My First DIY clothing!

My Little Matching Day.

Husband and i are not real big on the hole matchy match thing *well I will be hones,t its more husband  than I, I am a sappy girl that likes to match my lover. But on holidays its the only time we are allowed to match so I went all out this Easter!!

Shoes- On loan from my sis in law / Skirt- Made by Me / Shirt-Ambercrombi / Necklace-Gifted

*Oh he is super sexy!!


He wore his DIY Tie that I made for him all day and wore it proud. I am so in love with this fabric i may have purchased a few extra to many yards....So you may see a few more pieces from it. Its imported cotton from Italy and was on sale...for 1.99 a YARD...Hello could not pass that up. It was exactly what I have been looking for to make a skirt like this! Making it was not too hard...I took apart an old skirt that i didn't like used that as a pattern (worked out wonderful) made 1 practice skirt before I used the good material and then bam went for it. Husbands tie was a little harder since I couldn't take apart one of his Ties to practice so I viewed it while I made it, (no ties where harmed in the making of his new one)!!

We had such a great Easter, celebrating with our family and church family. Good food watched Bubba Watson bring home his first Green Coat at the masters, took Hound Dog on a walk, cleaned the garage , back yard. Big full day!!!

I am headed on a field trip with a sweet special little 3rd Grader today, we are going to Fran's bakery  for a tour and hopefully free samples...:) I was instructed by Howie (the third grader) multiple times... "now Nic and Cole remember no jewelery, no open toes shoes, no high heels....you CANT WEAR THAT" The kid is pretty worried I will be all fancied out to go to Fran's.....I promised him I would obey the rules and not make a spectacle of myself!!

Nicole

R.I.T

Transformers!

My sweet amazing friend Sarah (Sarie June)  informed me I could take color out of my cloths and put color back in it! In fact an entirely different then it came as! So here is a little glimpse into my world....I jump in full force I have done 4 garments and am scouring my wardrobe for cloths I do not wear or that need updated....I am buying new colors of RIT Dye and looking on their website for more color combinations that I can make...I am out of control! . The ones I have done are :

Jeans that originally were Gray now a Wine/  Berry color. 

Sweater that was purchased at a garage sale for 1.00 that was light purple, now is a Jewell tone blue.

A pink "Loft" skirt that I ruined with blue ink (some how) now A rust color.

A blazer that was once cream sickle orange and white stripes now is blue!

Here is the entire outfit re-dyed and made NEW! 

 

 

 Sweater- Garage Sale 1.00

Belt (came with another dress) 

Skirt- Ann Taylor Loft (thrifted) re colored total cost 14.00

Brown tights- Target

Ridding Boots- Target 

Gold accessory - Macy's & Nordstroms 

Necklace- Forever 21 - 4.99

 I have been wanting a blue blazer, couldn't find one that i loved so I switched up this one:

 BEFORE :

My orange and white strip jacket.....

AFTER:

 

My new blue jacket. And my take on the "blue and pumpkin" outfit. And Sarah and I matched! 

So bright I cant see! :) I love beautiful fall weather

 Our big plans for today ....Finances / Budget (gross) my least favorite word in the entire world! And having my baby brother and his girl "Friend " come over for a movie and dinner. And hope if we in fact do the universal sign of we are not participating in Halloween and "Turn off the porch light" no one will come to our house for candy....because we have NONE.  Husband and I are addicted to candy so keeping it in our house is a rare thing!

 Nicole

A "How To"....Tutorial

Tutorial by Nicole And Becky:

Steps (not necessarily in order but close)

1. Decided you want to make craft tables, ask Husband to borrow "BEAST" aka our older suburban AKA his baby, that we can not trade in or sale. Head to home depot after a morning work out and no coffee...

2. Pick up mom and insist on stopping for coffee and then slightly being a drama queen and saying "I WILL DIE " if we don't get any. She agrees....pulling up to the drive through on the little coffee place in the BEAST....interesting!

3. Forgetting paperwork at home with wood measurements on it...GOING HOME AGAIN.. NOW on the road to The Home Depot!

4. Asking a man for help who was more of a hindrance then a help and him insisting that we can not build this it was to hard. Excuse me.........I am not sure you know who my mother is?!

5. Him talking us into not getting any more boards because "We don't need them"  ohh buddy....not a good idea. Hind sight is always 20/20

This is mom rolling her eyes at our "helper" 

 6. Getting home only 2 hours after we left and starting. . . 

 7. Realizing my mom is a stud with power tools and measurements....man I was amazed. 

8. Half way through the door, and  realizing that we needed more boards....and mumbling irritations at the home depot man. 

9. Laughing until I almost peed my pants on multiple occasions, mom laughing so hard she was crying.

10. Getting a little frustrated at the project.... A wardrobe change always helps change my attitude. And it worked. I came out with a new outfit and worked until I couldnt pick up the screw driver any longer.

11. Working in our Garage for 10 hours and feeling pretty completed, savey, sawdust every where and loving the feeling.

12. THEN 

Mom - "the completer" as I like to call her. "Never leave a project unfinished" went up to home depot to get more wood while I ran at 7:30 am on Saturday. Meet up at 8:30 at my house to complete the building of it. 

These are mom's side pieces she just needs to put the top on and paint it. Mine however is not complete. I was still waiting for another board.

It was an awesome experience, Mom and I work really well together and she has taught me so much and I will be asking for a table saw for Christmas! 

I would also like to brag...no harm was done to our house, our car or ourselves....my only injury was me hitting my ankle on the "Beast" door while jumping  up into it. I have all fingers and toes.  Bonus points....NICE!  And thank you Mamma for such a great couple of days I loved it and would do it again any time. :) 

NIC & COLE 

Fast and Furious Style

READY, SET, GO.......

A quick catch up a little glance at the last (almost) 2 weeks, MY BAD. And if you are wondering....I have failed and need to work on this: when given lemons everyday I will in fact eat the lemons instead of making them into lemonade. So its a bitter tasting week instead of a little sweet and sour!! But on to more positive and better weeks!!! 

 I HATE hanging up my cloths. I keep wearing them and then hanging them over the dresser...well that filled up so then it moved to a chair...then it moved to the closet....to the point of out of controlness (I know not a word, but hey this is my blog) so I watched Army Wife's on my IPAD and hung up my mess of cloths. I am counting down the days till I have my nice NEW and BIG closet. Speaking of that, I went and toured the house and the guys working asked me what I wanted in my closet....so I designed it! not going to brag but its going to be awesome.  I work at a school and its is a month and 5 days until we get out for summer (well the kids do) and it can not come a day sooner! We officially hit 70 degrees here in the Willamette Valley THAT IS BIG NEW. I love dressing up and going out with my husband, but the words I actually said on that day....'Babe I don't want to get all dressed up its so much work. I would rather put on my sweats and tank top and sit here with you!" oh man, I am turning into an old married woman. I fought the urge and got into a dress and did my make up! We move in 20 days!! Then the reality hits me that I need to pack ASAP. So my house at this moment and probably for the next 20 days will look like a tornado ripped through it. One day its 70 degrees and sunny and the next its raining! I just cant decide what I hate more...being teased with the sun or the rain.I took my friends adorable kids home last Sunday, I mean drove the SUV, feed them lunch, laid down the little one and played "sword fighting" on the WIii with the older one (who is only 3) and kicks my butt at it. AND loved every minute of it...what does that mean?! My art project is AMAZING...I feel completed! I love seeing friends (co workers ) after 10 years, and re connecting right away. We honored an amazing woman RUBY this weekend for her service at Figaro's pizza. Mine and almost everyone else First Job experience. She taught us how to work! And friends that last for a lifetime. Watching your little brother go to prom/formal....humbles you a little bit! My brother in law just finished up his 3rd year of college! FINALLY got my hair done, and it feels great. Even big dogs get scared and need to hide for protection . As we were using a power saw, Rosco a pure blood hound came and stood behind me and shook with fear, then layed his head on my shoulder and put his big paw in my hand....He stayed that way until the saw was turned off.

Oh Rosco!

This is all made out of wood from our house, stained, sanded and made into art! I LOVE IT!!!

The outside is not changing much any more!

Cabinets going in!!!! GOOD JOB GUYS!

on the left is the kitchen cabinets and on the right is our new floor (3rd new flooring)

Cleaning up our back yard!! Goodbye wild blackberry bushes!!!

seriously ?! where did you get the height from..I am super short and you are super tall!??!?!?

I love this man!

BEST FIGARO CREW!!! 2001-2008

My Not so little Brother anymore! At Junior / Senior Formal

Real men carry their wife's purses/bags! What great MEN.

The Boys of Summer...climbing on a dirt mound.!!!! We love the Hernandez's

I am headed to the beach with the Woman Of TCC. It is our getaway! Riding down with the lovely Sarie June in her beautiful BMW, where we will meet up with 68 other WILD WOMAN OF THE WORD for  a great weekend at Canyon Beach!

OH and did i mention I am wearing shoulder pads.....?!??? I may have just jumped back in the eighty's!

 NIC & COLE

"You are the arm pit girl?!"

Last First!!! 


Today we celebrate our 2 year anniversary of our first date. I know that's cheesy...and corny and probably makes some people roll their eyes. I however, Call me romantic or sappy, but think its a milestone. It was our last first date we will  ever go on. It is a marker for something significant that happened! A date you can look back on and smile knowing just how nervous and excited you were. And how many people know first dates are terrifying most of the time. You mix nerves with the unknown and it could possibly equal disaster. I have a had a few. One I recall I spilled water not only once on that date but twice . . .and tried to play it off like it didn't happen, ohh but it did! I may have tripped while walking and then at the end of the date while talking for hours I leaned in and smelled his arm pit. YES I DID! I mean who does that?! Seriously only crazy stalkers do that, and I feel like I stepped over into that. He stopped talking and was like "did you just smell me?" I began to laugh and heard him laughing so that must be a good sign right?!! But really come on... who leans in and takes a big whiff of someones arm pit (that's gross) but boy did he smell good!!! And luckily that was the story of my last first date. Tom must have seen something in me to look past those weird qualities of mine. And he just reveled to me this year that he noticed I had spilled my water but didn't want to say anything to me at the time. And his family still reminds me that they all knew me as "the arm pit girl" and thought it was the funniest thing ever!  My last first date was the best date I had ever been on and still holds a very special place in my heart. Thats when I started to date my husband!!

                                                                      April 19 2009

   

It is crazy how it seems like you love someone and you cant love them more....but it happens you grow more in love with them daily. I look back and laugh because we had such a great start to our life together and it only gets better!!! So thank you babe for our weekend getaway to celebrate two fabulous years and I am looking forward to so many more and all the new memories we get to make together! And yes I am excited to grow old with you and at the end of the day sit on the porch holding your hand and reminisce over out life together, and watch our kids and grand kids grow up and live out our legacy, there is NO ONE i would rather share my life with, you are the love of my life now and forever.

Nic & Cole

Getting my Craft on!

I decided it was time to start creating.....to start to use my Right side of my brain! Get the juices flowing for down the road.

 My very crafty(you just look at her creations it will make you sick with the green Jealousy monster, because no body should have that much talent, but I absolutely love her) Friend Sarah and I had picked up this UGLY little guy from a antique store, I saw little to no value in this, but SARAH on the other hand told me I can make it "country Classy"

** In all fairness I need to confess, that I forgot to take a before picture so I had to Google (p.s. I love Google!!) it and find a similar one. And this pretty much fits the real one, its loosing its "silver color" rust on the side ....you know the "Find" I am talking about.

And made it into this....

  It is a beautiful antique white which gives it character and a little hit of country. And I know exactly where it will go in my house! It is almost finished and I had so much fun turning something ugly into beauty that I got a mirror I am doing today! *Pictures to come. 
I am on a craft kick, I have started 2 others on top of my candle and mirror make over. I am turning my pile of left over wood from the house build into art work. Here is the wood I have been taking, and because I am worried of being caught in the act I only take a few pieces every time I go there. ;) Because you know a little at a time is not stealing (oh the things we tell ourselves to justify what we do!)

The Pile

And I also have take on a vintage wreath to do I am hoping to have it done by May 26th but it turned out to be a little more extensive and detailed then I thought! As I was using a hot glue gun last night (I have battle wounds to show for my lack of using those type of things) I ran out of glue sticks and looked at the clock it was 9:47pm...it was not even a 5 minute drive to Target, I could make it by closing at 10pm.....I looked at my project not even 1/4 into it....looked at Tom, he was all comfy in sweats and watching the Blazer game....I had to get more, I could not wait so I said "Babe, we need to go to Target. Get your shoes on!!"

And this is how the conversation went from there:

Tom: "What? Why?" (a confused, complex look on his face) 

Me: "Because I ran out of hot glue sticks, and I need them BAD for my project, it will only take us 15min max" (please be aware I have never EVER shopped at Target for only 15 min, and he knows that!)
Tom: "Sugar......we are not going tonight, you will just have to get more tomorrow. Its late and they are almost closed." (Mr. Reason!!!!!!! )
Me: "Ugggg, babe I need it now though, I will loose my creative flow if I wait till tomorrow."
So sad and defeated, I finished what I had left and broke my pen trying to get the last little drop of glue out.So today I have a mission: TARGET and GLUE STICKS. 


As we mourn the loss of one our staff members who lost his life in car accident on Monday, the stories are coming in from the kids who loved him and are probably dealing with death for the first time in their life. Monday afternoon after the kids found out, I walked down the grade school hall and it was the saddest moment I have ever seen. Kids cries where heard from almost every kid in every class.  Grader Schooler's learning how to process life and death and loosing someone close to them.

The next day Lily one of our 1st graders said it this way:
" I miss Mr. Turner, but he is in heaven now!." 
The teacher said "Yes sweetie he is" 
Lily: "Ya he is dancing around and free and not in pain." 
Teacher: "you are right!"
Lily paused, thought about it," I am so proud of him"

I love the simplicity of kids, how they love and that loved fills them to the rim they love with no rules, they love with out knowing why and with out fear. They learn to let go and know that there is something bigger and a place better then here, and even if we as adults do not understand it and are deeply saddened, Just look at those kids and they shine with pure love and understanding. I have learned more about love and sadness and forgiveness during this week.  If you need a dose of love, reality, forgiveness, go be around a little 1st grader or hug a 3rd grader. Ask a 5th grader what Love means, watch a 4th grader put their arm around a classmate and just stand there and be a shoulder to cry on, or a 6th grader who is praying for his classmate and started to sing a song of love, The thing that I have watched play out through loss and tragedy is...Grace for each other and love RULE all. It knows no limit! 


Nic & Cole 


p.s- Check out my new clothing website, the link is on the top right hand of my page! :)