Kentucky Derby

Today we celebrated the Kentucky Derby!

Of course we made Mint Juleps and added blueberries and pineapple!

For lunch we had stuffed rabbit and boiled artichoke along with our drinks.

... and I made Derby Hat Cookies for dessert!

Cheers Y'all! And don't forget to wear your big hat.

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DIY Rescue Dog Plaque

The collars and leash organizer is was getting out of control on our leash holder!

We had got them the organizer last year from Etsy seller Woodin' You. So, I decided to order another one so each girl could have their own!




I also wanted to make their area more inviting so I decided to make my girls a little plaque to hang near their leash holders.

First I started off with a wooden plaque from Michaels.

I painted it white.

I used inspiration image.

I outlined their silhouette and added the quote "The Best Things in Life are Rescued."

I then painted their silhouettes and the quote.

It goes perfect in the middle of the leash holders mounted on the wall and now everything is more organized!

I think it came out super cute and looks like our sweet girls.

I have also made another dog plaque in the past for my friends, The Guidrys.

They have two sweet Great Danes named Leela and Capone and I think I did a pretty good job of capturing their likenesses. I will have to get a photo when they hang it in their new home!

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Lent and Easter 2014 Recap

I can't believe the Lenten season is already over, Easter has passed, and spring is in full swing. I wanted to share what we were up to Easter weekend:

We have our Lenten wreath that I had made last year hanging on the door.

Our mantle was decorated for both Lent and Easter.

The color purple is important during Lent.

The flowers and eggs symbolize new life.

The "He is Risen" wooden egg next to the mossy cross celebrates Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.

I decorated the other side more colorfully with all the Easter pastels.

I made the egg topiaries last year.

I just love my little mossy bunny and little chick.

After being out of town and on the road the last month, it was nice to be home for Easter weekend.

  

 We spent most of the time outside doing yard work and lots of progress on the courtyard.

It has come a long way since we bought the house over two years ago...

...and it has looked barren all winter.

It is a lot more cheerful now with this little budget friendly Easter weekend project.

A ceramic pot was given to us and the other three are plastic pots and were bought at the Family Dollar. We planted them with pretty flowers and even some peppers. Jolie approves!




The floral pillow and the candle holder were also bought at the Family Dollar. The stripped pillow is from Bed Bath and Beyond; and of course I used my 20% off coupon to buy it!




 My angel got a little boost with a cute flower pot pedestal from Hobby Lobby.




The Before and After photos really show the progress!


 On Sunday, the Easter bunny brought treats for the girls and Mr. Engineer, and then we celebrated the rest of the day with family and friends.

I hope y'all had a blessed Easter!






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Gone to The Masters

This year, we are fortunate enough to be going to the Masters... yes THE Masters! I was lucky enough to win the ticket lottery after only my third year of entering it. We got 4 tickets so we invited our friends who live in Kentucky to come meet us in Augusta, Georgia.

In preparation for the trip, I made a Masters wreath...

...and now in a few hours we will be "Gone to the Masters!"

I also had some seersucker koozies made from the Etsy shop It's Gee Gee Baby

My first thought after I got the e-mail that I will be eligible for getting tickets was: What to wear to the Masters?

Mr. Engineer has gone once before in 2006 during his senior year of highschool, and the only advice he offered me from his previous experience was to wear comfortable shoes.... He isn't much of a fashinista.

The Master's Website says "Appropriate clothing and shoes should be worn at all times." That is very vague.

After doing a little more research, I decided that I will be bringing two different outfit options:

Option 1-

Seersucker Dress, Tennis Shoes, Fedora and a Scarf

Option 2 (in case it is rainy)

Seersucker Bermuda Shorts, golf polo, Tennis Shoes, baseball cap, clutch, and Sunglasses

New Built-in

Since we bought our house, we have been dreaming about putting a built-in cabinet and bookshelf to fill the little nook next to our fireplace.

 Our dream has finally came true!

This is what the space looked like before. The large wall of the space overwhelms our cluttered console table. This space is the perfect size and shape for something more permanent that will only add value to our home!

This was our inspiration. This is about the same type of area as our nook. I love how it is asymmetrical and how the shelves are styled.

I applied this inspiration and drew a rough sketch with dimensions. We meet with a carpenter and showed him our ideas. He made some different suggestions and added some great options. It took him about 1.5 months from the time of our design meeting until install.

The night before the instal we cleared out the nook.

Then, he came with this and installed it. It is made of hardwood. The craftsmanship is excellent and it definitely exceed our expectations.

Yeah, yeah I know Mr. Engineer and I could have probably done it ourselves, but it would not be as detailed. It was completely worth it to get a skilled carpenter with excellent craftsmanship.

Also bonus... inside the cabinet, the drawers slide out! It was one of the suggestions he gave.

We ultimately decided just to paint it. We are going for a lighter feel since our sofas, side and coffee tables are dark. So to prep for the priming and painting, I filled any holes and imperfections on both the built-in, molding and walls with Spackle. Then, sanded and finally wiped down the whole surface with a damp rag.

 

I then primed everything using a basic wood primer.

Then primed it again and then touched up any areas I thought could use an extra coat. So I would call it 2 1/2 coats of primer to make sure everything was evenly covered. Between my priming, I sanded the areas that needed it.

Finally, I did a coat of paint. I choose the same paint color as our base boards and molding. I went to Lowes with a paint chip and matched it. I would call it a coat and a half. I just touched up the spots that needed a little extra. With my major priming, the coverage was excellent with the paint.

Next, I taped the where the cabinet meets the wall and touched up the paint on the walls as needed.

We ended up with a pretty sweet built in.

 My favorite feature is definitely the slide out drawers.

I couldn't wait to start putting things on the shelves. I still have some more books to fill it with and stylize it more, but I am so happy right now! This dream has been two years in the making!

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