Instagram Love

Instagram is kind of a big deal for me, it's sort of like my memory keeper! I'm a sentimental dork! I'm all about treasuring moments! I love to have fun and snap pictures as often as possible with my iPhone 4. I can look back at the picture of my hot tea or the picture of my dinner and relive that special moment. That road trip with my love, or that evening walk we took, takes me back and puts a smile on my face. I don't think it's silly to take pictures of my shoes or my dresses :) A little dorky? Well suit yourself! ;)! Most of my pictures on this blog come from Instagram.  (I know, I need to get out my Canon more often! iPhone is just so much more convenient and easily accessible!) I love having all my photos on my iPhone and on my computer, but I also love to print out photos!  This is where Instagram canvas comes in.  I wanted to display memories in our home.  I visited this lovely site, and ordered 3x3 prints. I was so giddy when my photos arrived!  I also bought two 12x12 canvases from Michaels. First I arranged Instagrams to my liking, and when I was happy with the layout, I used Mod Podge to adhere all the lovely prints to the canvases and sealed with an extra coat of glossy Mod Podge.  (I had glossy on hand, but matte finish works as well!)  I worked on the canvases late in the evening, so I left them to dry overnight. In the morning I was smitten with the results! :) It was an easy yet super fun project!  The possibilities are endless! What do you think? Even if you don't have Instagram, I encourage you to print out your pictures from your camera!  Do you love to display your captured moments around your home?! Thanks for reading and happy, happy Friday! xo, m.
P.S.  Today is a very busy Friday for me!  I squeezed in this post because I know I won't be able to blog for a little while.  Hubs and I are taking a short trip with some of our friends.  We are waking up super early tomorrow morning and leaving for a week! Have no fear -- O will take over the blog! She has some amazing projects to share with you, so PLEASE check back in to admire her talent, and get inspired!!!  :)  I hope to blog about our little adventures as soon as we get back!  

Too many pretties to choose from!  I couldn't decide!

That's why I had to make TWO canvases!  :)

Rustic Necklace Holder

Ever had your necklaces tangled up?! I did... not so fun, especially if you're anything like me and only have ten minutes to get ready, which includes blow drying your hair. How about a tree branch to display all your pretties and have a hassle free time getting ready?! If you like, like trees, branches and anything rustic... ;)) It's no secret O and I are huge fans of rustic decor... If you haven't noticed from some of our previous posts! ;)

Hubby was the one that would sit and untangle my twisted necklaces (he is way more patient than me)...
One evening I  had a light bulb moment!!!  An idea came to me to hang my necklaces on a tree branch.  I would hammer some nails, and I'd be set.... I told my mister the lovely idea, and he found an old branch laying in the woods while we were having tea at O's house. (My friend lives out in the country ya'll and I reckon she enjoys a Moonshine once in a while.)  I'm just picking on O, I love country a whole lot myself! :-) So my husband didn't waste any time looking for an answer to tangled problems. ;) He was also so kind to remove the bark and to smooth out the branch!  Due to this piece being super fragile, I couldn't hammer nails, instead we used small hooks.  Even though we had some stain left over from a previous fun project, I decided not to have the branch stained, wanted it to have the straight-out-of-the-woods feel.  Told ya, love me some country! ;) 

My beautiful rustic necklace holder hangs right next to my closet!  What do you think of this idea?  Yay or nay?  Would you use a twig or a branch to display necklaces or hair accessories?  I now need something for my belts and scarves!  Next DIY project?  I have a lot of ideas for the near future, now just to find some time to work on them!  Any tips on time management? :) Life is busy, but good! As always, thank you for letting me share a little piece of my home it was fun!  xox, m.

Weekends are for...

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Ev'rywhere you go...."   wait, isn't it almost April?  Easter is next Sunday!  March has been surprising us with snow.... and I don't mind it one bit!!! We had a mild winter, and now we are paying it for it.  ;)  Did I ever mention that I love snow? :) This post is about my weekend though, so here it is.  Weekends are for lending a hand and painting trim at our friends' house.  Weekends are for hanging out with your buddies all day long, eating delicious homemade desserts and watching Les Miserables (for the second time!) One of my favorite movies ever! So good, if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it! :) Actors did a phenomenal job and the music is simply amazing. Weekends are also for cuddling with your pet and spending every minute with your man!  What did you do this weekend? Would love to hear! xox, m. 

Flashback Friday

Friends bring happiness to my heart! I love and treasure each and every one of my friends. Today I want to dedicate my Flashback Friday post to my dearest friend, my bestie! I can sit here for hours and write about all of our fun adventures, but I wouldn't be able to cover everything in a day, or a week... not even in a month! Rewind about 9 years back... O was 11 and I was 12 years old when we met at our church. We didn't start being besties right away. We did, however, enjoy hanging out and noticed we had a lot in common, and with time we started wearing friendship bracelets and necklaces. ;)) She would have the "best" and I would have the "friend" part. Oh, to be a kid again. So many whimsical memories! I remember the summers that we've spent at the beach, taking evening walks and rambling about life and dreams. Looking up at the sky and making a wish when we would see a shooting star! Saturdays and Sundays would always be filled with activities. O would be teaching me how to paint and I would fail miserably. Always running down the road to a market close by and getting all sorts of snacks and laughing uncontrollably. O has ALWAYS been by my side. Always stood up for me and even did my homework for me... sometimes... or a lot of times... Don't tell my teachers! ;) Thank you, O! :) You are smart, fun and beautiful inside and out! Bestie, I am so glad we could keep our friendship. I cherish you and thank God for you! :)
Do you all have that one friend that means a world to you?!
Happy Friday! xox, m.
P.S. These pictures are of us when we were about 13 and 14 years old ;) 

Patience = Beautiful Coffee Table!

Since we are all friends here, let me just start out with the fact that I am not a patient person! I wasn't blessed with patience. It's not my strong suit. I thought since you are here, and reading this blog, it's kind of important to know! Whew, I'm glad I got this load off of my chest. What helps me at times, is of course to read the Bible, and this quote by Joyce Meyer, "Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you're waiting." This helps, but it doesn't mean that I act appropriately all the time when I'm waiting for something that my little heart wants!
Enter, coffee table.
As I was searching the World Wide Web, I stumbled a upon a beautiful coffee table made out of crates! (Check it out here) It was love from first sight. I immediately knew I needed one of those in our living room, and I needed it like, now! I showed the table to my mister, and he approved. He said it will be easy to make! Hooray! I wanted to make it right away, but we didn't have the extra money. To get the supplies you needed the money. Imagine that. So I kept talking about it and dreaming about it! And talking about. You get the point. It was on my mind a lot! Christmas was right around the corner, and I thought maybe, just maybe, Elijah would make me that table and surprise me with it! Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I was hoping for it... But he kind of flushed my dream down the drain when he informed me that he was too busy with other projects and didn't have the supplies for coffee table. I was (kind of) a grump.
Long story short, Christmas Eve day arrives and my husband's friend brings the coffee table to our house! (My husband worked on the table outside of our home so I wouldn't know about it, and his friend has a truck, which was needed to bring the table.) It was the most beautiful coffee table I have ever seen. So rustic and still so delicate! It was handcrafted with love!! He made the crates out of shipping pallets and carefully put them all together and stained them. It definitely put lots of hearts in my eyes when I saw it and it made my heart leap with joy! I did happy dances and tightly hugged the husband. (Not the friend, just so we are clear. Although, I was so happy I could've hugged everyone and anyone at that moment. I politely shook the friend's hand, and thanked him.)
I felt bad for being so impatient! The perfect time came and I had the perfect gift! Elijah's idea was to fill the empty spot in the middle of the table with wine corks, and I wanted succulents. We filled it with both! I think it's a lovely combination.  I don't have to worry about watering the succulents often, and they get plenty of sun and I absolutely love the look! It's a win win!  The coffee table is my favorite piece of furniture in our home.  I cannot wait to work on other projects in the near future, together with my hubby! What would you fill the middle of the table with?  Any ideas?  I would love to hear them!  As always, thank you for reading, and be sure to check out Vintage Chic to see where our inspiration came from!
xox, m.

Bundled up in a sweater

I thought March meant sandals and sun hats, but it’s still chilly outside and there is snow on the ground. Not the fluffy, beautiful kind, but the slushy, mushy kind! Birds are still chirping and the sun IS shining, but I can’t run around barefoot in dresses that twirl just yet! Instead, I am still wearing boots, like every.single.day and bundling up in my husband’s warm sweaters. Wait, what? Husband’s sweater? Why, yes! :)) You’re telling me you never borrow your soulmate’s clothes? Oh, I do! It’s so much fun! Now, my husband doesn’t usually borrow MY clothes, but he certainly doesn’t mind when I snatch one of his comfy sweaters! We found this particular sweater at Gap when we were out of town exploring bigger malls. You see, we live in a tiny city that doesn’t really have a mall. GASP! We actually don’t mind at all! We love to travel. Road trips are ALWAYS a win in my book! Not having awesome stores close by, gets us to travel more often! Yay! Back to the sweater. It’s one of my favorite sweaters on my man, and now also on me! :) Oh and I love pairing navy blue with bright orange! Do you share clothes with your love? You should totally try it out, it’s great!
Happy Tuesday!
xox, m.

Weekends are for...

It was a rainy and murky yet blessed weekend. Weekends are for working on fun projects with the world's best dad! For spending time with family and eating tasty food. For lots of snuggles with our favorite cuddle bear, lots of shopping and picking out fun hats! Weekends are the best! I would love to hear how you spent your weekend! Thanks for letting me share a snippet of my weekend! xoxo, m.

First Outfit Post

Embracing this unbelievably warm weather! Hanging out with hubs at our favorite downtown. Wearing ombré skinny jeans and a lot of color. Do you love skinny jeans as much as I do? What do you think about mixing lots of colors?
Thanks for letting me share my very first outfit post! This was a lot of fun!
xox, m

Lively

As I walked outside I heard the birds chirping and singing praises to their Creator. He deserves all our praises! The wind lightly touched my face with a warm hand and blew my hair. Today I didn't need a coat. Although last week we had 18 inches of snow, today I could smell spring. Spring is just around the corner and it makes me feel so lively and inspired! I hope spring has a magical effect on you as well! Happy Monday!
Xo, M.

Wee One Melting My Heart

We welcomed a fuzzy friend into our home last May.  An independent, full of curiosity, extremely playful and super soft to the touch kind of friend.  Did any of these hints give it away?  You were super close, she's a kitty! :) Meow! I miss little Momo. She turned one in February, and I can't help but miss the tiny kitty.  Just look at her eyes. My heart just melted!
She is all grown now, and really believes she is the princess of the house. She is quite charming ;)

Does this melt your heart, too?  Thanks for letting me share a picture of the wee one! :) xox, M

A Jolly Kid

I'm such a kid when it comes to snow! I pray for snow the night before! I dream about making snow angels and having a massive snowball fight! Drinking hot cocoa next to our cozy fireplace. Warming up my icy hands and soggy from the snow feet while my socks and mittens are drying. Snow is so much fun!
My favorite part is the night before the adventures. When the snow is majestically falling from the sky. The snow is sparkling in the moonlight and it's tranquil outside.

Nights like these have stolen my heart.

I really wish I put pebbles as eyes and a carrot nose, but the idea came after the picture was taken!  Maybe next time? :)

Making snow angels, while the husband is throwing snow at me.

I heart snow, can you tell?

Went for a drive on a Subie.  Visited a friend, my sister and parents.

Thank you March 6th for gifting us 18 inches of snow here in Virginia!  Hooray! :)

We are HAPPY.
Do you do happy dances when snow is on the forecast? How do you love to spend a snowy day?? :) Thank you for reading!
xox m

February's Snapshots

February. The shortest month! Ever wonder why it only has 28 days? I do :) Well there IS a valid reason out there, but I'm not here to talk about that. February was a great month. It was a love month, after all! The husband surprised me with a Trek bike, can I just say how amazing my hubby is?! We spent a lot of time together. Did some traveling, sharing snacks, drinking coffee + tea, and holding hands! (Often!) Beyond words grateful to our Heavenly Father for showering us with His blessings! Thank you for letting me share some of the snapshots from our life! ;) Love, M

Skies sprinkled some snow.... happy me! :-D

It was a perfect rainy evening to sip on a hot cup of my favorite tea! 

Holding hands is my favorite!

So much yuminess on my plate! Grateful for a surprise dinner by hubsy, of course. :)

"God gave me you...."

Did I ever mention we love to hold hands?