Monday, February 13, 2012

DIY: Oversized Chalkboard


This chalkboard is something I've been wanting to make for a while now, and after seeing this picture on Pinterest, it gave me the motivation I needed to get it done. It was very easy and I love it! Here's how I did it:


I started with a 2' by 4' piece of prefinished plywood. My dad, who builds cabinetry for a living, let me have this piece from his shop and cut it to size for me. If you don't have a handyman in the family like I do, you can have this done at Home Depot or Lowe's.


After sanding my piece of wood, I rolled on three coats of Rust-Oleum's chalkboard paint. I let it dry four hours between coats, and gave the paint three days to cure before writing on the surface.


During those three days (which seemed to drag on forever) Jesse added a wood frame to my chalkboard. He found some scrap wood from my dad's shop that was already stained, cut four thin pieces, and attached them directly to the sides of the plywood with some wood glue and a micro pinner gun. I then added a couple heavy duty picture hangers to the back. I found them at JoAnn Fabrics and they look something like this:


Finally, the chalkboard was ready to use!


First, I had to "season" the chalkboard by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk all over the surface and erasing it. This layer of chalk dust makes writing and erasing a little smoother.

And... done!!


Friday, February 10, 2012

Free shoes are the best kind of shoes.


Shoes: Me Too from DSW

If you're not already of fan of DSW on Facebook, you should be. Every Tuesday, there's this little game called Tuesday Shoesday. They post a shoe-related trivia question and the first 25 people to email in the correct answer are given a $50 gift card. It's a little harder than it sounds; they receive hundreds of emails within the first 30 seconds so you have to be very quick. Well, yours truly and her fast fingers played a couple weeks ago and won! Finally, all that time spent on Mavis Beacon in grade school has paid off... and in shoes, no less. I scored these pretty nude wedges for only 8 dollars after using my gift card. Oh happy day!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I'm feelin' Smokin' Hot today.


At least my nails are feeling that way! This color is called Smokin' Hot by Essie, and it's one of my favorites. Essie just added this color to their permanent collection, so you can buy it at stores like Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. I, however, couldn't wait and bought it off of eBay. Actually, you can often find new unused nail polish on eBay for less than in the store. Just a tip!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

An Organized Closet

Welcome to my closet!


It hasn't always looked like this. I used to share this closet with my husband and it was a wreck; everything was packed in so there tightly I practically needed the jaws of life to get dressed in the morning. So recently, we did some re-organizing. Jesse willingly moved all of his clothes to a separate, slightly smaller closet and gave me full custody of the big closet. What a guy! :)


Everything is sorted by color. I've found that it's so much easier to get dressed when my closet is organized like this. Locating a particular item is a breeze and it's easier to put together an outfit in my head when everything is clearly visible.


Boxes and baskets hold my socks, tights, bras and undies,


a linen pinboard for organizing my jewelry,


shelves for shoes,


a cheap tension curtain rod to hang scarves on,


and baskets for belts and sandals.

A neat and tidy closet truly does wonders for my morning routine. With less time spent getting dressed, I have more time for coffee and devotions. It's a win/win!

Monday, February 6, 2012

My weekend, in photos



We woke up Saturday morning to the prettiest scene outside; big, fluffy snowflakes falling ever so gently to the ground. I could have stayed in my pajamas, sipped my coffee, and watched it all day (which I sometimes do anyways), but it eventually stopped and I was forced to put on grown-up clothes and get on with my day.



I played with our dogs,



and snapped some photos around our place.

Oh, and I guess there was some important football game going on yesterday? I sorta watched that, just kind of, well maybe not really at all.