Too Much of a Good Thing?

In my case, I'm talking about my hair.

Some days I love it...  Some days I feel like it's totally out of control!

At this time last year, I was letting my hair grow out so it would be as long as possible for my October wedding. By that time, my hair was nearly down to my shoulder blades when it was straight.  Now it is past my shoulder blades when it's curly!  What can I say?  My hair grows fast!


So each day I ask myself, do I cut it shorter?  Do I grow it longer?  I love having long hair, but in the summer months I love having shorter hair.

Oh the dilemma!  :)

Friend Makin' Mondays: Boys and Girls

Whoops...I'm a day late...so shoot me.  No wait, please don't do that!  Without procrastinating any more, here is this week's edition of Friend Makin' Monday (or Tuesday, in my case!)

 FMM: A Few More Gender-Friendly Questions

1) What is your favorite physical feature?  I love my eyes!

2) List three adjectives that describe you. Creative, smart, friendly

3) How old were you when you had your first kiss? I was...19!

4) Do you believe in God? Yes!!!

5) How often do you watch the news? Not as often as I should.  Before I got married (back when I only had 5 channel choices instead of a gazillion), I would watch it every day.  Now maybe once a week, but I do try to stay up to do via the internet.

Wall Expressions Party

Last year I went to a make-and-take Wall Expressions party and just loved it!  I couldn't wait 'til I had my own house to decorate so I could host a party of my own.  Last Friday I was finally able to.  I had a great group of friends come over, including Mari (you can read about the party on her blog too!)  Mandy, from Mandy's Wall Expressions, came to my house and led us in a great night of fun!  She brought along a ton of samples of her work, everything for growth charts, to cute sayings on blocks, to plates, to tiles!  Pretty much if you can imagine it, she can create it!  After she explained what her business is all about and all the great items she offers, we headed out to the garage to make our own word blocks!

We were able to choose between a 12 inch or 24 inch long block and then we chose our color to paint it.  

After our painted blocks were dry, it was time to apply the vinyl letters.  Mandy had many expressions that we could choose from and there really was an expression for everyone!  I chose: "Memories" and "Friends, Food, Laughter".

Mandy then showed us how we could sand the edges of our blocks to give it a weathered look; this was an optional step, some people did it and others left their blocks completely painted.  

And of course, what's a party without food?!?!  (I'll be posting the recipes on my recipe blog soon!)

The finished products.  Don't they just look fabulous?  I had such a great time and I know the other ladies did too!  Mandy is available for parties at your house too, so if you live in the West Michigan area, be sure to check out her site!

(Thanks to Mari for letting me use some of her pictures!!!)

Bench Makeover

My mom recently gave me this old organ bench so we (Mike) would have a place to sit when he put his shoes one.  We decided it would go in the garage.  Then one day I got to thinking about how boring the bench looked and how much extra paint I had left-over from painting our house.  My brain started working and over the course of a weekend, I transformed a dingy old wooden bench to a bright and cheery shoe container, rack, and bench.

This is how the bench looked before.

I think the inside of the bench will be perfect to store my flip flops this summer!  I also am thinking about attaching a shelf under the bench to store Mike's shoes on.

First I sanded the bench to get rid of some of the varnish (it was so old that most of the varnish had already worn off!)

Then I painted it "Burlywood".  My original intent was to paint the bench twice and then go over it with sandpaper to rough it up and give it a worn look.  I realized after one coat of paint that you could still see some of the original wood color through the paint, which was exactly what I wanted, so I only did one coat!

I didn't trust myself to freehand the flip-flop shape, so I used a pair of mine and traced it onto the bench.

This is my final project!

I love how bright and cheery it looks!  It will be perfect for our shoes and it sure brightens up our garage!

Art Around the House

I love to decorate.  When we bought our house (actually, before we bought it!) I knew what colors I wanted to paint most of the rooms.  I wanted a bold and modern look.  I think my color scheme definitely achieved that!  After we moved in, I really started to be able to decorate how I pictured things.

I recently purchased and received more art and I think my dining room and kitchen are pretty much completed.  I do want to put some wall words up in the kitchen, but I'll do that after my wall words party in March.

Here's some of my favorite pieces.  Actually, they're all my favorite, so here's all the art in my kitchen and dining room :)

Mike and I saw this sign one day at my favorite store, The Seasoned Home.  We both loved it, but knew it was a bit out of our price range.  We figured we'd save for it and get it when we had the money.  But then for Christmas, I received 2 gift certificates (from my MIL and Grandma) to The Seasoned Home.  They totaled to the amount I needed for the sign!

These are one of my two newest sets.  I saw these on clearance at Meijer and I loved them!  I asked Mike if I could get them and he said yes; I went back the next day and they were still there.  I love how the group turned out!

These chefs are my second new set.  I went back to buy the wine bottle set and I saw these too.  They were just so perfect for my kitchen.  I couldn't decide between the wine bottles or the chefs so I bought both, figuring I could return one set if Mike didn't like them.  He thought they were cute too, and said I could keep both.  I'm so glad he did!

I picked this up at the dollar store before we moved into our house.  I wanted my kitchen to have a cooking and wine theme so this was perfect!  Funny thing though, I really don't care for the taste of wine!  Anyway, right now it's just sitting on my back-splash; I haven't decided where I want it so I keep moving it around.

This is a painting by someone in Haiti.  I bought from some people who went to Haiti.  It goes perfectly with the colors in my kitchen!

Mike and I have been wanting a kitchen mat/rug for a while now.  Last time we were at Bed Bath and Beyond I found this.  I bought this before my Chef pictures, but they go so perfectly together!

I bought this set probably 3 years again at an auction at my church.  I loved the European countryside.  I had it hanging in my blue bedroom~ I think it goes much better in my dining room!

My sister-in-law got me this for Christmas this year.  It goes perfectly with the set I received last Christmas (hanging on the opposite side of my dining room)

I'd been eying this piece at Bed Bath and Beyond for a long time!  I was thrilled to receive it for Christmas this year!

My mom bought this wall word kit for me for Christmas 2009.  I waited until I had my own house to hang it up as it's not reusable.  I had the perfect spot for it above my bay window in the dining room!

The rest of my house is still a work in progress.  Some rooms are more complete than others.

I know I promised a full tour of the "after" pictures of our house.  I still am working on that!  I just need to get each room clean for long enough to get a few pictures, but I promise it is coming!

Patriotic Plate

I love how this turned out!  I have so many other ideas for similar tiered plates!

Friend Makin' Mondays: Giving the Boys a Chance

Whoo hoo! It's Monday!  The weekend always seems to go by way too fast!  On Saturday, we spent a ton of time at Home Depot picking out new window treatments for our house.  (We currently have none...well we do have super cheap Walmart blinds on our bathroom and bedroom windows ;)  Some things a necessary!)  We decided it was high time to make our house a little more complete.  We are really happy with what we picked out and our blinds should be up in the next 2 weeks or so!

Sunday we went to church and then to my parent's for lunch.  Then we went to Mike's parent's for dinner.  It was busy yet relaxing at the same time.  All in all, a great weekend, but way too short!

There aren't too many males who participate in Friend Makin' Monday, but those that do may have struggled a bit with last week's question about their favorite make-up..haha!  This week, Kenz's friend Josh, made up the more male-friendly questions!

FMM: Giving the Boys A Chance

1. Who is your pick for the Final Four? 

I've never filled out a bracket in my life.  Not my thing, I have no idea who to pick...although from what I hear this year I could have just picked random teams and had a good chance!  I leave the sports up to Mike!

2. What is your favorite workout/fitness activity? 

I like just about anything, but I like to mix it up so I don't get bored.  Recently, I've discovered that I really like to jog/run.  I also enjoy the variety of workouts I get with the Biggest Loser for my Wii.

3. Do you have a favorite healthy snack? Something that REALLY hits the spot? 

I love apples with peanut butter!

4. What is your dream car? 

A silver Mustang convertible!

5. Have you set any goals for yourself this month? What are they? 

My goal for this month is to work-out at least 6 days a week.  I've recently gotten into a new routine that I really enjoy so my goal is to keep it up!  Also, I have a few baking based goals which include making puff pastry and croissants.  If I have time, I want to make them soon!

The ABC's of Me!

I saw this on Tammy's blog and thought it looked like fun.  As a blogger I think it's fun to get to know the people whose blogs I read.  It definitely helps to know more about them so I can relate to them better when reading their blogs.  Do you feel the same way, or is it just me? :)

A-Age: 22

B-Bed size: Queen

C-Chore(s) you hate: Washing dishes

D-Dogs: Love 'em!  Someday we want to get a beautiful blue-eyed Husky!

E-Essential start to your day item: Smoothie

F-Favorite Color(s): Blue

G-Gold or Silver: Silver

H-Height: 5'7"

I-Instruments you play: Some keyboard and clarinet

J-Job title: Office Manager

K-Kids: Someday :)

L-Live: Michigan

M-My mom's name: Elizabeth

N-Nickname: Peaches

O-Overnight hospital stay: Never :)  I have been blessed!

P-Pet Peeve: People who chew loudly and with their mouths open...gross!

Q-Quote from a movie: I like smiling, smiling's my favorite!

R-Right/Lefty: Right

S-Sibling(s): 1 younger brother

T-Time you wake up: 5:30 am

U-Underwear: Yes

V-Veggies you dislike: Brussel Sprouts

W-What makes you run late: Not much, I'm usually early or on time.

X-Xrays you've had: My foot when I broke it, my hip/leg and wrist after my car accident

Y-Yummy food you make: Everything ;)

Z-Zoo animal: Monkeys!

Grand Opening!

My Etsy shop is now open!  You can check it out here:  Wine and Dine by Melissa

Here's a sneak peek at some of the items you might find...

Plates

The more time I spend painting wine glasses, the more ideas I come up with!  Earlier this year there was something going around Facebook for crafters to "pass it along".  The idea was to comment on someone's status who was participating and in return you would receive something they made.  In return, you had to post the "pass it along" status and make something for the first 5 people who commented on your post.  I decided to play along and so I commented on a friend's post.  I only had 3 people comment on my post so I just had to make 3 things.  Here's what I came up with:

They were really well received and I think they turned out really well!

This is one of my favorite creations so far.  It was inspired by this plate from What Allie's Making Now.  I've never watched Pride and Prejudice (I know, shame on me!), so that quote really meant nothing to me.  I decided to put my own spin on the plate and paint it instead of using vinyl.  I love how it turned out and I haven't decided yet if I'm going to keep it or put it up on my Etsy site.  (Which by the way, is now open!)

My First 5k!!!

As you all probably know, I've been training for a 5k for the past few months.  Some friends from church have also been using the same program and me (or a similar one) to train.  I reached the point where I was ready to run a race, I just didn't know which to run.  So I turned to Facebook and Karen told me that she and Jennifer were planning to run a race in Holland.  She invited me to join them so I signed up!

Saturday was the big day!  Rain and wind were predicted so we were a little wary about the weather.  It didn't rain, but it sure was windy!  We had a few hills and some rough terrain on the course and the wind didn't help much either.  My goal was to run the 5k in 37 minutes or less (that's what I calculated I should be able to do based on my training runs).  I don't know what happened but I must have had a ton of energy because I finished the race in 31 minutes and 51 seconds!  I placed 202 out of over 360 people!  I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty proud of myself and I'm looking forward to my next race!

Me, Jen, and Karen before the race

Crossing the finish line!!!

Tired, Sweaty, but super proud, after the race!