It's Electrofying!

Happy Halloween!!

Mr. L and I went to his boss' Halloween party last night... While I got a lot of pretty compromising photos of his peers and of course his boss, I cannot post them for obvious reasons ;) But let's just say it was EPIC!

P.S. I was an outlet and Mr. L was the plug in case you were wondering. Oh yeah and I had crazy stick-your-finger-in-the-socket hair!

Happy Fourth!

I know it's a little late, but Little Bo says "Happy Independence Day!"

Tour of Amway

 Amway Headquarters in Ada, Michigan

 Second generation business owner!

 Doug DeVos and Rich VanAndle, Amway's founders

 The original Nutrilite sales kit

 First Multivitamin ever developed, by a prisoner who knew he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed

 The original business plan

 Parts of the plant we got to see... bottle production and of course a drink machine filled with Amway products! I couldn't take any photos of the actual production area because we weren't allowed but it was super cool!

 Of course, Amway soap in all the bathrooms

 A feature wall of our fearless leaders, Terry and Lorri Taylor greeted us as we walked in the main lobby

Display of current products


The Taylor Team had a leadership in Ada, Michigan at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. We got an amazing weekend of teaching and leadership as well as a tour of the Amway facilities. Totally an incredible experience for somebody like me who grew up in a family building a successful Amway business.

The Real Homecoming Celebration...

A man and his dog :)

Decking the halls...

 Flags lining the front of the house

 Bo is ready for his daddy to come home!!

I did have a huge banner but of course it has Mr. L's name and rank and unit info so that won't get posted... but the house looked great for his arrival!!

Welcome Home Mr. L!

 Eagerly waiting!

 First hug in seven months...

 Missed him.

 Another first kiss!!

 A few precious moments together

 Mr. L deployed for 7 months with the 82nd Airborne Division to Afghanistan and he is finally home in my arms!!

He's home!!!

Anniversary Dinner!

 Course one, Yucca Frites with Pumpkin Seed Aioli

 First Beer! Avery White Rascal Belgian Wit

 Course Two, Smoked Trout and Sprouted Grain Salad

 Course Three, Bison Chili Colorado and Indian Fry Bread with Ska Buster Nut Brown Ale

 Main Course, Achiote Rubbed Lamb Loin and cowboy beans with Boulder Beer Mojo Risen Double IPA

 Desert! Horchata Flan with goat cheese, caramel and toasted corn with Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

Two happy campers with full tummies!

Mr. L and I went to a place called Eliots on Linden for a special Colorado Beer Dinner. They serve fresh local foods and have a co-op next door with lots of yummy local products. The food was fantastic, the beer was delicious and we had an awesome time on our anniversary!

Furniture Glaze... AWESOME!!!

 Before the glaze...

After...

It's a pretty subtle change but it makes it more "worn" looking, like we've had it for years. Which we have, but a fresh coat of paint takes away all the character. If you click and enlarge the pictures you can really see it. There are two techniques, one where you cover it in the glaze and wipe it down. Too messy for me. I went with the other way, which is with a dry brush and a rag. With barely any glaze on the sponge brush, you brush it on where you want it (cracks, crevices, and corners work best), then sort of wipe the excess with the rag. And voila, you get a brand new depth to your piece. Yay for YouTube!!

More Yard Sale Finds

 Awesome fabric swatch for just a quarter! You can see behind the photo a vintage gigantic thread spool. Found that beauty for $3.

 Huge grass basket. I don't think it's an authentic Charleston basket but it sure has the look of one. Got this and the huge pinecones in it for $8.

Vintage frame. I originally had this print in it, but then switched that out for a stencil of a damask pattern on brown paper, on top of burlap. Only $1!

Old fruit crate for $10.

Dining Room Re-Do

 This is the before. Not too bad but my hand-me-down table I've had for 6 years and my Big Lots chairs were pretty dated in my opinion. And I feel like it just needed more.

 My tools. I will say sanding the table wasn't what I thought. My first attempt didn't get all the polyurethane off so I had to sand again. The second sanding did it, I got down to the white wood. I read online you should sand from coarse to fine grit, which is what I did. I sanded with 60 and then 220 to get a nice smooth finish. Only problem being the "dark walnut" stain I chose didn't sink in the pores of the wood because it was too finely sanded. The table as you see it has three coats of dark stain. At first I thought I would have to start over yet a third time but the longer I look at it, the more I like it. Especially with the dark chairs and grey table legs. It no longer has that yellowed look to it.

 The finished product! Pretty proud of myself!

The lighter table. I did distress it with a hammer, nail holes, a screwdriver head. So it definitely has some serious character now. You can see more of the grain of the wood because the stain did sink into the wood striations more, giving it more depth. I still need to give it a coat of Polyacrylic finish. The polyacrylic is a clear topcoat, unlike polyurethane, which gives the yellow appearance that the table had before. I don't think I did too bad giving new life to an old family table and bargain chairs! It will do for a few more years until I get my Pottery Barn dream farmhouse table :)

Gallery wall is finished!

And I love it!!

30 Ways to Make your 20s Better

Stolen from a friend's blog, who got it here:
http://amykw.tumblr.com/

30 Ways to Make your 20s Better

1. Accept that you can’t please everybody, and then decide which select few opinions and feelings you value enough to try and satisfy.
2. Recognize that the grass always seems greener on the other side. Perhaps the grass you’re standing on just needs a little watering — it’s not necessarily where you’re at, so much as what you do there.
3. Don’t spend too much time on Instagram trying to decide if Hudson or Amaro is the more aesthetically pleasing effect on your picture.
4. Enjoy your journeys. Many times, the trip there is more gratifying than the arrival.
5. Make certain that you have some real friends who will tell you if you’re screwing up, regardless of whether you want to hear or not. “Yes men” will have you believing your sh-t don’t stink, but rest assured — it does.
6. Don’t allow your mood to be directly linked to your bank account balance.
7. Live as if you’re not going to make it to thirty. Too often we dread the big 3-0 instead of being grateful for the days we have now, and recognizing how fortunate we’d be to make it that far into the future.
8. If you get a text out of the blue that reads something along the lines of, “Hey, it’s been a long time” during the month of February, don’t answer. He/She just wants a Valentine.
9. If you get a text out of the blue that reads something along the lines of, “Hey, it’s been a long time” during the month of April, don’t answer. He/She just wants some of that tax return.
10. Don’t confuse the people who are often present with the people who are always there.
11.  Make a legitimate effort to have too good of a time today to worry about tomorrow.
12. Remember that the answer to every question you don’t ask is ‘no,’ and start asking more often — no matter the context.
13. If your cable/satellite bill is $20 away from being a car payment, get the basic package. You don’t need that many channels. Take advantage of Hulu, Netflix, and illegal downloading.
14. Skip Black Friday, take advantage of Cyber Monday.
15. Try to keep in mind that while all good things must come to an end, so must the bad.
16. When eating finger foods, use the hell out of your dipping sauce, and don’t be bashful. It’s much better to be out of BBQ sauce and have chicken nuggets than vice versa.
17. Whether it’s big or small, always have something to look forward to. It’s essential to help you get through things.
18. If the world doesn’t end in 2012, make plans to kill it in 2013.
19. Buy sunglasses, Tylenol and Gatorade in advance when you know you’re going to get hammered.
20. If you have to contact a girl/guy first every-single-time, take the hint, cut the ties and keep it moving.
21. If you have to eat Top Ramen for monetary purposes, do so with the genuine belief that finances and cuisine quality will improve.
22. If you don’t have to eat Top Ramen, do it anyway to keep yourself humbled.
23. Spend more money on experiences and less on material things. (e.g. trip to Las Vegas takes precedence over new iPod.)
24. When you go to Vegas, take a minimum of three years off of your life with your actions.
25. Avoid reading comment sections on the internet, especially if you’re sensitive. You’ll lose all hope for civilization.
26. Avoid physical altercations at all costs. We’re too old for fighting — use your words. This isn’t grade school where rasslin’ got you sent to the principal’s office, you risk going to jail or worse.
27. Learn how to grocery shop if you want to be a real grown up. Only some store-brand products are acceptable to purchase — cheese isn’t one of them.
28. Lay off the current generation of teens. Yeah, they do a lot of annoying, preposterous, ridiculous sh-t, but so did we at that age.
29. Save money whenever it’s possible, because as soon as you think you’re ahead money-wise, something expensive will break.
30. Always listen and ruminate, but never make important decisions based off of advice from someone who isn’t going to have to face the consequences.

More Projects :)

 My favorite project... my deployment present from my sweet Mr. L. So fun!! I had no idea this thing would be literally glued to my hands I use it so much...

 Pin-spiration :) Leftover fabric from my custom table runner made by momma and some red paint :)

Saw the "L" on Pinterest, then raided my Mom's button bin... Oh and borrowed a glue gun!

Table top! the outside pieces were napkins on clearance at Pier 1, and I wanted the chevron fabric so bad!! The table is still a work in progress. Plans are to refinish the top with a dark stain and paint/distress the chairs and table legs. Still deciding on a color. SO glad my mom is a seamstress!!

This is how I roll...

Backstage meet and greet. Yes, he is as sweet and cute in person as on TV!!

P.S.

LOVE this new template!!

Projects of all kinds

 Craigslist find for only $60!! I wanted to paint it and be all fancy pants with it but I found out it's worth quite a bit more than I paid so it's getting left alone!

 New rug!! This project is ongoing... I have turned the big wall into a gallery wall with more fun pieces and pin-spired art :) More posts on that soon.

 New rug in the sunroom too. But this one is a remnant from a local store. Super cheap. But Bo sure likes it!

 Big project here... switching over my certification from BTS to Les Mills. Finally finished all my filming though!! Here's proof and quite a nice shot I might add from my Body Flow filming.

 Target curtains!

 The chair I acquired when I was rummaging in my family's stuff at home

This is a project, right?? Snuggling with my boy!!

Two things here... first things first. I discovered Instagram. I had no idea they had it for Android and I LOVE it!! I got this table for $10 at a rummage place with tons of furniture. Had to talk them down from $18. Got a sample can of paint from Lowes and voila! I wanted to try out the grey too... I have a bookshelf that will get painted this color and I'm debating doing my dining room table legs and chairs in this too and distressing them for a shabby look. but this first attempt was a success!!