Knife Block Beautification

Over the weekend, I put the finishing touches on my Knife Block Beautification Project. The idea to update my boring old wooden knife block came from Pinterest - shocker. My inspiration picture is below...

OFF to Hobby Lobby I went, in search of these matching color combos. I picked up two Krylon Spray Paint colors, Ocean Breeze and Ivy Leaf...
First I sprayed Blue Ocean Breeze.

Then came Ivy Leaf...

I wasn't TOO worried about the second coat, as I was encouraging the blue to shine through.
*Helpful Hint - follow instructions on shaking for 2 minutes. Helps WONDERS!*

After drying and sanding down, here is my finished project...

Since I don't have a steady hand for calligraphy, nor did I want to invest in a stencil and more paint - I purchased (what I thought was) a stick on "G." Turns out, it was an iron on letter - DOH! - but with a dab of super glue, who could tell. ;)

Obviously it isn't the fabulous starter picture, but I will say, it is better than the original wood and a fun pop of color in an otherwise boring kitchen.

Frugal-ish Friday

In my last post, I talked about how I still crave the MK Tortoise Watch... but after seeing this little gem, I think I'll take this (as well). 

The Michael Kors Blair Espresso Watch - two of my favorite things: MK Watches and Coffee. 

After getting smacked in the face with the $250 price tag - Ouch, Michael, Ouch - I found a couple options for less(er) that I would equally enjoy around my wrist.

Stella Stainless Steel Watch in Brown - $115

Stella Boyfriend Aluminum Watch in Brown - $135

I, all of a sudden, feel that Christmas is TOO far away. Santa?! 

What I Want Wednesday

Now that I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, my mouth is beginning to drool over all the shopping I've missed out on over my money's extended vacation. Let's not waste any time... 

I've been gaga over ordering a pair of Hunter Boots, and after missing Gilt's Sale of Hunter Boots a couple months back, I've been slapping myself in the face ever since. I LOVE the original green Hunter Boot. Want #1. 

 

Want #2 comes as no surprise. Everyone knows I love watches and have one in almost every color (necessary). Since last Christmas, I've been wanting this tortoise watch by Mr. Kors. This fall is no exception.

Want #3 may be a fashion season behind, but I still love. A faux fur vest... and I also want to look this cute in it. Is that considered Want #4? We will just bundle it into #3.

*After a recent trip to TJ Maxx, I found one I may return to purchase. However, I think it was $40...and at TJ Maxx? I might as well hit up H&M... which is where this darlin' vest above is from.

Want #4 - A sunburst mirror. I mean, doesn't this just brighten up your day? Pun intended...

Want #5 - Infinity Scarf
I'm tired of being gangster with my scarves in trying to fake my way into infinity. I will take one in every color please...

Want #6 - Conair Bun Maker

No No, Conair hasn't merged into the baking industry. They have come out with a cheap ($4 at Walgreens) Bun making kit that doesn't require you to chop up your husband's socks! Dying to give this a go. 

Want #7 - Purty, chunky, statement necklaces

These below are $16 from Nordstrom

And if you're not bored with my list yet, I'll spare you the pictures...
Wants #8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15...
Green Utility Jacket, Red Jeans, Cross Body Bag, new weave, leggings in every color, Lots of makeup, ankle cowboy booties (*snicker), and lots of ponchos. :)

Now - question is, how do I get my husband to read this and shower me with unnecessary gifts? Want #16 - figure out a way...

Do you like to... "DO IT, Yourself?"

Unless you have lived under a rock, or have an actual life that doesn't involve sitting on a computer for 8+ hours a day, you know what Pinterest is. I am convinced that it is swiftly taking over the world... or at least my world.

In a recent PIN, I discovered a DIY project I wanted to tackle.

Seems simple enough, right? Well, I'm sure it is, but not for this Suzy Homemaker in training. Regardless of my mishaps, I'll explain what I did and hopefully you can do better.

I went to both Michaels and Hobby Lobby for fake pumpkins. I purchased 3 from both stores, and realized the Hobby Lobby purchase was much better. They even have pre-cut bottoms so they allow for easy stacking.

I purchased the "B" and first "O" from Michaels, and the last "O" from Hobby Lobby. I know what you're thinking, that's a lot of trips for wood letters and pumpkins. Let me clarify that I went to Michaels FIRST and purchased everything I could find. Hobby Lobby was my second trip, so if I found a "better" product, I purchased that instead. Moving on...

Michaels didn't have Krylon's Glitter Blast spray paint, but Hobby Lobby did. HURRAY! I purchased the Glitter Blast spray paint in Starry Night for the black pumpkin and planned to purchase Orange Burst for the Orange pumpkin. Obviously every other house wife in Alabama decided that Orange Burst was the color of the season, therefore, they were sold out. I tried to compensate by purchasing plain Orange and plain Glitter Spray. This resulted in a "glittery" traffic cone, which I later was able to tone down using the Glitter Copper Color (I can't remember the exact name).

I then took the wood letters and spray painted them the opposing colors for their respective pumpkin. Easy enough right?

It was now time to glue the letters on to their 'home.' I started with the "B" on the smallest pumpkin. I used super glue, because I had tossed my hot glue gun a long time ago for lack of being crafty. Dumb. Mistake. Super Glue is sneaky. It will get on your fingers in a flash, and you won't know what hit ya! Did you know that super glue burns like fire as well? Now you know...

After my over-dramatized third degree burn (and failure at getting the letter to actually "stick"), I threw my hands up and was done - insert cuss word. My sweet hubby came over and decided to step in. He finished the other 2 pumpkins, and even set it all up outside for me. Such a sweetie. :)

Here is our finished product via IPhone... and a night. Great quality. ;)

Who would know that there are shirts stuffed down in our flower pot to allow our display to sit up? He's so smart. He then took some grass from our flower bed and tucked it around the edges. Such a clever boy. My mind was telling me I need to go BACK to Hobby Lobby for moss. This is a much better (and cheaper) route.

Tonight we are going to Old Skool carve these pumpkins, which we got for $5 at Kroger. I'm talking, free hand with a steak knife. No etch-a-sketch here! I have a feeling I will be *inserting cuss words* again tonight and pray for 10 fingers when the sun comes up tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Baby Talk

Update on the Bambino Life -

In our recent trip to Bham this weekend, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law (Mary) and myself went to register at Babies-R-Us. It was nice to have a 'Vet' amongst us as Mary could tell me what was necessary and what was not. We walked the store for about 45 mins, while Mary pointed to items telling me "Scan this"... "Scan that"... it was great. If it wasn't for her, I'd still be on aisle 1, staring at bottles and nipples - who knew they made 876 different types of nipples! Lord help me...

After registering for some necessities - we walked over to Pottery Barn Kids, where we picked a crib... thank GOD! I've been staring at cribs online for weeks and let me tell ya, they all look the same. I tried picking a color scheme that I wanted to go with, thinking that would help in my search, but alas - it only got me to fall in LOVE with a crib that cost $999.

Yup! How perfect is that?! It's gorgeous and the distressed look is to die for.

Moving on...

While in Pottery Barn, THANKFULLY they only had a select few cribs in store. It helps my indecisive brain to only have 3 options to choose from. After looking at Pottery Barn's version of "white" vs. their espresso color - I decided to go with their Kendall Collection, in espresso. On Sale $399

I've decided not to choose a "theme" for our nursery, rather make it simple. I'm in LOVE with this Restoration Hardware bedding. So simple. On Sale $295

...again, that dang crib. It will haunt my dreams. I want to sleep in that thing! Sheesh.

With the brown crib, I'm dying to find a distressed/vintage type of dresser. Some off color. Maybe this...

I plan to hit up some antique shops soon - see what I can find.

Found these darling signs to add pops of color in the room.

Plan to recreate them myself, making the grey areas more 'brown' - or have the awesome Leslie Brown take charge (probably best). Either frame them in white or she suggested putting them on wooden posts. Like, a distressed piece of wood. Sounds interesting to me, but I'm having a hard time getting a "visual."

Hopefully this will all come together, nicely. Maybe once we get the crib in there, we will be able to get more ideas. But for now, this is a start. :)

Mirrored Side Tables

I'm not entirely sure where or when my obsession began with NEEDING mirrored side tables for my bedroom, but it's bad. I've been drooling for many many moons over the Pottery Barn collection but obvi, I just can't justify dropping that kind of dough. I found a few other options for "less" but with no furniture in my nursery, and only 3 months to go, I figured I might need to invest my money in a crib... or do you think I could just pad the drawers and have him sleep there? Something to consider...

Pottery Barn - $399

Pier One - 229.95

Target - $89.99

National Chocolate Week

Why am I just now realizing it is National Chocolate Week? This should be a yearly staple in my google calendar! I'm ashamed of myself.

But as it turns out, I have been unconsciously celebrating ALL week! Monday night I tell my husband that I must be having a dairy deficiency because I want ice cream... in which he laughs and realizes that I just want ice cream. This is probably a true story, but to make myself feel better, we will blame it on the baby.

If we're sticking with the baby excuse, he also wanted hot fudge and caramel as well! SO, for three nights this week, I have consumed Breyers Vanilla Bean ice cream, drowned in hot fudge and caramel. Num Num Num... HAPPY CHOCOLATE WEEK! I'm just doing my part...

In honor of this under-celebrated Holiday, I have decided to list some MUST have chocolate desserts that you MUST eat, before you die... or today.

1. Molten Hot Fudge Cake - from Chilis

If you are my friend, you probably know that this has been my favorite dessert since high school. The website describes it as "Molten Chocolate Cake topped with Vanilla ice cream under a hard chocolate shell." The fudge on the inside just makes the cake melt in your mouth. *sigh* To. Die. For.

And check out this guy! I will be doing this soon...






2. Neuchatel Swiss Chocolates - from http://www.neuchatelchocolates.com/

If I had to guess, my folks put me on this love - but every since, I've been hooked. Since you have to order these online (unless you live in NYC), I've only gotten to enjoy these bad boys once a year... when I order them for my mom and dad for Christmas, yet end up eating them. Merry Christmas?

The website describes them as this..
"Neuchatel's renowned Swiss premium Truffles are the delicacy on which Neuchatel has built its reputation for excellence. The truffles are made from 100% Swiss Chocolate shells filled with a variety of creamy mousses made from dairy-fresh butter and cream. The delicious truffles are presented in elegant purple moire boxes."


I must tell you, if you order anything from them, order the truffles. Melt in your mouth.

3. Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookies - from your local supermarket

I don't know what it is, but I ALWAYS have cookies on hand. I'm curious if my mom did this when I was younger because I always feel that it is necessary to bake cookies for house guests. Something about the smell of cookies just says "I'm Home," "I'm safe."

Let me clarify - up until about 3 weeks ago, I swore by the pre-cut Pillsbury Chocolate Chip cookies.

Now, they are still the bomb. I will kill a pack of 24 in one sitting, no sweat. It wasn't till my husband and I stayed at a friend's house over the weekend that we got a taste of the Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Flavored cookies, in a 'roll.'

WOW, what a difference! If you are lazy like me and value the pre-cut cookie dough, let me tell ya, this takes about 2 mins to roll out yourself... and it's SO worth it. Pop in a glass of milk in the freezer and you're set!

**

Ok, I realize this is only three things, but after writing this, I may very well take off work for the rest of the day and head to Chilis... ya know, to "Celebrate."

Happy Calorie Counting!

The Domesticated Deviant

Let me start off this little ditty with a realization that the word "Deviant" sounds a little more mischievous than I had originally hoped for the title of this blog. But in order to achieve the Double D's I was so desperately searching for, I chose to do a little play on words. Let me explain...

In all my youth - late 20s is still "youth," right? - I liked to divert from the norm, if you will. On the first day of High School my Junior Year, I chose to wear a plain white t-shirt and jeans (and timberlands, I'm sure). I was boycotting the fact that every other person in high school was probably slipping on some brand new threads they bought for the special occasion known as "The First Day of School." Now, I'm not knockin' it. I'm sure of the fact that I fell into this category most of my adolescent life as well... but not that year.

I also recall having multiple burping contests with my male counterparts, and a select few lady friends *shout out to Lala* throughout my time at "Ridgemont High."

Deviant by definition means -

• "Differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society." 
• "One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards"

My favorite is -

• deviating, as from what is considered acceptable behaviour."

I believe this characteristic has carried over into my post-college years and I have constantly asked myself how old is "too" old to be going to Sammy T's - a local club that still hosts 'College Night' every Thursday. When do you retire your 4" stilettos for a muumuu? I'll tell ya when! When you get knocked up.

Another beautiful way to bring in the 'deviant' lifestyle... I've been married 2 years October 24th and my husband and I had reached a point where we didn't care if we were to get preggers. When asked "When are y'all going to have a baby?" We would always reply, "Whenever it happens." We had officially "pulled the goalie," but in no way were we actively "trying." I had never gone online and calculated the exact date I would be ovulating. I never stopped drinking or going out. We just "pulled the goalie," so to speak.

May 7th, 2011 my company took myself, my 6 coworkers and our spouses on a 7-day cruise. Lots of drinking and late nights... and yes, this resulted in the consummation of our sweet baby boy, due in Feb. There were no candles. There was no romancing. This was just good ole fashion, come home from the cruise bar/club and Get 'Er Done. Deviant behavior at it's best, and a story for the grandchildren, I assure you.

So here we are. 5 months pregnant. I just bought our first home that we plan to live in for many moons and raise a family. I'm beginning a craft project to consist of pumpkins and glitter and another project to include a moss wreath... what happened?!?! I became Domesticated....

• to bring to the level of ordinary people
• to accustom to household life or affairs
• to tame

To tame?! Oh goodness.

Hopefully this clears up a bit of confusion that may come with your first impression of the word "Deviant." No, I am not a bank robber or the devil, nor do I sell drugs for money. All I want to portray in this Blog Title is that... I have come a long way. I look forward to documenting my trials and tribulations at balancing my efforts of being "Domesticated," all the while, remaining human. You may or may not agree with a 20-Something Mother NOT living her life as Martha Stewart but ... wait, didn't she go to jail? Nevermind. This ends my explanation. :)