I Finally Got This Piano Thing Right!

Maybe you remember this post where I thought painting my doors black was going to give my house some cool depth, and it actually made it stupid and cave-like (and like a piano).

So I went back to classic silver and white and all was right with the world again. But, as usual, I got bored. Oil rubbed bronze called my name down a Home Depot aisle and just like that I realized how to give my house some depth without dark, black, doors. The time had come to unhang all the doors again (see the last makeover here) and give the hardware a makeover. 

This time I wised up and did one floor of my house at a time. I remember the sheer amount of screws and knobs from last time. I started on my second floor. 

This was just from three doors (two have knobs). I discovered paper plates and solo cups this time... I highly recommend using both if you don't have cardboard or styrofoam laying around.

After everything dried for 24 hours I put the knobs back on and let it cure for another two days before I started using everything and rehung the doors again. 

This is an after shot. It's adds a little drama to the doors with the darker hardware! 

Then Chris and I unhung all of the main floor doors one Saturday and I got to work painting

Later that afternoon we brought them all back in to cure in the breakfast room for a week. I like this shot so that you can see how they're not quite black:

A week later I went and added piles of each item needed in front of the unhung doors

Here is the after shot! 

I think Guliana Ranic (or her interior designer) and I have the same taste. I see a lot of similarities in their house and mine in colors and style 

(see the sectional, the knobs, and the stairs?)

 (see the knobs?)

I finally nailed the black and white balance without getting to piano level! I love it! Look for a post in the next six months with how they're holding up!

Bridal Stitch Fix

In case I haven't shoved it down your throat enough... I'm gonna be a bride! I thought Stitch Fix could help me do some shopping for the big event and trip. 

When I requested my fix I included the following details:

And here's what I got:

This was a much better experience than my last fix. Something about a personal note just makes a big difference. It's hard to see, but my stylist Angela told me they didn't have any lace dresses in currently but sent me other dresses and accessories, and wished me luck. 

 So here is what I got.

#1 The necklace

 I'm wearing it in the next picture. It's like 5 lbs. I'm in love with it. I would've never bought it on my own but it's so pretty! I can picture myself wearing it with a long dress down in Florida! It's a definite keep.

 She also sent this #2. This dress. 

My big thighs did NOT look good in this one, so there are no pictures. It was really cute though :(

#3 Was this linen lace shirt. 

 I love the details and it works with my whole wedding lace thing...

 And the back of it is super cute!

 This is also a definite winner. 

#4 was this paisley maxi dress. I'm loving maxi dresses these days (along with the rest of the world) but this print is a little like my grandmother's wallpaper. I wasn't sure I could swing it. 

 It actually fit great and was really comfy, but I couldn't wrap my heart around the print enough to keep it. 

#5 was this great colorblock maxi skirt. 

 This will also be living with me!

 So there it is! StitchFix redeemed itself all with one little note and I'll be keeping 3/5!

Make Some Lace Envelopes

The invitations are out! It's official that this thing is happening! Soon! The wedding is in five months already and because it's far away I thought it was important to give people plenty of time to make reservations, plans, etc. I wanted to flex my crafty muscles in several areas of the wedding and one thing I saw on Pinterest I was sure I wanted to do was make lace envelopes for my invitations:

So, above is my finished envelope! I got most of my inspiration here and assembly details here. I wanted to know if I could make it happen any easier without buying velum, spray adhesive, and tracing paper. My main colors are white/ivory lace and charcoal grey. So I looked at the following invitations:

 

In the end, the one with the lowest price one (the first one with the white background). I absolutely love the script, but the background was kind of bland with matching envelopes. I was able to negotiate with the seller to get addressed envelopes for the reception cards, but that I would provide my own mailing envelopes. By doing this I could use more charcoal grey, and find a larger envelope to accommodate my pretty lace one. I was able to buy 50 envelopes (yay for small weddings!), 50 paper doilies, 1 silver Sharpie pen, and 1 roll of double stick tape and I had everything that I needed to get my invitations done!

 Aren't the grey and lace pretty together? I managed to keep everything sealed until my big box of wedding everything showed up one Saturday! 

 So, here is how you make a Martha Stewart looking envelope without all of the Martha Stewart trouble! 

-She instructs that you need a 9" paper doily. Good luck finding that. Once you've admitted defeat (like I did) get yourself a 10" paper doily. Click the link above for a great one. I think they're so pretty! The 10" ones I got worked great for a 5x7 card. 

-Find a surface that is easy to sweep. Pulling apart all of those doilies was unexpectedly messy.

-Lay out your invitation on the doily:

-Followed by your reception card:

-And finally your RSVP card:

-Once you've laid everything out start folding in one of the side corners:

-Make sure you fold both corners in the same place and firmly crease them. Test the envelope before folding the top and the bottom to make sure there is enough room on either side to pull the cards in and out without tearing the envelope. Once you've done a couple you'll find a groove and things move "quickly."

- Here is where your tape comes in:

-A little double stick tape does a great job of helping the envelopes stay crisp and folded. I tore off long strips and cut them in half to place on either side. Then I got annoyed that Chris wasn't experiencing the wedding magic and made him help me out. Here he is cutting strips:

-Stick your tape right on here and fold up the bottom flap:

-Give it a good press and you're done!

 -And take it for a final test drive to make sure everything comes in and out smoothly! That's it! No other tools needed. It probably took about 3 hours to do 50. It's not fast work, but it's easy and looks great!

 Then the moment came where my mom and I got to address them!

 Seriously, we're so picture happy!

 Here is a tip. With envelopes like these do not use a white sharpie paint pen unless you want to go over each letter at least 3 times. We were so disappointed and almost scrapped our efforts. In one last shot I tried the silver, and look what we were left with! 

I dropped them in the mailbox today! It's happening people! 

Live With Intention!

I drive a lot to and from work. I've seen more fatalities in the last year than I could've ever imagined. It's  a very real reminder that you're never guaranteed to make it to work. Or to wake up... Have you been living each day like it was your last? I know I haven't. We could all take some notes from this guy, who unfortunately died this week. I promise you, this is a video worth watching from beginning to end... Although you'll probably cry like a baby like I did.

Now go make today worth it!

Being Engaged Sucks

How rude of me huh?! I spend a decade complaining about how I want to get married and now I am about to. And I complain! But after googling "is it normal to fight all the time after getting engaged" and seeing the words pop up before I finished typing I figured I wasn't alone. 

First off:

I adore this man. I am 1000% making the right decision. 

But the seriousness of this whole thing just came crashing down as soon as the ring was on. I'm going to be washing his crusty socks and folding his jeans for the rest of my life. He will eat all of the good food I was excited for before I get to. He will use fabric softener instead of detergent when he hears me complaining about the laundry and decides to help. He will not do things my way. 

I'm at the brink of this whole thing coming a little too late. I've lived on my own for the last 8 years. Completely alone. I've always refused to get a roommate in an apartment or for my house. Me, the dog, and the cat were a complete little family. I could stash a chocolate bar in my pantry for 3 months and pull it out in a moment of desperation and know it would be there. I could put the toilet paper on with it folding over the top and know that nobody would do it backwards. I could sleep with it super warm so that my nose didn't get cold. I could sing badly and nobody would hear. 

It's all about to change. A year from now it might have been too late for me and I thank God for his timing. 

Not only that, but I am signing on the dotted line that this one and only man is the only man that will ever ever be for me. I'm great with that. But then he does something and I think, "ok wait. That for the rest of my life?!" And I wonder if I'll be enough. What do I do that makes him think "Ok wait, she'll be that OCD for the rest of her life?!" We're making some serious vows! And I hope I can be a great wife. A great mother. I just hope I can be enough. And he is putting pressure on himself. Will he provide enough? He's about to inherit a woman, a dog, a cat, a house, another car, and a whole life full of responsibility. 

On top of that the wedding is this year. I have 1 more week off before it. I need to plan. Planning has brought out the great and the terrible in people. I hate making phone calls, yet lately it seems like all I do! It'll be amazing, but it's stressful. If it'll all work, if I'll forget something major, if it'll be wayyyy too expensive, will I fit into my dress, etc. Those are all things that are looming. 

Then there is family. We have to merge two families. All of the great things and all of the junk have to merge. My mom always told me to take a long hard look at a man's family before you agree to marry him. 

Put all of this commitment, all of the little things that you're realizing will be a part of your life forever, all of the set-in-my-ways stuff I have to let go of, family, and all of the planning that has to happen together and there will be fights. I found this site (I don't know the owner. It just was great reading)! It made me feel like I wasn't alone. I also talked to my mom. She said every thing I'd been feeling and gave me advice. This weekend we went on a date where I banned myself from talking about the wedding. It was heaven! 

So I have no resolution. I am incredibly blessed to be typing this with an engagement ring on my finger, his crusty socks in my hamper, and wedding pamphlets everywhere. This will pass and I'll look back later and wonder what the big deal was. I just needed to put it in print so I could look back later :)