High Five for Friday!

Hi there! Well, again I've linked up with Lauren from My Grey Desk for H54F!

So here we go!
1. Probably my favorite thing this week was getting this new blog design! I'm absolutely in LOVE with it and have been dreaming about and imagining my new design for awhile now! (Insert blog plug here: if you aren't a follower of my blog, please click on the "follow me" button on the right side! I always LOVE your comments, so don't hesitate either to leave one for me)! Eventually I'd like to get sponsors for my blog but I have to have enough of a following! Go on, just click on "follow me!"

2. I'm heading to Mississippi today for my sister's wedding! I LOVE the man she's marrying, LOVE her, and LOVE dancing...so this works out great for me ;)

3. THIS GIRL (see below) graduated Wednesday night and I LOVED being there to support her! Good luck Katie! Mrs. Val and I love you to pieces!!! Isn't she just gorgeous?!

4. Not only did I get to hang out with this pretty lady last night (which I always love),  but this Sunday also happens to be her baby shower!!! Again, anything involving me, food, cute baby clothes (insert high pitched "cute little baby" phrase here), and good friends, I'm in!!

5. Oh yeah, I'm OFF today!! Woot Woot!!! Now it's time for me to get my happy butt out of bed (which can I just say my butt is NEVER happy to get out of bed), get ready, make a pit stop to Panera for some coffee and a nice warm bagel (in this rainy weather), and then it's off to Mississippi I go! Happy Friday everyone! What's your H54F?!

Entryway Upgrade!

Another area of my house I've recently updated is my entryway. It was so bland, boring, and uninviting. Before, I had two key hooks on the right side of my door that always fell whenever we'd hang our keys on them...it seriously got old...especially hearing it fall when either myself or Tiffany would come in late at night. Other than that, there was a canvas on the other wall when you walked in, but that was it!
See...? This is the definition of bland

 See!!!! You'll notice in the picture directly below that the tin/picture/saying-thingy hasn't been hung yet but it had a better view of the new key/mail collector :)

 I LOVE it!!! The bookshelf was only $20 at Target and for $20 and the few, light things I have on it, who cares if it breaks a year down the road?! I already had all the other accessories other than the bookshelf and the rug. I never would've picked out the runner but I saw it in an entryway picture recently and loved it!!

Lamp: Ikea (about 7 years ago), Picture Frame: Out of the Box gifts, Runner: Target (Spring 2012), Flowers: Hobby Lobby, Turtle Dish: Francesca's (in Texas!!-yeah, lame, I know...go all the way to Texas to bring back a turtle dish)! Books: just collected over the years, Picture/Saying/Tin-Thingy: Hobby Lobby, Key/Mail Holder: Hobby Lobby! There you have it! An easy redecorating project for about $40! Hope you like it!!

Laundry Room Overhaul!

As most of you know, when it comes to me and organization, those two words go hand in hand. I LOVE all things organization. I obsess over all things organization, so it's no surprise that while I was in Old Time Pottery yesterday I picked up some organizational bins to assist in making my laundry room not only more colorful, but also more organized and functional. My laundry room is immediately to your left when you walk in my apartment and I hated the fact that it was so disorganized. I added the bins, did some laundry (crazy, huh?!), and added my "Spring" banner to add some more color.

Before....

and After!!

I LOVE it!!! Whatcha' think?! I seriously could be a professional organizer...I just LOVE it!

High Five For Friday!

This week seems to have FLOWN by...I can't hardly remember what I did this week but here's a shot at my High Five for Friday! I've linked up with Lauren from My Grey Desk for High Five Friday!

1. I got to meet and catch up with one of my best friends, Brooke. This by FAR was the highlight of my week! We don't get to see each other that often so everytime we get together we exceed our word limit (imagine that) and really encourage each other, laugh together, and just catch up on life.

2. I received the best "letter" in the mail. This MADE.MY.DAY! This was from my friend Jaime's sweet little boy Tyson, who is just full of life and my little buddy!

3. I went by Books-A-Million and picked up a new journal (I LOVE it but forgot to include it in my picture), compact mirror (random, I know), a planner, and some 3x5 cards to keep in my purse to help me memorize and pray the scriptures.

4. This weekend, in case you didn't know is Mother's Day. I can't wait to spend the day with my mom, getting into who knows what, spending time together, and making sure I make her feel appreciated! Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without her and am so blessed God made her my mama!

5. Monday afternoon I got to hang out with Mrs. Val. Visits with just her are few and far between as we're both really busy and her husband is usually around (don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing, but he's also my boss so I see him every day), so I really like it when we can have time just the two of us!

Well, there you have it...my High Five for Friday! What's your top five?! Happy Friday!

The Big Reveal!

Well, as the votes proved, I decided to take on my bedroom this weekend and a full 24 hours later it is complete! It really wasn't that bad...more fun than anything. My friend graciously gave up her Saturday to come help me and after deciding on a color palette, the rest is history! We started off at Lowes, then on to Hobby Lobby, TJMaxx, Chic-Fil-A (gotta make time for that)!, Target, and then I ran to Walmart this morning to pick up a few other finishing touches. We cranked up the country music, made sure a Dr. Pepper was in arm's reach and went to work. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story but a HUGE thanks to Ginny for giving up her Saturday to help me! 

Before...

No turning back....

After!!!

Here are some of my favorite things in the room!

Flowers and vase from Hobby Lobby (both 50% off)! Doesn't get much better than that! And yes, I know I need to cut the stem...I just didn't have wire cutters on hand!

These flowers are also from Hobby Lobby and the vase is something I've had for awhile.

The milk jug is from Target (Winter 2011) and the lantern I also got from Target yesterday for just $3!!
The duvet cover is from Target, sheets from TJMaxx, curtains from Walmart and everything else was just stuff I had laying around. I'm also looking forward to hanging this bad boy up...I just haven't because I want to bust the panes out so it won't be so heavy and I still need someone to hang it for me. Speaking of...anyone know how I can bust these panes out? I tried a hammer and surprisingly it didn't work. Suggestions please?! I got this window pane from my friend Jaime...she had it lying around and couldn't use it at the time, so I got it for FREE! But there are also some at a local Antique shop for about $20.00!

Hope you love the room as much as I do! The blue is a little darker than I thought it'd be but I think it'll just take some time to get used to...I was used to a pretty blah color so it's just a change but I really do love this room!!

Extreme Room Makeover

Alright y'all...this will be my first blog that requires votes. I am someone that once I make my mind up about something, I'm ready to go! I HATE starting projects and not finishing them (or not finishing them quickly)...it drives me bananas! Anyways, I've been brainstorming all week about redoing my apartment. After all, I'm going to continue my lease for another year come October and I'm tired of saying, "I'm going to really make a room pretty when I...(fill in the blank)." You only live once...why not live in a pretty house now instead of waiting and then wishing you had done it long ago?! So...here we are! I can't decide which room I want to do first (I will eventually do all of them) but, one room at a time. So...it's up to YOUR votes! The room with the most votes, is the room I will take on this weekend to TRANSFORM! Ready?! (P.S.-I want to paint too...the walls are just a bland tan color, so I'm open to suggestions for those as well)!

Room 1: The kitchen! It's pretty bland, lacks color, personality, and FLAVOR!

Room 2: My "officeinacloset" space. Lacks function, brightness, and organization!

Room 3: My Bedroom. It's kind of a catch-all for a bunch of mismatched stuff. I want it to feel soft, relaxing, and sophisticated.

 Sorry about the bed. I usually make it every day...it drives me crazy not to have a bed that's made (but I guess that's what everyone who doesn't make their bed says, eh?) ;)

Room 4: My bathroom. It lacks color, brightness, and is just kinda drab and for someone who isn't a morning person, I want it to be cheery, bright, and organized (maybe that'll help me become a morning person, no?!...well, we can always hope)!

So there you go! (I obviously have other rooms in my apartment but don't feel that they NEED to be redone (at least not yet) :)

So let me know...which room do you think needs the most work?!

Pinterest Projects

So, I'm writing this post tonight but won't be posting it until tomorrow (don't want to have 2 posts in 1 day, you know)?! Anyways, as most women I'm in LOVE with Pinterest, only my problem is I want to do all the projects I pin to my boards. So...off I set. I have included a picture of the "pin" I originally put on my board and have posted my version of the pin. My photo is a little blurry and although the font is as perfect as the original pin, I love it! Sometimes imperfections are what bring out the true beauty in something, right?! So here they are. I was also working on another pinterest project last night but won't be able to post it for a few days. It's a present I made for someone and I don't want to ruin it before they see it!

What do you think?!? Stay tuned for my next pinterest project upload!

Just call me Martha!

Lately I've been on a HUGE redecorating kick which Ginny, Kat, and Elise can all testify to. I've been driving them all batty (and myself too) with all the constant ideas and changes I've had/made. I'm really wanting to slowly redecorate the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom but if you know me well, you know that I never do anything slow...once my mind is set, there's no changing my mind (except for what colors/patterns to use) but I'm too impatient to wait around and pick things up here and there. I will be getting a new love seat and recliner soon and am going to sell my living room furniture that I have now. However, I was afraid there wouldn't be enough seating if I just had a love seat and recliner so I thought I'd get a crazy chair to go with my "matchy matchy" furniture. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE things to match and am a symmetrical person but I'm really trying to get out of my comfort zone and realize that things don't always have to be perfect. Imperfections are sometimes the things that remind us we aren't perfect and that no matter how hard we try, we'll never be as good as Martha Stewart. A friend of mine was over the other day and as I was telling her my idea of buying a crazy chair, she suggested I just reupholster an old chair that I already had...so that's what I set out to do. After a little LOT of hunting, searching, questioning, returning, and thinking, I finally found a fabric that initially I had to be talked into buying but now that it's on the chair, I just LOVE it. It was soooo easy to do and took all of about 10 minutes! If only cooking were this easy...but don't get me started on that. I'll save those stories for another post...however, I will say I'm working on improving in the kitchen as well and am hoping I'll work up enough courage to start trying to cook again but can I just say, after assuming someone would eat six eggs at a time and burning them because I turned the burner on too high in an attempt to cook them faster, I'm still a little hesitant, so Lean Cuisines it is for now, but I digress. Here are the pictures of my project. One chair down and one more to go! Thanks to Elise, Ginny, and Kat for their help, suggestions, and patience with me!
                          The Before...

                           The in between....

                           The finished product! You like?! 

 Next post I will hopefully have a setting the house on fire cooking story!