Kitchen Border and renting

So as many as you know were renting where were living, we ABSOLUTELY got so lucky! We have amazing landlords, good friends and people we can trust. I have been trying to think of clever ways of putting things up in mind that we may not be here for long term but still making a "short term" house look long term. Our kitchen was plain! and it needed something so i decided to put up a border and oh my heck, am I ever so proud of it !

What you'll need:

A border of choice (I just bought mine at walmart)
Brads (EXTREMELY small nails)
Patience (seriously)


Simply start at one side and go to the other, i used push pins to hold the border up ahead of me (if you're doing it by yourself) and i got it as tight as i could and used the nails/brads and a hammer and hammered away.


The Border ..... Going for the primitive/rusitc feeling through out the house











NOTE: Sorry its taken me so long to post thing lately. I have had some health things going on that need to be taken care of, if its not one thing its another - thank goodness for having trust in the Lord and at his will and time things will work out.

Crafts around the house

Just thought i'd show you some stuff that i've already done. If you'd like to know how to make it let me know. I get a lot of my ideas from craft blogs that i follow - if you'd like a list of them let me know (WARNING: they become VERY addictive, i think i look at them more then my facebook-lol)Also, i get a lot of my decor at will of the good (aka - goodwill) you know what they say, one mans trash is anothers mans treasure, (Cant beat the 50% every other saturday)

I'll start first with my Pride & Joy - Crib Spring Frame: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this !! The trickest thing of this craft is getting the actually crib spring! because cribs just arent made the way they were in the good ol days you have to search high and low for a crib spring. Then for the border, i've done burlap but i've seen with fabric and is JUST AS cute! I got the idea from HERE. I then added the HARMS across the top to add a personal touch !



Monogrammed H: All this is a wooden letter H That I got from Hobby Lobby and got moss from walmart/dollar store and have covered it with it. Then I got a frame, painted it black and the back ground to the frame is a piece of carboard with burlap hot glued to it. Simple!



Americana Bears: I bought everything here at goodwill except the Believe mark gave me for christmas (2010) i LOVE it !!



Sunflower Wreath: This is basically a round foam wreath found at the dollar store and then I wrapped green ribbon around it (same I used to hang it with), pushed the sunflowers through and hot glued them so they stayed. then wrapped the ribbon around it so that it can be hung. Im currently using it as a decor over our table to cover our lamp. But its pretty universal and can be used any where.



Live, Laugh, Love: This is one of those, I had 5 random pieces and needed to stick them together, what not better then this way! lol .. I enjoy it, when sitting in our living room you can see it clearly, helpful reminder to smile. I got the Words at michaels several years ago & the stars I found at HL.





Well thats it as of now that I have up around the house, ill change it up more as it changes through out the year and as soon as I get bored with things.
Hope you enjoyed them!

I thought about it .......

Does that count? .... Lol, As in I know that i've needed to post some updates but yet haven't done it at all for the month of May. I'm a slacker I know. Nothing really went on the month of May, I got shingles the end of April - beginning of May I was secluded from exsistence as we all know it, but I was able to get things done around the house which was nice! Yay for clean house !! (: Other than just living life and paying bills nothing too much is going on. As of June 1st we OFFICIALLY turned our AC on - so we'll have to wait and see what that electric bill looks like. I suppose I could start posting crafts, that I told y'all I was going to do. First i'll post pictures up of some of the crafts i've already done and decor that I put up around the house, then we'll go from there, So lets get started !!! Hope you enjoy !!!

Our Anniversary Weekend

We were both greatly fortunate to be able to have this weekend off to spend time with each other. We were debatng what we wanted to do and didnt decided till 5 o'clock friday night that we were going to go up to the cabin. Meaning, after work i had to rush home and pack things and get the car loaded and head over to my parents to get the keys. So with that being said - we didnt leave town till 10pm and it took us 2 hours to get up to Strawberry (15 mi north of Payson). We got up there and it was a bit chilly, not so bad - unloaded the car and snuggled up in bed and got warm. Woke up Saturday morning, ate at the strawberry lodge, we were going to go to Sedona but decided not to - instead we went to Pine/Payson and shopped at some different stores. Then we went and saw Prom, it was cute movie - reminded me of my HS prom. Then went and did some more shopping - most importantly went to the Wal-Mart in there in Payson (you cant go to payson without going to the walmart - its unethical) and we ALMOST came home with a puppy. I was inside doing some shopping and mark calls me and says i have to come outside and meet someone, and first im like what in the world are you talking about - who did you meet up with in Payson, Az at the WALMART?? I ended up going outside and my husband was carrying a PUPPY !! we did the awwing and oooing and got the details (best part he was FREE) but we thought smart and decided not to get him - he was a lab/collie mix and it tore my heart giving him back he cuddled up to me and was soo soft! After Wal-Mart we went to El Rancho for dinner and then headed back up the cabin and watched G-Force before headed to bed (the wind was CRAZY - hearing it through all the trees a lil bit scary). Sunday Morning we had breakfast at the cabin and then started loading the car back up to head home (unfortunately), took a walk around the block - enjoy the scenery and then we stopped in Pine and had some homemade ice cream - it was delicious :) and then before we left town we decide to go have Lunch with Nathan. Ugh - i seriously miss him so much ! i Know he's looking down on us and i felt his spirit the whole time we was there. After that we started heading home. We had a good drive home until we hit just about 20 mi outside of fountain hills - i was sleeping and comfortable and enjoying my time and my HUSBAND decides to yell ..... "QUICK BABE GET UP ITS A DEAR" - firstly im thinking, seriosuly? i was sleeping - look around and realize where were at and unless there is such a thing as a desert dear and then slammed on his break then okay. but - instead he just woke up me (i think he just wanted my company from driving, lol) Over all we enjoyed our time together and to be able to get out of town and enjoy the scenery and how can you not believe this is God's land when you see the all the trees - the smell of Pine, the birds chirping and yet to still be able to have the Freedom we have. It was fun because on friday/saturday we were going over at time line of what we were doing just a year ago and missing it so much ! Can't wait for the eternities ahead and what the Lord has planned for us. We again are so greatly for have you all in our lives and you all make an impact - Thank you for your love and support !!

Us at the cabin

Happy Anniversary !!

ITS OFFICAL .. We've been married for a year ! We made it ! Of course we knew we'd make it this far! We are so blessed to be sealed for eternity in the House of the Lord! We Can't wait for the many years (Eternity) ahead of us that we get to share together. Thought i'd just go month by month to review this years "firsts" of our marriage. Have some laughs & Enjoy reading (we enjoy comments too)

May 2010
SO thankful for Marks parents for allowing us to move in with them and being patient as we try to figure out the married life .. Little did we know, Thank goodness we have Eternity for that !

June 2010
Still getting used to the Married life ... and sharing a bed with eachother. (Lol) Remembering our Brother Nathan !! We miss you Nate, look upon us and protect us, But most importantly protect and be with Heather, Madison & Levi

July 2010
Mark got a job !! He's working at Melchers Mortuary

August 2010
We Couldnt think of anything that happened here - just continuing to getting used to being married. Its an eternal long sleep over !!

September 2010
Mark got a promotion at work to be an Intern Emblamber (WooT !!)

October 2010
We Made it 6 months !! Our First Halloween together ... Look HERE for the Blog post about our Baby Jack!

November 2010
Getting used to the winter months and Mark cuddling up more with Tiff cause she's such a good personal heater! Lol ... Just continuing enjoying being married :)

December 2010
Our First Christmas together, Married. Nothing big - but perfect for us !



January 2011
Happy New Years !!! .. We spent bringing in the new years at The Tilsons, Had a BLAST setting off fireworks. Reminiscencing about how just a year ago, we were at Disneyland with Marks Family and how much we enjoyed time there and would love to be there this year!

February 2011
It was a BLAST ... I being the cute newlywed wife i am "heart-attacked" marks car. Unfortunately he caught me towards the end of my attack ....



And again for his birthday I STUFFED it full of balloons :) HeHe, This time the girls at work made sure he wasnt NO WHERE around !!



March 2011
Tiffs 22nd Birthday !! .. and THE BEST birthday present we could EVER recieve is FINALLY getting a place of our own ! thats right, you didnt blink .. we HAVE A PLACE OF OUR OWN! a house to call ours !! okay maybe you're not as excited as I am (well mark too) but what a dream for a wife (and a crafty like me) to be able to hang stuff on a wall and to decorate. We're a 2 Bd/ 2 Ba Townhome - its PERFECT size for us ! If the Lord has it to be, we would LOVE to be here for awhile and cant wait to start many memories here, starting our family :)

April 2011
As we were going through this month and counting down we just couldnt believe how fast this year as gone by! We are SOO blessed for everything the Lord has blessed us with. Were greatly for a roof over our heads, food in our tummies, clothes on our back and for the exceptional support team we have - Our Family and Friends; EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU have made a difference in our lives, we are so eternally greatful for you!

On a side note: Tiffany got shingles - We'll see what happens from here.

Committed To: Updating our Blog! Now that we finally got a place of our own and have internet ill be able to update our blog more often. Im hoping that I can be diligent at doing this, as well i hope you all enjoy reading about what goes in our house.

As most of you know: I am a HUGE craft nut !! I've debated about doing my own craft blog -but decided not to, so instead i hope you all dont mind me posting up the crafts that i do on here, Enjoy them. I hope they encourage you to get crafty - nothing is better than the satisfaction of knowing you created a masterpiece. At any time you want to do one of the crafts and need help with something let me know, i dont mind helping !

Light/Fan Face Plate Tutorial

First Craft the blog: As most/many of you know there is NOTHING MORE I LOVE (decor wise) is Sunflowers and Americana - they go SOO amazing with eachother. I couldnt stand to look at the solid white faceplates (too boring) so i decided to make some of my own. I'll show you here how to make for the Americana Faceplates - not sure yet what im going to do for the sunflowers.

What you'll need:

~ Faceplate (I bought beige)
~ Paint (i used Navy blue, Cardinal red, & French Vanilla)
~ Star templete (unless you're going to draw it by hand)
~ Good Ol' Mod Podge
~ Sandpaper


Step One: I decide to sandpaper to make it rough, or else the paint would just slide on the shiney surface of the plate. DONT LOSE THE SCREWS ... lol

Step Two: I used the Navy Blue and painted the top and bottom .. I painted it twice.



Step Three: Paint the Red Strips - use your best judgement on what you think is best to split the lines up. It's up to you whether or not you want thicker or smaller lines.



Step Four:
Paint the White Stripes .. again its up to you how thick you want your lines. I repainted the red and white lines 2-3 times.



Step Five: I used a templete (because im CDO, that if i were to draw them by hand that it'd take me FOREVER)



Step Six: Then I just traced the star with my paint brush and filled it in with the white paint .. I painted them 2-3 times to make sure it stood out. its up to your preference what you'd like.



Step Seven: I added Mod Podge ( the Matte kind ) and let it dry then I changed out the face plates and Wa-Laa ! there you go !! I've also seen theis being done with staining it to make it more primitive looking ... I was too excied to finish them and get them up I decided not to. I also did a plate for a single one - i apologize i didnt get a before/after but its along the same line.




Before I decided to take pictures of the plates, I had already done the Single plates and here is the Before/After - just follow along the same tutorial as the ones above.




DISCLAIMER: This is my first craft blog post .. so please bare with me as I get better posting my crafts - I'm sure it'll get better and more neat.

Our First Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE !!

I'll post pictures of our first Halloween together, and our baby jack that we had tonight! he was SOO cute for being our first. (RE-POST) Our First Halloween was fun ! We waited till that night of to carve Baby Jack, he came out to be VERY happy !! Dad (Mark) didnt like the first candle we put into him, so he had to get a bigger one, i have to admit he did look much happier and brighter after that. We had some trick-or-treaters, but we started out late. Enjoy the pictures of the night !



Mark carving Baby Jack



Tiff carving Baby Jack



This first candle ... no light and very whimpy !



Second Candle ... much better and he seems A LOT happier!



Mark handing out candy -- They're so DANG cute ! can't wait till we get to trick-or-treat with our children.



Time to go to bed !! - Baby Jack did so good !

Hope y'all had a good Halloween !! Thanks for being part of our lives. Your love and support is vital in our marriage, thanks for being our friends !

Wedding Pictures

I figured since I talked so much about the wedding, I ought to post pictures for you all to see!(DISCLAIMER: this is only a few, if you'd like to see more look at either our facebook or ask me to see more, i didnt realize how difficult and time consuming it is to put pictures on here!) Enjoy looking at them!

Mark and I in front of the Mesa, Arizona Temple.

The bench were on right now, is the EXACT bench that Mark proposed to me.

I LOVE this picture! Us staring into the Temple.

Yay!! It was so nice to have all of our family there and feel their love & support.

The Bridal Party: Chuck, Tim, Mark, Tiffany, Heather and Sarah.

I LOVE the effects of this picture, us reflecting off of the reflection pool.

Our Cake, Oh my goodness! not only did it look beautiful, it tasted AMAZING!

The end of our reception, I HATED taking this picture, I NEVER wanted it to end. But i absolutely LOVED it! Everything Mark and I could wish for.

The Honeymoon & Final Thoughts

Mark and I were very lucky that his parents felt pitty upon us and paid for our honeymoon or we would of have had a staycation. But instead we went to The Buttes, Marriott Hotel and it was ABSOLUTELY beautiful! I loved it. I wish i had my camera to take pictures, but im hoping if i go back they'll let me take pictures. We spent 3 nights and 4 days there. We slept in till like 10 and got up and went out and spent money !! :) It was so nice to share those first nights with eachother and away from everyone. even more nicer to have a king sized bed! Not that im complaining about our Queen we have, we get to cuddle more, were closer - we have to, lol! We tried to go swimming a few times but the pool was too cold and so we went to the hot tub and stayed there for a bit before it got too chilly and late we went back to the hotel room. It was great to spend time with each other and make memories that will always be remembered!

So all the thoughts of the engagement, the wedding, reception, honeymoon and the first year of our relationship Mark and I feel extrememly blessed and are so happy with eachother. Looking back now, and knowing that we were going to "wait" till now to get married, i look back and wonder what in the world was i thinking! we would of missed out on so much! Now that we're married the Lord has truely blessed us. Mark has a job and is being succcessful, his parents are letting us live with them and are understanding that were newlyweds and new to all of this and being patient with us as we encounter new things that were not used to or have questions about. But mark and i chersish the memories of our first year and can't belive how fast it went and will always remember the memories and can't wait for the ones that we make ahead of us! Thanks for everyone in our lives who have supported us and who love us! We couldn't do it without you guys! I wish i could name each of you individually but i dont want to miss out on anyone but know that you each have helped out and have been there for us even when you may think you haven't. But a HUGE Thank You and we dont know how we could ever repay you but to our parents and family for their love and support and helping out on the wedding and giving us the wedding of our dreams. We Love You all and again, Thank you!

The Reception Day

May 1, 2010 - So after our GLORIOUS and fun first night together. We were able to sleep in somewhat before having to get ready for the day. We woke up at 9 and got ready and met my parents over at their chapel to do some minor setting up to get ready for that night that we werent able to do on friday before the wedding sealing. So we did just that but once again, Mark and I had to leave early to go get all dressed up for the reception. So we left and came back home where Melissa (my hair dresser and make up) made me BEAU-TI-FUL! she did an amazing job at making me look so good, i got tons of compliments but really its her work that did it, Thanks! After that we then met up at the temple and took family pictures, and took some more pictures of just mark and i that were weren't able to get on our bridal shot night and which made us late for the ring ceremony, but thats okay because its my wedding lol. So we then drove safely and quickly over to the chapel where we did the ring ceremony and it was amazing! i loved it, to have all of my family and friends who werent able to make it to the sealing and for them to be there and to be apart of the wedding. After that we ate some food and then got ready for the reception!! We stood in the line for the first hour, LONG hour i must add but it was totally worth it to see everyone who came just for mark and i and how loved we are and how many people supported us it was great! Well after the line we got the night moving and started making some memories. Mark and I did our first dance and boy was it AMAZING, i love the response we got from everyone about it. I always imagined that my husband and i would do something about away from the ordinary and in which we did! :) we began with our first dance song and about 3 minutes in switched into some fun dance songs and at first we'd switch back and fourth and then did a couple together and then at the end switched back to our first dance song. it was AMAZING, i loved feeding off of the laughter and excitement of all of our guests. We then did the Father - Bride and Mother - Groom dances and then walked around for a bit talking to friends and family that came in after the line and then did our cake eating, which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it was AMAZINGLY delicious! which then after that did some more dancing and did the bouquet and garter toss. As the night was sadly coming to an end we asked that everyone would come to the dance floor and did one last song and make the night memorable. Then as everyone was starting to take the decor down mark and i did a final walkout and we took pictures and then went back in and helped a bit and undressed into some more relaxed clothes and drove home to drop the dress and suit off and getting all of our bags and things ready for the HONEYMOON!!! Oooooh the GLORIOUS honeymoon :)