September 4, 2013 by Stephanie

My Container Store

With the Cara Box exchange, I really wanted to make everything for Lesle.

Here was my train of thought.

She had said that she loved labeling and organization throughout her blog, so I thought I would create containers that had really cute labels on it.

See doesn’t that look cute?

That is not how they turned out. Here was the sequence of events.

I had tried mod podgeing scrapbook paper labels I made, but my sample one looked atrocious. The mod podge I used did not dry clear as I had thought. It was cloudy and streaky, and just plain ugly. The pictures don’t show the injustice of the mod podge, so it is not even post worthy. But the jar still works, so we are still using it…in the closet.

So nix the label idea.

I decided that I was going to paint chevron stripes on the remaining containers I had because that was something else Lesle had mentioned.

I bought the new chevron painter’s tape they have at Lowe’s. Genius! Fairly pricey, but so worth the headache I had endured before trying to do chevron.

So I painted my merry little way all over the jars.

Then I tried peeling off the tape.

Curse of the ugly jars. The tape just took off the paint with it. I will admit, I should have used different paint, but I was still upset. It basically turned to rubber cement on the jars and was easy to rub off.

So try three…

I started scrambling through my craft closet to see what I could come up with.

I found some decorative buttons and frilly ribbon and pulled out the go-to hot glue gun.

And this was the final and perfect product!

I think they turned out pretty swell considering how many try overs I had. And bonus, I used these to hold all the other goodies I sent her: tea, crocheted scarf and dog treats for her dog.

So it maybe wasn’t the labeled goodness I had envisioned, but hopefully she can still use my Pinterest fail to be organized in the house!

September 3, 2013 by Stephanie

Talks with Tom #8

Well night one with the dynamic boxer duo was a trip.

This was our conversation when it was time to go to bed. To be honest, this was after Tom and I laid in bed hoping for the best for a half hour as they dive bombed into the bed over and over again.

Tom-It’s like two six year olds at their first sleepover. I am trying to tell them to go to bed, and then I find them with flashlights, giggling and playing connect the dots.

Me-Connect the dots, huh? Is that a big sleepover game?

Tom-I’m half asleep. Just tell people I said the game was Operation.

They did eventually settle down. Grace is a big instigator and just wants to play. Crosby is just like, “I will play but then give me some space lady.” Typical. Crosby finally laid asleep in the closet while we bear hugged Grace to sleep in the bed. Then Crosby kept us up because he is a HUGE snorter. He sounds like a pig, so every 5 minutes or so we would hear this loud grunting, and then we would start busting up laughing. REM cycle never happened…

They are having a blast with each other though, so day 2 is going well. We really lucked out with these two. They are just playing so well together, and they don’t fight over food or attention we give each of them. It’s like they were made for each other.

And good news…Grace is not scared of the yard anymore! Yesss!

Here are some shots from this afternoon.

Grace is so intrigued from Crosby’s eliminations. She just follows him around until he goes.

Neighborhood watch. They stood here for a while ignoring me running around the yard trying to get them to play.

Right now they are burrowing underneath the couch cushions together. I feel like I am an intruder on their alone time….Just supervising kiddos.

Here Grace was giving Crosby a hug; I just caught it too late. Adorable.

September 2, 2013 by Stephanie

Grace is no longer an only child!

After watching shelter pages for months and several applications, tonight we brought home this guy!

We had some bumps in the road to our adoption, and honestly we didn’t even go to the shelter to meet this slobbery mess initially.

Much like Grace’s adoption, we went to a shelter to meet another little dude. After looking at the most adorable 9 week old boxer puppy, we decided we definitely did not want to potty train. Plus, there were 3 other families who were interested in getting the puppy so we decided he was not our new little brother for Grace.

I knew there were several other boxers at the shelter so we asked the past history of the other dogs to see if there was one that fit our true need for a rescue.

Then they brought us our ~~little~~ big man. He warmed our hearts as soon as he walked through the doors.

He had been brought in as a stray so they are not completely sure of his past. He had been adopted through the shelter once, but the previous adopters brought him back when their small dog got snippy with him. He wasn’t even there for two weeks.

So after being a stray and a surrender, and seeing the visible scars on his body, we knew we were going to take him home. He is a smaller boxer like Grace, and obviously they have the same brindle coats. They guesstimated that he is about 3 years old, but are not completely sure. Since Grace is almost 3, we figured we could make their birthdays the same day.

He crawled up in my lap within seconds and licked my face all over. Seriously in love with this guy!

We brought him home tonight, which was such a perfect ending to our wonderful Labor Day weekend. We have named him Crosby. We named Grace after the iconic Grace Kelly, so it seemed appropriate to name our new bundle of joy after someone in the same realm, so Bing Crosby it is.

Here are Grace and Crosby meeting for the first time!

Then this is the first time in the backyard together. And per usual, I catch a dump in action.

We have done research on how to integrate a new dog to the house, and we know that it is a process that goes beyond today’s activities. However, if anyone does have advice or recommendations, we would love to hear it!

They are doing a really good job right now. They play for a second, then lay down for a bit, then back at it. They are pretty evenly matched and seem to really like each other. So hopefully it continues to go well!

Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

Grace sniffing for approval.

Crosby loves to be out the window. It made me a little nervous!

Grace staring at Crosby in awe…

Crosby loves to lay down while he eats.

They both love the peanut butter.

I love how Grace looks like an alien.

Love these two!

“Are you two sure about this guy?”-Grace

They are too funny!

Thank you for all the encouraging words through this process. We are excited that our little family was able to expand this weekend. We are so greatful that we are in a position to offer a loving home to these two homeless pups.

We can’t wait to see where this adventure leads us with Grace and Crosby!

August 30, 2013 by Stephanie

Cara Box Exchange

This month I entered into a gift exchange where you are paired with two individuals who are in similar life situations as you: 25-29 married. You spend a few weeks getting to know each other, and then you send each other a gift with some encouragement.

This month I was paired with two lovely ladies, Amanda and Lesle.

Lesle and I chatted about our hubbys, our sweet little dogs (both rescues), and the love of tea and wine. I sent her a gift, so you can check out her blog for that package. I did make a lot of the stuff, so I will be highlighting it here in the upcoming weeks too for how-tos.

I also loved getting to know Amanda. She and I have similar personalities and both have husbands who are big goof balls. We have so much in common in was a little ridiculous reading her stuff at times!

It would be no surprise to me if I continue to chat with these ladies, for they are kindred spirits for sure. It was such a pleasure learning more about them!

And who doesn’t like creating and receiving gifts?

Amanda sent me this lovely box of things!

She was so thoughtful about getting things for my crafty side! And for my love of wine! I love the picture. I need to find a frame for it so I can hang it in my bathroom ASAP. Tom made fun of me for how giggly I was when the box showed up on our doorstep. So fun!

She also wrote me a lovely personal note, which may be my favorite part of the whole exchange.

It’s not every day that you are able to meet other women/wives randomly from across the country. So thank you to Kaitlyn, for putting this unique exchange together.

I will be sure to participate again in the future!

August 29, 2013 by Stephanie

Let’s Go Peay!

That slogan gets me every time.

I work at Austin Peay State University, and we started the Fall Semester this week.

Things have been crazy busy and hectic trying to work through student requests, but I love the start of the semester. LOVE!

As a kid the start of the school year was always so exciting. New adventures, new lessons to learn, new school supplies. It was the one time of year that we got to really splurge. I loved picking out my new pencil boxes, folders, and back packs.

Yep huge nerd alert over here.

But my favorite thing about school starting was a tradition my dad started. The first day of class, he would take me to Baskin Robbins and we would chat about the day. We went every year from kindergarten until my senior year of high school. And every year, I got the same thing-double scoop mint chocolate chip and chocolate. My brother did the same thing on the second day of school, so we each had our individual school date with Dad. I had first child benefits and stole the first day privileges!

I have kept the tradition alive over the past decade, always finding someone to eat ice cream with me on that first day of classes even when I was no longer a student. But for the last decade there has not been a Baskin Robbins nor has it been a date with my dad, so it has not been quite the same.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This year though the tradition was re-instated in full because Clarksville has BRs everywhere!

AND my dad was in town this week!

So we went and indulged in our 23 year old tradition, which is still one of my fondest memories growing up. We still chatted about our thoughts on education, although the conversation was much more sophisticated than what happened at recess and when the new Scholastic catalog was going to arrive. I should have gotten a picture, but we were too wrapped up in the conversation and the goodness of the BR.

This is definitely a tradition that I want to carry on to my kids. Such a simple way to get excited about the new year and be able to create intentional memories. And it was a great way to bond with my dad since it was just the two of us.

A little Armucation for you. The military allows soldiers to be absent from work the first day of classes for their own children. That way they can help get everyone where they need to be when routines haven’t been set, but also be there for the big moments that come with starting a new year at school. They are very family oriented when they are stateside, mostly because they know that the soldiers potentially miss out on all these things when they are deployed.

This week has been super nuts with Dad in town and it being the first week of school, so I have not been able to blog as much as I had planned. We are also going out of town this weekend, so things are getting pushed back so I can enjoy time with friends and family.

But here are some previews of what is to come:

The results of a blog gift exchange I entered
A blog award/recognition
a new blog partnership
updates on the doggie adoption
crafts galore…I have so many to put on here! I just haven’t had time!
my “math” class adventure

I hope you all have a great holiday weekend and had some good stories for the start of the academic year!

For now, I leave you with my 4th grade First Day of School picture. It was the only one I could find in my house. I was going through my tomboy stage and thought the hip action was super cool apparently.