I’ve Been Featured!

I guess my noes has been buried in the books a bit TOO long! Yikes! My most recent goal is to keep this thing updated a little more often than a couple times a year!

I woke up this morning to an email letting me know that I have been FEATURED! I found it hard to believe at first… Until I saw it with my own eyes! I am very honored that Cutting Edge Stencils picked ME, of all people, to feature! Because of the designer and thrifter in me of course my bedroom has changed a bit since the DIY tutorial I posted on here. So I wanted to provide you with a few more recent images to highlight the additions of the room.

Yeah. That’s pretty gosh darn awesome!

School is going well. Today I start my last 7-week spring session. I am exhausted just thinking about it! But there are a couple other things that have been occupying quite a bit of my time lately… Meet Miss Abby!

I will explain the whole story soon, I promise!

 

Happy Tuesday!

Rebecca

Hello, Tuesday update!

HAPPY TUESDAY!!

Professionally things have slowed down a bit since I started my Master’s degree full time, working part time and got a puppy! But all is well over here and I couldn’t be happier :)

I just finished session one of the fall semester of my Masters degree putting me 1.5 semesters into this chapter. So far I have managed all A’s, which I am very proud of! I am anxiously awaiting my final grade of my class that just ended last night. I have registered for two classes next session, which is a ton of work. But in order to dual concentrate and finish in two years or less, I have to double up on classes in a few sessions. The sessions are only 7 weeks long so it is accelerated with a ton of reading!

Work is going good. No real news to report there…

Lulu is thriving. She is such a HAM (tugging on my toes wanting to play as I type this!). The German Shepherd in her keeps her very active and needy. Her and I have our moments, but overall she has been a wonderful addition to my family. She is just starting to figure out that I am NOT a morning person and has actually stayed quiet the last couple weeks on days I don’t have to be up early. Including today. I’m feeling more rested. She is just like having a baby so I am getting a good glimpse at that.

Hello, Tuesday is still plugging away, despite the slow down! Thanks to one of my dear friends I just got a small wedding program project last week that I will be working on this week and next. Looking forward to doing some designing!

This weekend will bring some autumn fun…pumpkin patch, haunted hayrides, cider and donuts. I can’t wait!

Meanwhile I will leave you with a few pictures to SHOW you what I’ve been up to! :)

 

 

 

xoxo

Rebecca

new addition

Here’s the newest addition to my family!

Introducing……. Lulu (short for Honolulu).

She is a rescue.

She is the sweetest thing ever.

She has tons of energy.

She likes to play tug of war.

She loves to give wet kisses and big hugs.

Today is only the 2nd full day of her in my life so we are still getting to know each other :) More to come!

remember this?

remember these pictures from back in the day?

the thrift store find…$20 chair for my living room??

fabric choices for the reupholstery?? (looking back on some of these….yikes, what was i thinking?!)

and the final decision:

the time finally came for me to either buy the fabric and hire someone to reupholster for me. OR, attempt a diy.

i got some quotes for a couple local businesses to reupholster. they wanted over $150 just to do this chair! i couldn’t believe it.

so guess what i did….. the diy option!

i went back to joann fabrics to get the fabric cut (does every joann’s have a ridiculously long line to get fabric cut?! it almost makes me not want to go back.) i couldn’t find the fabric anywhere. i as devastated. i asked for help. she didn’t know. she asked me if i had the numbers. nope, all i had was the little 2″x2″ fabric sample and this picture. awesome.

i went home empty handed. so so sad. after looking online at some other websites for a new fabric, it dawned on me that maybe joann’s has it online. i was in LUCK. i found it and ordered a yard immediately. if it wasn’t in the store anymore i wanted to be sure i got some before it was discontinued.

this process was painful. i’m not going to lie. i took the chair apart and painted. layers and layers of paint. all the detail in the chair required extra attention.

but i have to admit, between the primer and paint that i use, it covers so well and leaves an awesome hard finish when done. so i know taking the time to finish that part right was important.

i had a vision when i was looking for fabric. i wasn’t sure if my vision would actually come through after i started. even with my design background i was not able to visualize what it was going to look like.

but i couldn’t be more happy with the perfectly imperfect chair i finished all on my own!!!

enough with the suspense already?!

and finally a side by side before and after. in LOVE with the transformation :)

this was a very intimidating project. and i am very, very proud of the outcome. i hope you enjoy look at that beauty as much as i do :)

Have you ever tackled a DIY project you felt was way out of your league???

happy dad day

much love going out to my daddy-o today. he’s the best.

yesterday i had my first kind of freak out moment with my house. i lost all hot water.

growing up with my parents owning a hardware store i had a feeling i knew what was wrong. but lets be honest. i didn’t.

so what did i do?

called dad.

it’s only a two year old water heater so i was really hoping it wasn’t anything serious. luckily it was what i expected…the pilot went out.

i’ve had the windows open to let the awesome breeze we’ve had come through the house. and i think along the way it blew out the pilot.

after sending some pictures and talking on the phone twice, i (we) got it figured out. praise the lord!

and next time i won’t have to make that phone call because i am now a pro at lighting the pilot (thanks to the directions right on the water heater ha).

so here’s to you dad!

love you!

summer // a welcomed arrival

I am so happy that summer is finally here. I love everything about it.

The warmth.
The sun.
The big white puffy clouds.
The smells.
The blooming flowers and trees.
The happy people.
Dreaming.
Riding my bike.
Driving with the windows down.
The smell of freshly cut grass.
Grilling every single meal.
Fresh fruits and veggies from the farmer’s market.
Gardening.

Should I keep going? We all love those things. I love everything there is to love about summer.

Just this week I splurged on another favorite of mine.

Fresh flowers.

I can’t believe how much of a difference fresh flowers makes in the house. Absolutely in love with the smell (despite my allergies!) and color.

I have collected the bottles for a while now. Vintage ink wells, medicine bottles, etc. They are lined on the window sill in my kitchen above the sink. The yellow adds so much jazz to the room. Love. Love. Love.

 

Life Decisions

I know I’ve said this before but… Time flies with this blogging thing! I’ve had a lot going on lately and some big news to share!

First off, I took a new job and am in my second week!

And second, I’ve been accepted into a Masters program!

I start my Master of Science in Communication with a dual concentration in Integrated Marketing Communication and Public Relations on May 20, 2013 with Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts!

I am really excited!

The job I accepted is part time, so I can go to school full time, to get through the degree program as quickly as possible and get back in the work force even quicker! Since the Masters program I am in is all online, I will be spending a lot of time at home. Which makes me a little nervous that I’ll go stir-crazy, but the thought of sitting in class 4-5 days a week made me sick to my stomach. I knew the best option for me was to find a program that fit ME and had to be online, for flexibility of life and working.

The program has six 7-week sessions per year so I will be staying PLENTY busy! The first class I’m taking is called Crisis Communication. I assume it’s exactly as the title states. But I will find out soon! That class will be followed by two classes to complete in 7 weeks. Wish me luck!

I honestly never thought I would go back to school. But because, career-wise, I have felt in a “rut” since my bachelors degree is basically useless (a sad topic for a different day), I believe a Masters degree will open up additional opportunities for myself to advance in a career I will enjoy.

My jobs up to this point have just been a temporary stepping stone, and I don’t want to keep doing that. I’d like a job that I enjoy going to, that challenges and stimulates me, and a place I can grow and advance in for years to come. Something stable, so I can provide for my future family.

So that’s a little of what I’ve been up to…and why I haven’t been on here with projects! I really do have projects going on. But the budget cuts have slowed them down tremendously. I will do my best to keep updating with new and fun ideas :)

I will be attending my first big flea market in a couple weeks and hope to have lots to share with you after that!

Have a great Thursday!

oh, so….uninspired!

Oh, hey, April! Don’t you usually bring “showers” instead of snow????

I think this never ending winter has taken a toll on my desire to do anything around the house these last couple weeks. Despite the fact that I’ve been busier than normal lately, I am so anxious for the weather to finally turn into SPRING! However, I had a wonderful Easter weekend. Lots of food, laughs and sunshine! How was your holiday?

A few of my plants have sprouted…so I know spring isn’t too far away. And as long as the squirrels (Does anyone else have problems with these rodents?! The only think I’ve found to help is cayenne pepper sprinkled on the ground. But I’ve gone through a TON of it!) didn’t dig up every bulb I planted in my new landscaping last year, I should have some impressive growth this year.

I cannot wait to get outside and play in the dirt! And I know it will inspire me to dive into more house projects.  Here’s a little before and after of my house. Pretty drastic changes have been made, mostly with plants and flowers, and I’m really proud of all the work I did last year! I cannot wait to see it all come up again this year.

Hurry up spring!

Urban Farmgirl

I cannot get ENOUGH of Urban Farmgirl’s shop products  in Rockford, Illinois! So much so that I wanted to share them so you can RAVE over it too. Her shop is on my bucket list but I am afraid that if I visit once, I will want to go back every time the shop is open!!

Please take a look (and “like” her on Facebook too!!!)… Her style, eye and visual merchandising abilities are truly UH-MAYZING!

 

 Seriously?! I can see 10 things just from this picture that I want!

 

 

 Her shop is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s twice a month. She re-merchandises her shop while “closed,” shops for new pieces and prepares them to sell. So every time she opens it’s like Christmas morning all over again!

Follow her on Facebook for future hours and more drool-worthy pictures of her shop!

Too much like Charlie Brown?

I can’t believe how fast a week goes when I get on here an realize I haven’t posted in that amount of time. Sorry, folks!

I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day! I spent mine with a couple of my favorites. We checked out a local flea market that is open year-round on weekends. It was our first visit, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Half of it had decent “stuff” and the other half was junk. But it was fun and I walked away with a couple goodies. Which I will share later! I’m looking forward to going back when the weather gets nicer, in hopes of seeing more furniture pieces and outdoor booths. After our afternoon of exploring the flea market we went and had some homemade corned beef and cabbage. Yum-O!

Do you have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions??

I make frequent stops at thrift stores in the area and spend way too many hours than I’d like to admit on Craig’s List looking for furniture steals. Sometimes I walk away empty handed, but I sometimes score really big! Remember the white and yellow sneak peek I gave you a while back? When I explained I really was working on several projects, just none of them were finished yet? Well…here it is!

I found this side table on Craig’s List for $20 and planned to put it next to the thrift store chair find I showed you a while back (that still isn’t complete :)).

I knew that the black paint finish wouldn’t work in my room so I pulled out the color samples and decided on an accent color for the room…

And yellow it was….

…..but I didn’t think a solid yellow was enough so….

So I added a chevron pattern to the top! I zig-zagged the tape across by eyeballing it, added some water to white paint I already had and lightly  brushed over the top of the table.

Besides the fact that it reminds me of Charlie Brown’s… I think it turned out pretty darned cute!

Have a great Monday!