Market Trip

What a weekend!

A couple months ago Andrew and I were sitting around chatting and he mentioned having some vacation time that he needed to use. Around the same time we were in the process of doing some home projects and he suggested we take a weekend trip down to Waco, TX to visit the home of Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines along with Magnolia Market. Although Andrew is more of a Property Brothers fan he played along all weekend while my mom and I visited all things Fixer Upper.

We left KC on Wednesday after a half day at work and drove down to Waco. We arrived in Waco around 11pm and decided to call it a night so we could get up early and make sure were got to Magnolia Market before the chaos we had read about ensued.

Thursday morning we got up, showered, and made it to Magnolia minutes before they opened at 9. Thankfully there was no line and we were able to walk right in. Immediately I fell in love. I had shopped Magnolia Market online but never ordered things. However, there was something about seeing all the decor in person and staged the way she would in the store that made me fall in love. Per my last post I have been selling jewelry and had saved all the money I made with the intention of using it while we were in TX. Although I wanted to spend it all I paced myself and walked out with only one bag... the first time.

After shopping in the store we walked around the silo grounds and they were just a pretty as TV. They had these wooden swings and games laid out for people to enjoy while shopping. After exploring the grounds we couldn't leave without stopping by the newest addition to the Market- Joanna's bakery. For those who know me know I have a sweet tooth and had saving up to try these cupcakes. We decided to each get a different cupcake to optimize what we were able to try. We ended up with a Cup of Jo', Peanut Butter, and Nuts and Bolts. By far the Cup of Jo' was the best.

After getting our sugar rush we decided to explore what is called the Silo District. Recently the Silo district opened a trolly to take you a couple block radius to all the other shops recommended by Joanna herself. We spent all day Friday visiting various antique shops and finished our day with dinner at George's which is known for their "Big O" which is essentially a frosted glass they put beer in.

Friday we got up and explored Baylor's campus. After visiting campus we tried to find the different houses she's fixed up and eventually made our way out to their Bed and Breakfast. While there we stumbled upon a blog talking about their farm house being nearby so we tried our best detective skills to find it but came up empty handed. After giving up and feeling somewhat deflated we made our way back to Magnolia Market. There we walked out with another bag of goodies- I swear the things I bought the second time weren't in the store the first day. And of course we had to get cupcakes for the road as souvenirs.

** this is the original store and by far my favorite part of the trip.

If you are a fan of the show I highly recommend making the trip. It was well worth the 10-hour drive and the people were super friendly. We were asked multiple times if we had traveled down just to see the market. The market workers know this is a destination stop for people and they wanted to ensure you had a good time while visiting. Andrew and I chatted with a boy who said he couldn't imagine working anywhere else and I could definitely see why!

Doing research for this trip and watching the show has given me a ton of inspiration to make our new house a home which is what Joanna prides herself on doing. I left the trip with things to bring back to decorate with but also with ideas and confidence to create the home I want for Andrew and I.

Check out my Facebook for more photos of our trip! 

New Home Project

We returned from Mexico last week around midnight and decided to stay at my parents house and return home the following morning. For those who have been following along- that last time I was home we did DIY projects. This time was no different!

After telling my family all about our trip we decided to go over to the thrift store nearby and see what they had. I found a dresser for $20 that I thought would serve well as a new TV stand. I've been trying to convince Andrew to get rid of his since we moved but have had no luck. However, after I showed him plans for what I wanted to do he reluctantly agreed and we purchased the dresser.

Here is before we put in any work:

 

My dad thought the best way to go about relishing it would be to sand it down and strip it of the veneer finish. We decide to go that route but realized halfway through we probably could have stained it and just painted right over the top. But hey- if we're going to do a project, we're not going to half-ass it. 

After getting it home we decided to paint it a light blue/green color to compliment our other furniture.

After Andrew drilled holes in where the cords needed to go we positioned everything just right. The photo below was taken shortly after we painted it and wanted to make sure the paint was completely dry before setting it on the carpet. I haven't taken a chance to photograph it without the tin foil on the bottom! 

Our next step is to find baskets that fit on both sides and put the handles back on (they're currently sitting on our kitchen table) to complete the look. Unfortunately, we've had no luck! We went to Michaels and found a basket we thought would fit but they only had one and we haven't been able to find another. Stay tuned for the FINAL product when we finally find baskets!

DIY Weekend

Last weekend was full of excitement- it started with a bachelorette party getting kicked out of a winery because of a tornado, the marriage of my best friend Stephanie, and two DIY projects for our house!

After wedding festivities Saturday we stayed with my parents in KC and spent Sunday and the holiday on Monday doing DIY projects I had on my radar. Since buying a home I've become a huge fan of Fixer Upper- who really isn't these days?- and one of the things I'd seen time and time again on the show were floating shelves. Typically they're in Joanna's kitchen design but Andrew was a no-go for those so we opted to put them in the bathroom to use for storage. Obviously, the way to go about doing any DIY project is to check Pinterest for inspiration and sure enough, there were even plans already made which made the project that much easier!

DIY Floating Bathroom Shelves 
-Since we are new homeowners we lack a tool collection aside from your average screw and screw driver so we opted for Home Depot to cut the wood to the length we wanted and used my dad's sander to smooth out the boards.
-The board we bought ended up being long enough to make three shelves with a small amount of excess wood.

And only after one stripped screw and a couple paint touch ups later the {a} shelf is hung (we have to finish painting the master bedroom before hanging the other two we made)!

The other project we DIY'd was a blanket ladder. For Christmas this past year my dad made us all wine racks and my mom a blanket ladder. Since then I've had my eye on them on Pinterest when the time came and I'd be able to make one. This one was a little more time consuming and needed more tools than we had so shout out to my dad for being handy and owning a saw! 

For this one we used Shanty Chic's plans. After sitting in our garage for a week so our house doesn't smell like stain here's the final product!

I made a comment to Andrew this morning that our house is finally starting to come together and I'll be so happy when we're done painting-only two more rooms to go! 

Living Room

One of the first projects we decided to take on when we moved in was the living room. This is the very first room you see when you walk in the house and we want it to make a statement. Unfortunately, it has taken some time. Especially balancing work, life, and everything in between but here is a quick update on where we are at.

This past weekend I celebrated my 25th birthday and I wanted nothing more than to get our living room painted. So Saturday we did that... spent the ENTIRE day painting with the exception of a break for lunch and dinner. And my husband absolutely HATED it. He's realized home projects aren't for him but I'll leave those stories for future posts! :)

After the entire day painting Saturday and a large portion of Sunday we FINALLY got the living room done. Now we just have decorating to do!

We decided after 4 different colors to go with Behr Burnished Clay for the living room paint color. We still have to extend this into the kitchen since we don't want to make it too choppy by changing the paint color in each room but Andrew has decided to take a break from painting for now.

Here are some photos of the process!

This photo shows some of the colors we went back and forth between. 

Our Humble Abode

Per my last post, Andrew and I are slowly getting settled into our new home. Throughout the entire process one thing we failed to do was take pictures. Anytime we told people we purchased a house they responded by asking if there were photos and we sadly had to say no. That is, until now!

Obviously, this is a work in progress. Both cosmetically- hence the two different paint colors on the living room wall and an unfinished painted bathroom- but also organizationally. There are still plenty of things to be unpacked and hung but we at least we can say we're out of our apartment and can now invest our free time into the house! Until then, here are a couple photos of the interior.

Our home is ranch style so directly when you walk in you have entered the living room. The living room has high ceilings which makes the room look "UUUUGEEEE" (in my best Donald Trump voice).

To the left is the kitchen/dining room area.

This leads out into a fairly decent sized yard which is one of the most exciting things about our home. We are ecstatic to be able to just let our dogs out to run! Saturday morning they spent a large chunk of the morning outside playing and by the end of the night you could tell they were worn out!

Off of the kitchen is what we are using for now as our laundry room/pantry. Eventually I think Andrew would like it to become only the laundry room and figure out something else for a pantry. But that will come with time. Across from this room is our second bathroom which has gotten it's first coat of paint!

Continuing down from the kitchen are our two spare bedrooms. Currently, one is serving as a guest room while the other will serve as an office and/or workout room when we get everything put together.

If you go across the house to the right when you first walk into the living room is our master bedroom. It is a decent size and has really great vaulted ceilings. There is a huge window that lets in some great light. Our plan is to get this room painted shortly after we get the living room complete. One of our favorite things about this house is the master bathroom. Not only is it huge with a walk-in closet but it also has an amazing jetted tub! 

Since moving in on Thursday we have loved being homeowners and were grateful for all the helped we received in the moving process from Andrew's brother Brian and all of my family! We would not be as far as we are now if it weren't for their hard work. I would also like to thank everyone for the well wishes throughout this process. It has been great seeing how loved the two of us are. 

Home and Garden Show

This past weekend Kansas City was hosting the Home and Garden show downtown. The headline speakers for the event were Chip and Joanna Gaines from the show Fixer Upper.

Before marrying Andrew, I had never watched a show on HGTV. It just wasn't something I was into. Honestly, I didn't watch much TV unless it's my girls Shonda Rhime's TGIT. Anyways, soon after we got married I quickly was introduced to the Property Brothers, Flip or Flop, and House Hunters and I've grown to really enjoy watching these shows. Unfortunately, I've never had a place to really do the things we've seen on these shows but the prospect of having somewhere soon allows me to start gathering ideas.

My mom had mentioned the show Fixer Upper and I decided to give it a shot and have fallen in love. I enjoy the show not just from the design perspective but also the dynamic of Chip and Joanna. Some of my favorite parts of the shows are when they are being interviewed and being completely genuine and authentic with one another and often times it reminds me of Andrew and I's relationship. There has never been a time Andrew and I haven't been able to sit in a room with absolutely nothing to do and not have a good time. We both act goofy, are 100% comfortable with one another, and have shared laughs over some of the stupidest things.

When my mom shared on my Facebook that the Home and Garden Show was in town and that they'd be headlining we decided to get tickets and -try- to see them speak. We got to the show when doors opened at 10 and got seats for the talk at noon and it was well worth the wait!

Chip made sure to add humor to their story while Joanna shared the passion of their journey on Fixer Upper.

Seeing Chip and Joanna was truly an enjoyable experience. There were many laughs had and it was a great Sunday spent with my mom.

Sunday Project

Can't believe we are already into December and are fully into the Christmas season! This will be the first year I have a place that is "mine." I've always shared an apartment with roommates and had the liberty to do what I wanted but this year I've been responsible with making it my "home" and I've come to realize I enjoy cooking, crafting, and decorating more than I thought before.

In other apartments where I knew I'd be for a short year before I went home for the summer I never put more effort than to hang a poster on the wall and call it good. However, now our plan is to stay in one place for awhile. To be completely honest, that was one of the main things I was looking forward to after graduating grad school- have a place to live for more than 2 years. I was tired of moving. In our new apartment I have been able to really make it ours and have started to think more "domesticated" (I used to always call my best friend Stephanie this because she always was thinking in a Susie Homemaker way when I would just shrug these things off). 

One project I've been waiting to tackle is cleaning and re-doing my Kitchen Aid mixer. When Andrew, my sister, and I rented a house out in Warrensburg I got the opportunity to go through Andrew's grandma's old things and take what we needed. When I was in the process of doing this I came across her old KitchenAid mixer. The mixer was a dingy yellow color that needed a little TLC. When I took it, I didn't care what it looked like- it was functional and that's all that mattered to me. Now that the kitchen is mine and Andrew could careless what it looks like, I've started to make it look "pretty." My mom had told me about some blogs she had read awhile back about taking them apart and cleaning them and hand sent me one that seemed fairly easy to tackle and with the holidays approaching, I bust out the KitchenAid mixer and started baking. 

There were a couple of different recipe's I wanted to try so I  spent the majority of yesterday making

• Butterscotch shortbread
• Puppy chow
• Crockpot Chex Mix
• Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

After my baking purge I finally decided to take the time and deep clean- and I mean DEEP CLEAN- this KitchenAid mixer and repaint it. We decided to go with a Hunter Green color that would cover the spots that didn't seem to come off and WALA!

There are still a couple places I need to touch up but I'll save that for another Sunday! Next on my list of projects- Christmas gifts! 

A few of my favorite things

Lately I've been in a "mood" according to Andrew. His exact words tonight were "What has gotten into you? Crafting, cooking, and cleaning?!"

In all reality, when we're at home I don't want to just sit around and watch football. I want to do something. With the holidays in full swing we've started to decorate our apartment. My husband is a real life Grinch. He doesn't see the fun in doing all these things but that makes it more fun for me! :)

Two weekends ago, I started cleaning and came across a DIY Burlap Wreath I started making shortly after Andrew and I got married. It was looking a little drab so I decided to finally take the Nebraska football down outside our apartment and switch it up with something more festive. 

The wreath itself was super easy to make. I unwrapped a wire hanger and thread different types of burlap through. I then fastened the Santa and pinecones on with ornament hangers. The whole project probably took about 60 minutes total, which is exactly what I need since I get bored easily with projects. 

Next we decided to put our Christmas tree up. This was supposed to be done "after Thanksgiving" but since we planned on going home for Thanksgiving we had to have it up so we can return home to it! Andrew put a total of three ornaments on before he got bored. 

This is him telling our dog Alba to sit for a photo in front of the tree

Since I was already in the crafting mood and we were at Michaels, I decided to update our tray we use to hold remotes in our living room. I painted the tray and used scrapbook paper to cover the inside. Again, super easy and done within one night. 

1. Painted the tray

2. Cooked dinner

3. Painted a second coat

4. Ate dinner

5. Glued the scrapbook paper in the middle

Phew... and I'd be lying if I said I don't still have the crafting bug. When I get into these "moods" as Andrew calls it, I end up spending hours on Pinterest. My t-shirt quilt is a project I've slowly been gathering supplies for and tonight I officially "started." Stay tuned!

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