Five on Friday, Vol. 21 and Some Favorites

Happy Friday!!

First things first, congratulations to Christina and April on the arrival of both of your daughters!! They are both so precious and almost make me want to think about having one of my own. 

Breath James... I'm kidding :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful week. It's been a crazy awesome week moving in and getting everything situated. Super excited to share a few of my favorites from this past week!

{O N E}

As of last Friday we're officially all moved in! I thought I would be so thankful to be out of the apartment, but truth be told part of me is a little sad. It was our first place together and we made lots of memories there. I'll miss the apartment for a little bit, but I can't wait to make new memories in our new home!

{T W O} 

Sis made this wreath for our grandma for Mother's Day. I'm trying to convince her that I need one too. I've never been much of a wreath fan, but it's burlap and turquoise. Doesn't get much better than that. 

{T H R E E}

For Christmas James gave me the beautiful Southern Wedding print. It's been safely stored away until we moved into the house. Now that we're here the print has found a home above the mantel. I'm seriously considering painting this frame or the two next to it... gold maybe?. Thoughts?

{ F O U R}

The therapist side of me is coming out: I've been a huge fan of Brene Brown since graduate school. Her stuff is legit and this TED talk of hers is probably my favorite. If you have some time today watch it! It's good stuff!

{ F I V E}

Ever since the weather started getting warmer I've been on a serious veggie kick. Steaming and roasting are pretty much the extent of my vegetable cooking abilities. I picked this book up to help expand my cooking repertoire. So far I love it! I made an avocado salad for lunch yesterday that was incredible. I'm looking forward to lots of new veggie recipes this summer.

 I'll be back next week sharing a tour of our home! In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend!!

Today I'm linking up with Amanda and the 5 on Friday Girls (Darci, April, Christina, Natasha)

Better In Color

Happy October!

For some reason I feel so grown up doing my first DIY project!

James' parents gave us the dresser that James used as a kid when we got our apartment. While there wasn't anything wrong with the dresser as it was, I thought a little freshening up couldn't hurt. My mom is an interior designer who I'm convinced could make a paper bag look like art. While I have ideas and have no clue what to do she understands and makes things happen!

This is the dresser my mom and dad have that I'm obsessed with. When I told her I wanted to do something similar to my new dresser she was confident we could make magic happen.

Here's the dresser before we did anything to it.
Aside from needing to reattach some of the handles it wasn't in bad shape.

We used Annie Sloan Chalk paint and wax for the project.

Seriously y'all, if you haven't used this stuff it's the JAM!
If you've ever painted before you know how much of a hassle it can be. First you have to sand {no thanks}, then you have to prime {I'd rather not}, and finally you have to paint on numerous coats to get good coverage {yawn}.
This stuff takes away all those steps. No sanding, no priming, and only two coats for great coverage!
Since it's chalk paint and we didn't want it rubbing off there were a few more steps after painting, but if I can learn how to do it anyone can.

Side note: I learned the lighting in our apartment is AWFUL! I apologize for the pictures I was
too lazy excited to use my tripod.

Since we didn't have to prime or sand the first step was painting. Usually I get bored painting after about two paint strokes; however, painting with this stuff is, dare I say it... fun!
We put two coats on the dresser and the drawers and then we were done for the day to let the paint dry.

So... when James got home from work and saw phase I of the project he was a little less than thrilled. I was in love already, but the color was a lot brighter than he was anticipating. Thankfully he is a great sport and trusted the vision.

Day 2 consisted of lots and lots of waxing! Like I said above, Annie Sloan is chalk paint so wax has to be put on top so the paint doesn't chip.
First we put on clear wax: spread it on, let it dry, and wipe it off.
Then we sanded the edges to add character.
Lastly we put on [then wiped off] a darker wax to age it up.

The drawer on the left is before we added the dark wax and the right drawer is after:

Ta Da!! It's almost finished!

We ordered these drawer pulls. Yup, I just said drawer pull... learned what those were two days ago! Now we're just waiting on them to come in from China.
Beautiful right?!?

Etsy

I'm not sure if I've said this or not but, I LOVE our old dresser with a new look!
Can't wait to see how it looks when it's completely done!

Five on Friday, Vol 1

Today I'm linking up for the first time with Natasha, Christina, Darci, and April!

So many of the blogs I follow participate in 5 for Friday. It's my favorite, so I figured I'd give it a shot!

  

{O N E}

What kind of football fan would I be if this didn't make the list! Tomorrow my dad, James, and I are heading to Athens to cheer on the dawgs! I'm super nervous about this game, but I'm so excited to see my first game of this season in Stanford Stadium! I'll be decked out in red and cheering hard! 

GO DAWGS!

Via

{T W O}

This week I started and almost finished my first ever DIY project! I had a lot of help from my mom on this one. She taught me a lot so maybe one day I could do it on my own. I'm {slowly} working on a blog post about the project from start to finish because it really was pretty easy.
I'm still waiting on the new drawer pulls to come in but I already love how it's turned out!

I think I caught the DIY bug and can't wait to get started on another project soon!

 {T H R E E}

My little sister is getting married in a week! I can't believe it's almost here and that we all survived a year of planning two weddings! I can't wait to stand next to my best friend as she [finally] gets to marry her best friend! The hardest part is after the wedding they are moving away to South Carolina. My heart hurts just thinking about it. However, I'm trying to distract myself, and just focus on being super stoked about the wedding.

Sis is gorgeous and one of the greatest people I know!

Amy Arrington Photography

{F O U R}

I'm not entirely sure what planet I've been living on, but Pumpkin Spice Lattes are incredible! I remember trying one in college and being totally underwhelmed. However, everyone RAVES about them so I gave it another go. My life has changed! It's like a fall party in your mouth!
On that same note, I'm in love with all things fall this year! I can't wait for James and I to get started on our Fall to-do list. Fall colored nail polish may or may not be on the list.

{F I V E}

Being married to James for 3 months!
Cheesy warning: I seriously cannot believe how much I love this man! My mom affectionately calls me the "challenging one" and he loves me in spite of that. He's kind, silly, hard working, and so patient! He encourages me and trusts my crazy ideas. I thank the LORD everyday that I get to be his wife.
3 months down, forever to go!

Amy Arrington Photography

Amy Arrington Photography

Yay for my first link up! Have a great weekend!